News · Saginaw
Saginaw held an Oct. 12 hearing on a tax-break district for an Old Town block
SAGINAW, Mich. — Saginaw residents had a chance Monday to weigh in on a property tax incentive district for a cluster of Old Town parcels, according to a public hearing notice from the city clerk.
The City Council set the hearing for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at the Andersen Enrichment Center, 120 Ezra Rust Drive, the same time and place the city calendar listed for the council’s regular meeting. The request would create a Commercial Rehabilitation Act district covering 212 and 218 S. Hamilton St.; 303, 309 and 315 Adams St.; 200, 304 and 400 S. Niagara St.; and 202 Mackinaw St.
Two of those addresses already have a plan attached. The city’s economic development page says Shaheen Development intends to tear down the buildings at 218 S. Hamilton and 303 Adams to make room for a four-story building of almost 45,000 square feet. The city describes two large ground-floor stores facing S. Hamilton, 30 one- and two-bedroom apartments on the three floors above and 15 indoor parking spaces. Two three-story live/work buildings, where a shop sits below the owner’s home, would go up along Adams Street. The city calls them the first of their kind in Saginaw.
The notice does not say what is planned for the other parcels in the proposed district, and the city’s project page says more development on the block is planned for a later date.
Under the state’s Commercial Rehabilitation Act, a district is the first step. Owners inside one can apply for a property tax exemption on rehabilitated commercial or multifamily buildings for one to 12 years, as set by the local government, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury. The State Tax Commission must approve each certificate before it takes effect. Once a city sets up a district, it must notify Saginaw County, which then has 28 days to let it stand or reject it, according to Saginaw Future, the county’s economic development alliance. A state law signed in July extends the window for new certificates through 2035, the department says.
Work on the Hamilton block has been underway for months. WNEM reported in June that Shaheen was building apartments over retail space on Hamilton Street, alongside the West Bank Lofts condominiums nearby.
The request and its legal description are on file with the city clerk’s office, the notice says. The notice asked residents who needed an accommodation to call the clerk at 989-759-1480.
Updated Oct. 13, 2026: This story was written before Monday’s hearing, and its hearing language has been changed to the past tense. As of Tuesday afternoon, the city had not posted minutes or a result and no news report of the council’s action had appeared. Added the county review step that follows a district’s creation, from Saginaw Future.
Updated Oct. 13, 2026: The headline was changed to the past tense.
Updated Oct. 14, 2026: As of Wednesday midday, Oct. 14, the city still had not posted minutes or a result for Monday’s Old Town Commercial Rehabilitation district hearing, and no news report of the council’s action had appeared.
Sources:
City of Saginaw, “Notice of Public Hearing,” Commercial Rehabilitation Act District, Oct. 12, 2026, https://www.saginaw-mi.com/DocumentCenter/View/6789/Public-Hearing-Notice-District-10-12-2026-PDF
City of Saginaw, calendar, “City Council – Regular Meeting,” Oct. 12, 2026, https://saginaw-mi.com/Calendar.aspx?EID=1298
City of Saginaw, “New Mixed-Use and Live Work Development in Old Town”, https://www.saginaw-mi.com/695/New-Mixed-Use-and-Live-Work-Development-
WNEM, “Three new businesses, housing coming to Old Town Saginaw,” June 17, 2026, https://www.wnem.com/2026/06/17/three-new-businesses-housing-coming-old-town-saginaw/
Saginaw Future, “Incentive: Public Act 210 of 2005 – Commercial Rehabilitation Act”, https://www.saginawfuture.com/doing-business/incentives-&-financing/p/item/1516/incentive-public-act-210-of-2005-commercial-rehabilitation-act
Michigan Department of Treasury, “Commercial Rehabilitation Act”, https://www.michigan.gov/taxes/property/exemptions/community-development/commercial-rehabilitation-act
Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture, “Old Town Saginaw,” Aug. 29, 2022, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Town_Saginaw.jpg
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