The Definitive Genesee Towers Implosion Video

Implosion Party

While this may look like the aftermath of the infamous New Year's Eve parties at the Capitol Theater in the eighties, it's actually an eerie post Genesee Towers implosion photo from Glen Fairweather.

Never heard of the raucous Capitol Parties? Go here.

Genesee Towers, R.I.P.

The demise of Genesee Towers on December 22, 2013. (Image by Shawn Chittle)

Genesee Towers: Dead Building Walking

Okay, this is totally irrational and based on no real evidence. I’m sure the implosion crew knows what its doing. So why do I have this nagging, crazy worry that somehow Genesee Towers will manage to take the Mott Foundation Building down with it? GT is arguably Flint’s ugliest building, and it can’t be easy residing across an alley from what many consider the Vehicle City’s loveliest structure. How would you like to be a poorly maintained, watered-down example of the International Style hulking next to the soaring, Art Deco splendor of the most important building in Flint? There has to be some pent up resentment there.

I don’t want to get into a discussion of class warfare, but GT has always had money problems.  And let’s be blunt, the Mott Foundation building is loaded! We like to pretend money can’t buy you happiness, but come on. The years of constantly being reminded of how the 1% lives can’t be easy. It’s a little like driving a Chevy Aveo when your neighbor cruises around in a Park Avenue. (Sorry, for the dated reference, but I’m unaware of what passes for a luxury car in the Buick line these days.)

Then there’s the whole plural name thing. It’s Genesee Towers, with an “s”. See, it’s supposed to be two buildings stacked on top of each other. Yes, the lower-level parking deck counts as a separate building. Constantly correcting people has to get old after a while. And trying to laugh it off with “The building so nice they named it twice!” doesn’t help. Just not funny. The Mott Foundation Building doesn’t have to deal with that sort of thing. It’s above it all. It’s just one building and that’s more than enough. When you’re old money, you just don’t have to prove yourself.

Desperate buildings do desperate things. Is it so far fetched to think that the spirits animating Genesee Towers might be staring at their next-door neighbor and whispering, “If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me”?

Downtown Flint Without Genesee Towers

Thanks to Wade Merrill for this Photoshop fantasy of what Flint will look like without the city's tallest (abandoned) Building.

All Hail Don Williamson

Former Flint mayor Don Williamson has been a seemingly endless source of material for Flint Expatriates over the years. There were the random firings of competent city employees. The useless "crack down" on baggy pants. Don't forget the time he used city workers to mow his lawn. And the very expensive plan to help the local economy by installing a drag strip on a city street. Of course there was the pricey lawsuit that the city had to settle after the mayor had a paper carrier arrested at City Hall. Oh yeah, what about the cop who got canned for daring to talk to the local media. Let's not even mention all the money the city lost because of Williamson's creative approach to the Genesee Towers situation. For his swan song, the convicted felon asked the cash-strapped city for back pay when he resigned to avoid a recall election.

Given his service to the City of Flint, it's only fitting that Williamson be honored with a statue. After all, Flint's other great leaders like Billy Durant and C.S. Mott have their memorials. It seems Williamson agrees and has erected a golden effigy of himself surrounded by a pride of protective baby lions at his new palatial estate outside Flint.

A reader stumbled upon life-size icon on recent trip home and passed along this report: 

I get back to Flint a few times each year, visiting family. In fact, my wife and I were there last weekend visiting her dad in Lapeer. Travelling back towards Flint via Davison Rd, we ran across an interesting sight. First of all, I should say that my wife's fancy new Garmin GPS flashed a "point of interest" on the screen as we approached the little crossroads berg of Elba. It showed a large area to the north of Davison Rd called the "Patsy Lou refuge" (not really sure if it said refuge or estate or something else). Needless to say that got my attention. No more than 1/2 mile west of the Elba crossroads (near Potters Lake), we were more than a little surprised to see the main entrance to what is obviously Don and Patsy Lou's grand plantation. It is a work in progress, but leaves no doubt that it goes for quite a long way north of Davison Rd. Of course, this alone wouldn't cause me to think of Flint Expats; it was the life sized bronze stature of the Don himself that caused me to write this note.As you can no doubt tell, the Don was standing tall and portly, greeting visitors. Anyone reading Flint Expats for any length of time is surely aware of the special place Don Williamson has with the readership, so I couldn't pass up this opportunity to contribute to the cause.

