FLINT, MI -- It has been two years since Flint's skyline permanently changed when the Genesee Towers came crashing to the ground.

In its footprint, a new downtown greenspace and parking lot have emerged. The change, according to some, has gone a long way to help foster the redevelopment plan for the downtown area.

"The health and wellness district would not have happened without the implosion," Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce CEO Tim Herman said Tuesday, Dec. 22.

The Towers, which opened in 1968, lost its last major tenant in the mid-'90s. A decade later, a circuit court judge ordered the city to take ownership of the building following a lawsuit from its prior owner.

After losing a year-long legal battle, the city was stuck with the building and its taxpayers were saddled for the nearly $9 million bill. Residents had an extra 6.751-mill special assessment levied on their winter tax bills in 2010 to pay for the building.

Meanwhile, barriers surrounded the building, windows were broken out. Occasionally, pieces of the building would fall to the ground below.

In Aug. 2012 Flint emergency manager Michael Brown signed a deal to transfer Genesee Towers to Uptown Reinvestment Corp., which is headed by Herman, for $1. In exchange, Uptown agreed to demolish it and put an urban plaza in its place.

On an icy Dec. 22, 2013, the building came crashing down as strategically-placed demolition explosives detonated and rang in a new era for Flint's downtown.

Herman said the demolition helped clear the way for Michigan State University medical school's expansion into the former Flint Journal building, and for the new Genesys PACE facility and continued success of the Flint Farmers' Market.

Work on the park, which was billed Exploration Park, has largely ended, Herman said. The park contains green open space and an area for seating. Additions to the park could happen in the future, but Herman declined to comment on what the additions could be.

"We've got a lot of momentum going," Herman said.