Pontiac is experiencing its biggest building boom since the days of General Motors, according to Deirdre Waterman, the city’s mayor.

From renovations to brand new builds, construction and demolition has been taking place all over the city this year. There’s sizeable projects, like Amazon’s planned $271.6 million regional distribution center at the old Silverdome site on Opdyke Road. There’s new housing, like the 42-unit Hamilton apartments off Woodward Avenue currently under construction. And, there’s smaller renovations taking place in churches, drug stores and medical office spaces.

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“It took awhile for the city to make the changes it needed to in order to attract business here, but people are taking notice that something is changing in Pontiac,” Waterman said. “We had to bring crime down, our statistics now match any city in Oakland County. We had to streamline our building and permit process and we had to put it all online.”

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More than 100 applications are also currently pending for medical marijuana dispensary locations. Under its current ordinance, the city will be required to allow 20 of those to open. The application review dates are yet to be determined. An unlimited amount of medical marijuana support facilities are also allowed under the ordinance, though the planning department has seen few requests for those as of yet. The largest so far is a $45 million marijuana park planned at the old Glenwood Plaza which would be anchored by a grocery store.

“We have more housing going up, some of these builds are our first new high rises in 20-years. Employees and businesses are moving, they’re looking for urban livability and excitement,” Waterman said. “We’re becoming an epicenter for high tech research and support for automotive technologies.”

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More than 25 technology companies have opened in Pontiac since 2016, mainly in its downtown corridor.

Throughout its revitalization, many in Pontiac believe the city lacks a solid narrative, like the story of Detroit’s comeback. Waterman said she believes that narrative is being crafted right now.

“Our identity, from what I’m hearing and how people describe it, is a cross between an urban core and suburban feel. We have elements of both here and we can see it being expressed in various ways based on the kinds of developments that are going on,” she said.

The city is also currently seeking foundation support for the future. In Flint, the C.S. Mott Foundation supports the city’s nonprofit organizations and education institutions year-round. In Detroit, the Kresge Foundation supports a slew of the area’s art programs.

“We had to do our homework before we started this. Foundations want to see a city’s social economic development fabric and our commitment to development,” she said. “One of the ways you can define that is by the pillars we set in economic development, how you move forward on the city's agenda to be a livable, multicultural municipality.”

Waterman did not disclose which foundations the city is courting.

+3 Honoring black soldiers, local veterans bring historic exhibit to city hall A group of local veterans have brought an exhibit honoring the contributions of African-American soldiers to Pontiac City Hall.