Is it just me, or does The Don's statue resemble the tribute to another controversial, strong-willed leader?

  Kim Il Sung

That's Genesee Towers with an "S"

Why is Genesee Towers plural? There's only one tower. Was there supposed to be another one? I'd always thought it was simply a self aggrandizing naming scheme based on the dubious rationale that it's two buildings stacked on top of each other with an open-air space between them. Anyone have the facts?

Flint Fantasy: Genesee Towers Reborn

The unofficial rallying cry for Genesee Towers is probably "Tear It Down!" In a city that seems to love leveling old buildings, no structure has generated more wrecking ball lust than the two stacked boxes marring the view of the Mott Foundation Building. But instead of eliminating Flint's tallest building, what if we tried to improve it?

An architecture competition to repurpose the tallest building in Flint, Michigan yielded original concepts and raised questions about downtown development for the restructuring industrial town.

The building is a 19-story former bank tower with eight parking levels, an open-air service deck, and ten floors of offices. It fell into disrepair in the 90s: the previous mayor, a car dealer, ordered it condemned and, he hoped, demolished. After years in court, Flint homeowners were soaked last year with an additional average tax of $130 for acquisition of the building and legal fees. Previously Genesee Towers was disliked and considered an eyesore. Afterward it was bitterly hated.

This past September, the 40-member-strong AIA-Flint launched a competition to save the structurally sound 1968 high-rise and program it for future development. The results, announced April 8th, generated lots of local interest. “It showed people in Flint that maybe there is something that can be done with this building rather than just tearing it down,” said John Gazall of Gazall, Lewis Architects, who organized the competition and displayed the boards in his glass-walled office next door.

Genesee Towers: It Won't Go Down Without a Very Expensive Fight

Genesee Towers is Flint's tallest and arguably its ugliest building. But the abandoned eyesore at 120 E. First Street near the venerable Mott Foundation Building is also the biggest example Flint's fall from prosperity. Here's a timeline of the ongoing saga based on the excellent coverage by The Flint Journal's Kristen Longley:


1968: Genesee Towers built to house the former Genesee Merchants Bank.

2001: Owner V. Kumar Vemulapalli is first cited by the city for code violations.

2002: Building is vacant.

2004: City condemns the 19-story building. "The building has to come down, or someone's going to get killed," says former Mayor Don Williamson.

2004: Kumar Vemulapalli sues the city for condemning the building.

2006: City and Vemulapalli agree to enter arbitration to determine the value of the property. "By agreeing to that process, [Williamson] effectively agreed to pay whatever the arbitrator said was the fair market value," current City Attorney Pete Bade told the Journal this fall.

2007: City closes traffic lanes surrounding the building to prevent injuries from falling debris.

2007: Arbitrator awards Vemulapalli more than $6 million, including legal fees, plus interest.

2007 - 2009: The case is appealed multiple times with the city arguing the arbitrator exceeded his scope of authority in reaching the decision.

2009: In December, the Court of Appeals upholds the arbitration award.

2010: In June, the Michigan Supreme Court refuses to hear city's final appeal of the Court of Appeals decision.

2010: In October, City Assessor William Fowler announces that state law requires the city to put a millage on the property tax rolls to pay for the judgment, which has now climbed to more than $8 million. While the exact amount is yet to be determined, it is estimated that the tax will cost the average Flint homeowner $150.

2010: In November, the Genesee Landlords Association sues the city over the plan to tax property owners in December to pay for the judgment. "We want to make sure before they spread this $8 million to the taxpayers that the city truly does not have any cash to pay it with," says Terry Hanson, executive director of the landlords association.

To be continued...

Flint's Cloudy Future

Flint T-Shirts

Flint Expatriates has official t-shirts, thanks to artist extraordinaire Jessica Lynch at Slow Loris Designs.

They feature the infamous Genesee Towers, the Mott Foundation Building, the historic Vehicle City arch, the Citizens Bank Weather Ball, and my Grandma McFarlane's Buick Electra 225 all lovingly rendered on a slate gray American Apparel shirt in deep blue ink. There are also extra small sizes available in blue ink on white shirts. The original art for the shirt is hand drawn by Jessica.

