Buena Vista continues to bid for new Saginaw campus

Delta College officials are still debating the location of their new satellite campus.

The college’s Board of Trustees met with members of the Buena Vista Downtown Development Authority (D.D.A.) on Monday March 3 for a special board meeting. The meeting recapped and elaborated on the 20-minute presentation given to the board on January 13.

The potential site is the former Fort Saginaw Mall site, located 1,000 feet from I-75. According to Buena Vista Township Supervisor Dwayne Parker the potential center is a stones throw away from Ricker Center, Delta’s current Saginaw campus.

Sarah Traxler, McKenna Associates project manager, spoke for the Buena Vista Township site detailing criteria that the site will be able to meet. According to Traxler, the former Fort Saginaw Mall is located in the center of big business for Saginaw County. The location is already located on a STARS public transportation route and will be included in future routes.

“The site is a blank canvas for your development,” said Traxler who went on to discuss the requirements the future site would have to meet such as being sustainable and having a green design.

CEO of Sustainable Strategies DC Matt Ward also spoke on behalf of Buena Vista Township. According to the Sustainable Strategies DC website, the organization is “a government affairs and strategic consulting firm based in Washington, DC, that helps clients secure resources for community revitalization and tools to succeed in the green economy.”

Ward has worked with the Buena Vista D.D.A. for 10 years and spoke to the board about opportunities available to help finance site development.

“We believe one of the best reasons Buena Vista can be a successful partner is that we are in the best position to bring you resources and finances,” said Ward.

Ward broke down the overall cost of constructing the new site.

Soft costs – $1.218 million
Construction – $8.4 million
Site preparation - $1.265 million
Equipment and furnishing – $1.055 million
Total - $12.084 million
 

Ward then went on to discuss various state and federal grants and programs that could potentially fund the new center. According to Ward the Buena Vista D.D.A. is able to spend up to $2 million on this project.

Addressing concerns about potential violence at the new site Parker discussed the only two incidences that have occurred over the last 5 years at the Ricker Center.

Parker was optimistic about Buena Vista’s ability to provide a safe environment stating, “They were basically geared toward domestic issues and had nothing to do with Delta College itself.”