Civil Municipal Magazine - Nov 2023

128 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 11 for other types of medical companies, such as pharmaceuticals, to move in, but also that it will attract more people to live downtown, which would naturally spur economic development in the retail and service sectors.” “The more people we bring downtown, particularly to live, will bring more small businesses and jobs that people in our community might need and be able to fill,” he states. “So that’s a big focus.” The city’s assets Cassi Zimmerman, Saginaw’s Director of Planning and Economic Development, stresses the city’s many attractions and amenities that, in addition to any new employment opportunities, will help entice people to repopulate its traditional neighborhoods as well as its downtown locales. “Besides attracting businesses and working on our city as an employment center, another aspect that we’ve emphasized in the last five to ten years concerns our quality of life. We want to attract people to not only work here but to live here,” she relays. “The city offers so much and caters to everyone’s interests. We have amazing amenities including a local orchestra, choral society, children’s zoo, community theaters and several museums.” Morales agrees, citing the Dow Event Center, the historic Temple Theatre, the SVRC Marketplace, and the city’s many parks, bars, and restaurants as important assets. The Dow Event Center is an indoor arena that currently houses the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit. The center has a capacity of 7,600 people for concerts (without the ice), and 5,500 for hockey games. The Temple Theatre was built by the Elf Khurafeh Shriners and opened in 1927 and it was restored in late 2002 and then reopened under new owners. “The SVRC Marketplace is a redevelopment of the former Saginaw News Building into a 100,000 sq. ft. mixed-use facility in downtown Saginaw