Click here to be redirected to the Slow Loris homepage. Once you are there, just click on the "For the Love of Flint" shirt and complete your order.

Downtown Clouds

Hard to Get

The City of Flint just can't seem to get its hands on the dilapidated Genesee Towers.

Wading into downtown architecture

Photo by Ryan Garza of The Flint Journal

The wonders of Photoshop, courtesy of Randy Gearheart

I'm not thrilled with the look of the new Wade Trim Building — it seems a little soulless to me — but it's hard to complain too much about any upgrades to downtown Flint. And this Ryan Garza photo of the city's incongruous architectural styles makes Flint's emerging hodgepodge of buildings look sort of appealing. Sometimes no planning at all somehow ties together in a weird, unexpected way. Of course, the Genesee Towers aren't long for this world, so this mismatched triumverate will eventually be a duo. And that might not be such a bad thing either.

Update: Here are a few comments on this post from Flint residents:

slick says: My opinion is that to see it up close and personal it's actually not bad.

There is actually green grass in downtown flint. hopefully it will not turn to weeds.

I can't speak from an architectural point of view, but it certainly looks better than the run-down plywood covered edifice which preceded it.

Downtown is starting to come together...seriously....to hear comments from those residing afar doesn't give it justice imho.

Being one in the trenches here in the good old vehicle city, I can see the change.

Scottr says: I don't understand why people expect a city's downtown to 'blend'. It needs buildings of all ages and styles - new, old, and in between. Flint is finally starting to get that mix, yet out comes all the critics who want nothing but art deco or some such design. I love old buildings, but if all of them were from the early 20th century, downtown would be a very boring place, and no better than an aging strip mall in the suburbs.

Personally, I like it. I think it's got a classic look with a modern flair to it. It's honestly one of the most attractive new builds downtown has seen in 3 decades, including most anything at UM-Flint. And I'm very interested in seeing what the CFGF and Health Plus may do.


Correction: The original version of this post described the Wade Trim as a "refurbished" building. It is an entirely new structure. Thanks to Scott for catching this mistake.

Beauty contest

Here's the 16-story Mott Foundation Building, built in 1930 and captured in all its Art Deco splendor in a 1954 postcard.

Of course, this was long before the elegant mini-skyscraper's hulking, wide-bottomed younger brother — Genesee Towers — was built.


I've always wondered exactly whose idea was it to throw up the city's ugliest building right next to its most handsome structure?

UPDATE: I found this photo in The Flint Journal that offers some clues.

Are these two guys responsible for Genesee Towers?

I can just imagine what the powerful finger pointer is saying: "It's ugly as hell and seems structurally unsound. Build it! NOW!"

Flint Photos: The Book Stall and The Torch in 1977

A 1977 view of the corner of South Saginaw and First Street from the parking structure of Genesee Towers. Smith-Bridgman's looms in the background to the right, behind a wall of bricks. The Book Stall is visible in the lower right corner. (Photo courtesy of Jar With Most.)

Buckam Alley complete with a dusting of snow, a couple nice vans, and the Torch in 1977. (Photo courtesy of Jar With Most.)

Tower of Power?

Genesee Towers, the county's largest and perhaps ugliest building, is abandoned and, apparently, ready for the wrecking ball. The city is so worried that pieces might start falling off the building that it's restricting traffic around the 19-story eyesore in downtown Flint.

"This could be a catastrophe. This could be a property catastrophe or a human catastrophe," said City Attorney Trachelle Young.

But building owner Kumar Vemulapalli swears everything is just fine on First Street. "My engineers say the building is safe," he said. "I am currently in court with the city and this is just an attempt by them to influence the judge with all of this hoopla."

For some unfathomable reason, the building is featured on the new Michigan license plate called “Spectacular Peninsulas," along with scenic portraits of the state Capitol, Detroit’s Renaissance Center and Grand Rapids’ Alticor Building.

Kelly Chesney, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, said she could not confirm if the square building with a protruding square on the roof is, in fact, Genesee Towers, but she said the agency asked the artist to incorporate Flint’s skyline in the drawing.

No word yet on why it's called Genesee Towers (plural) when there is only one building.

UPDATE: A friend informs me it's plural because the architect claims there are two buildings stacked on top of each other, with an open-air gap in the middle.