Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Expanding Into Flint Bringing More Than 1,000 Jobs Over The Next Five Years

Mayor Dayne Walling Welcomes The Expansion Of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy Into Flint. Expansion expected to bring 1,000+ new jobs to the City of Flint over the next five years

Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, the nation’s largest privately held specialty pharmacy company, has received a $61.5 million tax credit from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) board for a new headquarters and expansion in Flint at the Great Lakes Technology Centre where the company expects to add more than 1,000 jobs over the next five years.

Diplomat was notified of the 18-year tax credit during today’s MEGA board meeting in Lansing. The MEGA board provides refundable tax credits against the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) to companies expanding or relocating their operations in Michigan. Flint beat out competing sites in Ohio and Texas for the multi-million dollar project.

In addition, the company will receive a $14-million grant over 10 years for worker training through Career Alliance, Inc., a Michigan Works agency serving Genesee and Shiawassee counties.

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said this is a significant step toward substantial job creation in the city. “We are excited about the possibility of the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs in the City of Flint over the next five years in the rapidly growing life sciences and healthcare field,” said Mayor Walling. “The majority of these new jobs will be filled with residents from right here in our community who have been trained through Career Alliance. With this expansion of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy we are positioning ourselves as a regional leader in health technology and life sciences.”

“This is great news for the City Of Flint. All aspects of the healthcare industry are growing. I am hoping with the expansion of Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy into our city it serves as a springboard to attract similar business to our area with the same kind of job creation and economic development potential,” said Delrico Loyd, President, Flint City Council.

Diplomat will invest $12M over the next five years into the expansion. The company plans to purchase the 340,000 square foot building at the Great Lakes Technology Centre on south Saginaw Street and begin consolidating operations from its current headquarters on Elms Road in Flint Township. The transition is expected to begin in 90 days.

“The award to Diplomat means Michigan can further position itself as a life sciences leader, attracting new and complementary businesses that support the rejuvenation of the Flint business landscape and the appeal of Michigan as a hotbed of ingenuity and health care talent,” said Phil Hagerman, Diplomat’s president, CEO and co-founder. “We thank Governor Granholm, the MEGA board, the City of Flint and the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce for their support in assuring that Diplomat will remain a Michigan-based company.”

For more information about Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, including company history, executive team, project details, hiring plans and other information, visit http://projectpromise.diplomatpharmacy.com. Additional employment information will be available from Career Alliance (http://www.gsworks.org/).

Mayor Dayne Walling In NYC For Mayor's Institute On City Design Conference

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling is spending the week in New York City attending the Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD) conference. Mayor Walling is one of six mayors from across the country who has been invited to attend the session. The MICD is taking place April 14–16 in New York City and is the first in MICD’s 24-year history to be held in America’s largest city.

As an invited Mayor to the conference, Mayor Walling’s expenses to attend are covered by the MICD. “This is an excellent opportunity for me to connect with some of the best urban planners in the country. What I take away from this experience will be invaluable as we begin comprehensive master planning in the city of Flint,” said Mayor Walling.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is hosting Mayor Walling along with Mayor Carl Brewer, Wichita, KS; Mayor George K. Heartwell, Grand Rapids, MI; Mayor Lori C. Moseley, Miramar, FL; Mayor Joseph C. O’Brien, Worcester, MA; Mayor A. C. Wharton Jr., Memphis, TN; and Mayor Jay Williams, Youngstown, OH.

MICD has assembled an outstanding resource team to guide the mayors through the design process: Robert Freedman, MRAIC, AICP, LSUC, Director of Urban Design, Toronto, Canada; Gordon Gill, AIA, Partner, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, LLP, Chicago, IL; Toni L. Griffin, Urban Design and Planning for the American City, Newark, NJ; Walter J. Hood Jr., Principal, Hood Design, Oakland, CA; Michael P. Kelly, General Manager, New York City Housing Authority, New York, NY; Bonnie Nelson, Principal, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, San Francisco, CA; and Russell Perry, FAIA, LEED AP, VP and Managing Director, SmithGroup, Washington, DC.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors and the American Architectural Foundation. Since its inception in 1986, the Mayors' Institute has worked with more than 800 mayors, transforming communities across the country by preparing mayors to become the chief urban designers of their cities. Industrial waterfront conversion, transit-oriented development, public housing redesign, neighborhood sustainability, and civic space design are just a few of the topics addressed at recent meetings of the Mayors’ Institute.

Mayor Dayne Walling Begins Weekly Video Messaging

This week Flint Mayor Dayne Walling recorded his first weekly video message. His inaugural video message included a review of public safety issues, every other week trash collection, city golf courses and the upcoming budget.

The video message can be viewed on the city's website http://www.cityofflint.com/. Video messages are also uploaded to YouTube. Please click here to view the mayor's first video message.

Mayor Dayne Walling Discusses SAFER Grant On WNEM's "Ask The Mayor" Segment

Mayor Dayne Walling answered questions about the SAFER grant and the city's golf courses on his weekly Ask The Mayor segment on WNEM TV-5. Please click here to see the interview.

City of Flint Partners with Genesee County Land Bank on Trash and Weed Abatement Program

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling and Doug Weiland, Executive Director of the Genesee County Land Bank unveiled the details of the partnership during a press conference today.

Under the partnership the Land Bank will conduct weed and trash abatement activities throughout the City of Flint at no cost to the city. The City of Flint will provide, at no cost, the use of the pole building at the Oak Businesses Center for storage of equipment and as a central work site for the Land Bank to conduct weed and trash abatement.

Mayor Dayne Walling says the partnership will be a great help to the City of Flint during a time when resources are stretched and maintenance demands remain steady. “This is great for our community. This partnership with the Genesee County Land Bank is going to make our neighborhoods cleaner and more attractive this summer and it’s not going to impact our budget,” said Mayor Walling.

Funding for the weed and trash abatement program is provided through federal stimulus money. The program will run through October 29, 2010. Under the program the city of Flint has been divided into 21 service areas. Work crews will go through these service areas three times each during the length of the program. They will perform trash and weed abatement activities that include: trash and weed removal; vacant lot maintenance, including mowing; and boarding and securing homes citywide on a complaint basis.

“The real beneficiaries of this partnership with the City are the residents of Flint. While this is tough, dirty work, our crews are rewarded by the appreciation they see on the faces of the residents every day,” said Doug Weiland, Executive Director, Genesee County Land Bank.

Since its inception in 2002, the Genesee County Land Bank has taken the lead in applying the economic tools created under this new system by playing an active role in stabilizing neighborhoods and revitalizing the City of Flint and the surrounding areas.

The Land Bank encourages re-use of more than 4,000 residential, commercial and industrial properties that it has acquired through the tax foreclosure process. This is accomplished through partnerships with public, private and non-profit partners as well as with the proceeds from the tax foreclosure process, proceeds from GCLB sales and rental programs, grants, loans, and bonds.

The Land Bank has 10 programs: Planning and Outreach, Brownfield Redevelopment, Development, Adopt-a-Lot, Clean and Green, Demolition, Housing Renovation, Sales, Side Lot Transfer and Foreclosure Prevention.

For more information contact Dawn Jones, City of Flint Communications Director at (810) 237-2039 or dfjones@cityofflint.com or the
Genesee County Land Bank at (810) 257-3088.