Genesee County, Michigan – Genesee County is scheduled to complete the sale of its Burton Health Clinic for $1 million in a strategic operation meant to bring together its multiple offices. Still, the arrangement guarantees that the Health Department stays in the building until the new office space is ready for use by including a leaseback agreement.
Originally approved last week, the county’s Board of Commissioners is expected to formally approve the transaction at their forthcoming Wednesday, August 21 meeting. This decision comes after a period of deliberations that began two months earlier when the commissioners authorized negotiations for selling not only the Burton clinic but also the county administration building as part of a broader plan to centralize county operations in downtown Flint’s former Citizens Bank complex.
“As a board, we are tasked with the financial stewardship of our facilities now and into the future,” said James Avery, Chair of the Board of Commissioners, after a June meeting. “The sale of these properties is a necessary part of our overall effort to right-size county operations and ultimately focus more resources on programs and services that benefit our residents.”
Following the board’s decision to start conversations about its sale, Hamilton Community Health Network became interested in the Burton clinic, located on Saginaw Street. Joshua Freeman, the County Director of Administration, claims that although the property was put on public notice, Hamilton was the only bidder. A county policy helps such transactions, specifically favoring other government agencies and nonprofit organizations, which most certainly affected the simple negotiating process with Hamilton.
Under the negotiated sale terms, Hamilton Community Health Network will also sign a lease with the county. At a cost of $100,000, this will let the Health Department keep utilizing the premises for at least eight months.
“In leasing back, the county will no longer be responsible for building maintenance and upkeep, reducing the burden on county resources,” Freeman noted in a memorandum to the commissioners, as reported by mLive.
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A key component of the agreement is the leaseback arrangement, which guarantees no disturbance of health services until the new office buildings are rebuilt and ready for use. The ongoing renovations of the north tower of the old Citizens Bank complex, expected to be completed in early 2025, are part of the county’s long-term strategic plan to consolidate operations that currently span several buildings, including the McCree Health and Human Services Building, Community Action Resource Department, and the Donald R. Haley Building.
Concurrent with this were ongoing negotiations for the sale of the county administrative facility across Saginaw Street from Flint City Hall. The Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) has indicated interest in buying this land to demolish it and build a new central bus terminal in its replacement
Initiated with the county’s decision in December 2021 to buy the tower office building from the University of Michigan for $8.5 million, this series of real estate transactions symbolizes a major restructure meant to maximize the operational footprint and resource management of the county.
Following the University of Michigan’s acquisition of the 160,000-square-foot tower from FirstMerit Corp in 2015—an area ready to serve as a new civic and transportation center next to The Huntington National Bank building and Flint’s iconic weather ball—the university decided to consolidate services.