Progress with redevelopment of the old Buick City site for light manufacturing was shared at the Aug. 28 Flint Rotary Club meeting, with Ashley Capital Vice President Mark Quimby as the presenter.
In the aftermath of Ashley’s purchase of the 400-plus-acre site, it is occupied by two light industrial concerns in what it calls Building 1, its first construction unit. Prior to opening, tenant Victory Packaging selected 50 new hires out of 150 applicants recruited from a MiWorks job fair in 2024. Ninety percent of the hires are Flint residents. Meanwhile, Bunzl Distribution, which provides nonfood products to food service and retail businesses, subsequently moved in with 50 employees — those having been transferred from another site. Buick City at its peak employed 28,000 when Flint had a population approaching 200,000.
Quimby said having Building 1 up and running greatly helps in marketing to additional potential tenants. He is hopeful of the future, as Ashley proceeds with construction of Building 2 with completion anticipated for 2027. Conversations are ongoing with large-scale potential users. At one point there were positive negotiations with a data center developer for use of the central portion of the Buick site, which could have led to a much larger investment. But those negotiations been paused by a one-year moratorium on all data centers imposed by the Flint City Council. At one point there was interest on the part of a solid-state battery manufacturer, but that deal did not proceed.
President Domonique and Mark Quimby, VP of Ashley Capital
Ashley’s business formula is based heavily on external incentives to make a seemingly impossible economic situation feasible. Thus, it looks to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation along with other resources to address the inevitable incentive gap, including the city of Flint, Mott Foundation, Genesee County and the state of Michigan. Help from such sources helped to close a negative equity gap of $94.3 million.
When Ashley took on the Buick land challenge, General Motors had already demolished structures, leaving behind slabs, foundations and utilities. Ashley has been removing many of these remains while cleaning up contamination. Included in new infrastructural development are a chemical resistant public 60-inch storm sewer and 18-inch sewers crossing the site.
Ashley has an extensive background in the extremely challenging business of brownfield redevelopment and employs about 10,000 workers via its approximately 100 tenants in Michigan. The company’s interest is long-term development, and thus is committed to establishing strong ties with the communities in which it operates.
That commitment was tested by a Flint group known as Brothers and Sisters of Oak Park, a tract whose distinction is having been the first public park in the city, donated in 1911 by the Durant Dort Carriage Company. The tract’s storied past includes once having been known as “tent city,” sheltering migrating workers from the South during Flint’s industrial boom when there was not sufficient housing. The park’s use declined beginning in the 1970s as Buick City expanded. It was decommissioned as a city park in 1984 with 8.4 acres approved for sale by the city.
But throughout it all, the Brothers and Sisters group continued holding annual neighborhood reunions there, which they valued and could not see abandoning. So they took their cause to Ashley. The company negotiated and reached an agreement that a single acre is all the group actually needed for its reunions. When the City Council agreed to a split-off, Ashley refurbished the one-acre tract, installing pavilions with picnic tables, grills, park benches and other recreational assets. So a reunion happily occurred August 11. The company is pledged to continue supporting reunions for 10 years while maintaining the park for 20.
The 2026 Crim Rotary Mile in Photos
Please enjoy these photos from Gene Dennis, and thanks again to all the volunteers who braved a rainy morning.
Rosh Hashanah
This Friday at sunset marks the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It is a time of reflection that ushers in the season of High Holy Days. Yom Kippur follows ten days later. Traditions on Rosh Hashanah include dipping apples in honey to lay the groundwork for a sweet year and blowing the shofar, a ram's horn. For more background on the meaning of the shofar, check this out.
Sharing the Light
The following is an except from 5 Ally Actions, a weekly newsletter from Better Allies written by Karen Catlin. You can subscriber to the newsletter here.
What if we viewed workplace culture as a garden?
That's the metaphor Abi Adamson used in her closing keynote at the International Allyship Day conference hosted by Next Pivot Point earlier this week.
And while we may not be able to control the “soil” of our organization (the policies, practices, and cultural toxins), we can control the “light.”
We can pay attention to who gets seen, heard, credited, and given career-making opportunities. And make sure people aren’t left to wither in the shadows.
Here are a few ways to put that into practice:
Speak their name when they aren’t in the room. Advocate for coworkers in the decision-making rooms where they aren’t present.
Give them credit. Publicly acknowledge their ideas, contributions, and expertise.
Bring them along. Invite a colleague to join a high-profile meeting to help them gain visibility and exposure to senior leaders.
Distribute stretch assignments fairly. Make sure access to high-profile projects and task forces isn’t limited to the same “go-to” people.
Who on your team could use a little more light? And what can you do to shine it their way?
New Member Second Reading
Name Classification Proposed By
Shane Storey Insurance- Agency Management David Smith
Members wishing to comment on proposed members must do so in writing to Club Secretary Ellen Echols no more than two weeks following the second reading.
New Member Introduction
On August 28, we were pleased to introduce Lashaya Darisaw, the newest member of our club. She was sponsored by President Domonique Clemons and brings a background in consulting and also serves as a Trustee for Mt. Morris Township.
Please offer Lashaya a hearty welcome!
Paul Harris Fellow Recognized
Past President Ray Gist was honored as a Paul Harris Fellow+2. Named for the founder of Rotary, the Paul Harris Fellow is honored for contributions to the Rotary Foundation totaling $1,000. As Ray mentioned in his marks... fill out your pledge form and you too can become a Paul Harris Fellow!
Next Up: Regular Meeting September 11 at noon at the Food Bank: Ridgway White, President of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Due to the potential for more guests that usual, please let President Domonique know by September 9 if you plan to bring a guest. This will help ensure we have plenty of food for all!
Happy Birthday, August Rotarians!
Bill Beck was the lone August birthday person in attendance last Friday, but we sang our two August Rotarians anyhow.
