[Republic of Michigan]

What fueled Bay City's renaissance in 2016? | MLive.com

[Geo-Aggie]

As a relative newcomer to the state it seems to me that there's a lot of positive going on pretty much every major city south of the bay. Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Bay City (apparently?)... One could even make the argument for Port Huron and Jackson seeing a positive future too if they wanted, though not as easily. (Flint, Saginaw, sorry - maybe next decade..)

Would any one more well versed in the challenges of Michigan cities be able to shed some light on this? Why is this going on? Does it simply boil down to the revival of auto manufacturing driving the success of the entire state or is this something more?

[mjlo]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

Would any one more well versed in the challenges of Michigan cities be able to shed some light on this? Why is this going on? Does it simply boil down to the revival of auto manufacturing driving the success of the entire state or is this something more?

Well the Auto resurgence has undoubtedly had a positive impact on the entire states economy. Keep in mind though, manufacturing is a great deal reduced compared to what it was before these cities started to struggle. I think that diversification has started to take hold. Also the R&D and corporate portion of Automotive has tripled in size and the lions share is in Michigan (that's a good thing). By my measure the cities that were further removed from the auto industry being their economic base are further along in their transition.

[beachmouse]

The first wave (Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor) also seems to be figuring out how to market itself for Millenials who are looking for high quality of life/low cost of living areas who want to feel like they can still have a fun and active life even if they've got serious student loan debt.

Back when GR was starting to perk up in the 90s, I remember The Right Place holding resume exchange events the weekend after Thanksgiving. The idea was to reach out to the under-30s who had moved to Chicago or California after graduation and try to lure them back. (They figured their target young professionals would be in town to visit family then.)

[VM1138]

As a Bay City resident there's a definite feel that the city is stagnating and slipping backward outside of downtown and Uptown. Even Uptown has stagnated a bit and there's some concern over the future of the new Dow building.

I'm not sure anyone could honestly say Bay City's having a renaissance. The houses in town are falling apart or burning down thanks to an ineffective public safety department. I drive through every part of the city daily and I've seen no improvements of any kind aside from the aforementioned downtown and Uptown, and those are all aesthetic changes, not institutional. I don't hear about any new jobs coming in, for one.

[MikeBear]

Originally Posted by VM1138

As a Bay City resident there's a definite feel that the city is stagnating and slipping backward outside of downtown and Uptown. Even Uptown has stagnated a bit and there's some concern over the future of the new Dow building.

I'm not sure anyone could honestly say Bay City's having a renaissance. The houses in town are falling apart or burning down thanks to an ineffective public safety department. I drive through every part of the city daily and I've seen no improvements of any kind aside from the aforementioned downtown and Uptown, and those are all aesthetic changes, not institutional. I don't hear about any new jobs coming in, for one.

I agree, it's lipstick on a pig.

Bay City will never be right, as long as city management runs the place like a bunch of robber-barons. Dow Corning has now been taken over by Dow Chemical, and they are downsizing people on that "Uptown" site. There's no guarantee Dow Chemical will keep renting there long term.

[VM1138]

Originally Posted by MikeBear

I agree, it's lipstick on a pig.

Bay City will never be right, as long as city management runs the place like a bunch of robber-barons. Dow Corning has now been taken over by Dow Chemical, and they are downsizing people on that "Uptown" site. There's no guarantee Dow Chemical will keep renting there long term.

There was talk about blight management, too, which is good, but people are still leaving the city. It's cramped, ugly and seedy. Not necessarily dangerous but lots of obvious drug users and mentally ill people staggering around, especially the East side. Bad smells, business closings and job loss are still the defining factors of the city.

I don't want to be one of those hateful guys on here spewing negativity. I really don't. But Bay City is not undergoing a renaissance, it's just not. Saying so is blind boosterism.

[Geo-Aggie]

Originally Posted by VM1138

There was talk about blight management, too, which is good, but people are still leaving the city. It's cramped, ugly and seedy. Not necessarily dangerous but lots of obvious drug users and mentally ill people staggering around, especially the East side. Bad smells, business closings and job loss are still the defining factors of the city.

I don't want to be one of those hateful guys on here spewing negativity. I really don't. But Bay City is not undergoing a renaissance, it's just not. Saying so is blind boosterism.

See I hate being negative too, but this is more of my understanding of Bay City/Saginaw as well. You can throw Flint into that mix too.

While much of the state is seeing a lot of good and economic diversification (well, mostly the west and southeast), the Northern I-75 corridor doesn't appear to be jumping on that bandwagon yet. Milo posted a good population analysis where some of this was discussed. My observation was that Genesee, Saginaw, Bay, and Salinac Counties were the real population bleeders left in the state (besides Wayne County, of course)

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Geo-Aggie

See I hate being negative too, but this is more of my understanding of Bay City/Saginaw as well. You can throw Flint into that mix too.

While much of the state is seeing a lot of good and economic diversification (well, mostly the west and southeast), the Northern I-75 corridor doesn't appear to be jumping on that bandwagon yet. Milo posted a good population analysis where some of this was discussed. My observation was that Genesee, Saginaw, Bay, and Salinac Counties were the real population bleeders left in the state (besides Wayne County, of course)

In terms of percentage population decline, Ontonogan County in the western UP has seen the largest percentage change, over -11% since 2010. Other counties in the Northeast LP have seen sizable percentage declines in population, but are all rural counties. Alpena County which includes the city of Alpena is the only county in the Northeast LP that is classified as micropolitan by the census bureau.