LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Governor Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Economic Development Corporation on Thursday to announce five revitalization projects in Michigan have received support from the Michigan Strategic Fund. The projects are expected to generate a total capital investment of $7.6 million.
One of the projects is the effort to turn the former Gillespie Funeral Home into a multi-family dwelling that would be known as “Southern Flats.” The City of Coldwater and Southern Michigan Bank and Trust are partners in the project. Southern owns the property at 27 Marshall Street. Originally built as a funeral home in 1920, the building was designed by Robert C. Spencer, Jr., a colleague of Frank Lloyd Wright and a prominent figure in the Prairie School design movement. It is believed to be one of only two remaining buildings in Michigan designed by Spencer.
The project is expected to generate a total capital investment of $1.8 million, supported by a $750,000 Michigan Community Revitalization Program performance-based grant. The Coldwater Downtown Development Authority is supporting the project with a $10,000 façade grant, and the city has approved a 12-year Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act tax abatement valued at over $149,000. The city of Coldwater is engaged with M.E.D.C.’s Redevelopment Ready Communities program and is a participating Michigan Main Street community at the Select Level.
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