Historic Saginaw Huntington Bank Building Could Become Apartments

CNN - The downtown Huntington Bank building, the tallest building in Saginaw, has stood at Washington and East Genesee since 1925.

The downtown Huntington Bank building in Saginaw could be renovated into apartments. | Credit: WNEM

Developers want to turn the 170,000-square-foot building into a 120-unit apartment complex with commercial space.

Saginaw City Council members voted Monday night to help make that a reality.

They voted in favor of designating the site as an obsolete property rehabilitation district. It would create tax benefits for a project that's expected to cost $45 million.

Saginaw Future Vice President Tom Miller said this is a necessary step to make the transformation financially viable.

"It's key that we move all of these things together at the same time, so we're pursuing OPRA [obsolete property rehabilitation act], Brownfield Incentives, as well as incentives from the state," Miller said. "All of these things have to move in concert while the group Michigan Community Capital continues to pursue all of the financing necessary to complete the project."

Miller said the project would be more complicated and expensive than the transformations of the nearby Bancroft and Eddy buildings which cost about $8 million for the same number of units.

He said, if all goes as planned, the apartments would be move-in ready by May 2025.