There is a lot of building and renovating in downtown Saginaw - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(03/07/13) - New apartments, an outdoor concert venue, and two medical schools buildings.

Those are just a few of the projects underway in downtown Saginaw right now, and Saginaw area business leaders got an update on all the positive news Thursday morning.

"I have had more calls in the last three months than I've had in two years," says Beth Ernat of the Saginaw Downtown Development Authority.

Those phone calls coming from people interested in doing business in downtown Saginaw, where the new Michigan Works building is going up, an outdoor concert venue will be built, and renovations are underway on the apartments in the Bancroft and Eddy Buildings.

"We only have 30 units to do at the Eddy Building so we are quickly moving on those," says LuAnn Stockfleth of Lakeshore Management, the company that bought the Bancroft and Eddy buildings.

Those Eddy apartments should be done by summer. But it's in the Bancroft where the first new business has been lined up. It will be called the Bancroft Wine and Martini Bar.

Parking is still a concern, but across from the apartments, these buildings will soon be gone.

"We are planning to move forward with the grant to do the blight elimination which will be demolishing the buildings," Ernat said.

Two medical school buildings, a combination of new construction and renovations, will be in place at St. Mary's of Michigan and Covenant Healthcare as the Central Michigan University medical school project is on target for a spring 2015 opening of the Saginaw buildings.

"We interviewed just under 350 students, we are in the process of offering the positions to what will be our first class of 64 students," says Dr. Ernie Yoder, CMU College of Medicine Dean.

And this building next to the Bancroft, which some refer to as the gargoyle building, is also being eyed for possible development.

"I'm sure people would love to be riverfront, apartments and condos and we will never see a building built that close to the river again," Ernat said.

And next week or the week after, ground should be broken on that new outdoor concert venue across the street from the Dow Event Center.