SAGINAW

— Saginaw Community Police Officer Frederick Mata, who works in the Covenant Neighborhood, is eager for the challenges and new life a 35-unit senior complex is expected to bring to the area.

"We've done a lot to bring this neighborhood back up," said Mata, as city and state officials, Wolgast Corp. and Covenant Healthcare employees, Mayor Greg Branch and residents awaited the groundbreaking ceremony for the $5.2 million Bliss Park Senior Housing Development. "I don't want anything to make it go back."

Construction of the apartment is expected to be complete by October and it's scheduled to be occupied by year's end.

The building site is at 1111 N. Harrison, on a block bordered by North Harrison, North Webster, West Remington and Almira.

Mata expects a large percentage of residents, who guidelines dictate may not earn greater than 50 percent of the average median income, will relocate from the Bancroft-Eddy apartments.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority said the Bancroft-Eddy apartments will no longer be used for low-income, public housing after November.

Mata hopes to communicate frequently with management and residents to institute "zero tolerance on any type of crime" at the complex.

The design calls for 17 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom apartments in the complex, which is also being fitted with a beauty/barber room, computer room, exercise room and controlled entry.

The goal of the project is to "create quality and and sustainable housing for our seniors in Saginaw that they can afford and be proud to call home," said Brian Stadler, president chief executive officer of Wolgast Corp.

Wolgast created the Westbrook Housing Development to handle the financing, management and construction of the facility.

The project "shines a positive light on the city of Saginaw... and we need more of that," Saginaw Manager Darnell Earley said to a crowd of nearly 50. Because "as goes the city of Saginaw, so goes the region."

Covenant HealthCare began acquiring the land donated for the project decades ago, said Development Director Odail Thorns.

"We've had our fist fights... with each other, but here we are today," he said.

Saginaw is contributing $3 million toward the development in the form of a loan, Great Lakes Capital Fund invested $1.8 million to purchase tax credits the project qualifies for and other $400,000 came from deferred development fees, Stadler said.

Heavy machinery lined up on the grass at the center of the mostly vacant block — one home still stands — a white tent above 32 chairs, well-dressed people, a podium, microphone and seven shovels with yellow handles impaled in the sod drew Vickie L. Peterson from her home of a 39 years on N. Webster.

I just came out to see what's going on, she said.

"We're just glad to see all of the buildings gone," Peterson says, referring to the vacant houses that once littered the block. "There was a building that was vacant for eight to 10 years.

"A lot of people have moved because the jobs are gone."

Saginaw funded the $3 million, 15-year loan to developers through about $20 million it has received in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.