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Despite the stiff competition – from the communities of Dearborn, Madison Heights, and Mason – it was Bay City and a transformative mixed-use development that came out on top at this year’s Michigan Municipal League Convention in Detroit.
On Friday, Sept. 27, Bay City and the Uptown development were awarded the peer-nominated Community Excellence Award from the Michigan Municipal League, that organization’s most prestigious honor.
"It’s an honor that we were chosen to be a finalist, then chosen by our peers for this award," says Dana Muscott, city manager of Bay City.
"Uptown is a great partner with the City of Bay City. It’s a fantastic place to visit, so we encourage everyone to come to Bay City to see what we’ve accomplished on this formerly blighted property."
Uptown Bay City transformed a 43-acre manufacturing and industrial site on the city’s riverfront, turning it into a walkable urban campus complete with residential, commercial, and office space, and retail, restaurants, and more.
Bay City and the Uptown project beat out the initial field of 17 projects to make it to the final four. MML Convention attendees voted for their favorite of the four, of which Uptown Bay City came out on top.
"This is a great project for our whole region," says Al Warr, project manager for Uptown developer Shaheen Development.
"We have a wonderful working relationship with the city and all of the various companies, from small businesses to large corporations, that have chosen to call Uptown home. We appreciate their faith in us and the dream we had 10 years ago in Bay City."
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