Business Owners Raise Concerns Over Fenton's Makeover

Downtown Fenton is set to see some major changes with the and a facade program to update local businesses.

However, not everyone is happy with the plan and the pace.

Fenton Downtown Development Authority member Chris Bayer, who co-owns , would like to see the DDA' facade upgrade program speed up or be eliminated, according to the Flint Journal.

"If it was successful, money would be expended, and buildings would be fixed and we'd be further along than what we are," Bayer said in Wednesday's article. "What we really need to do is accept the reality that it's not working and we need to modify it. Any amount of time that we take trying to fix what's already been undone, is a mistake."

Business owners have also raised concerns about the streetscape project.

owner Carol Schuler, , is worried that the construction work updating water and sewer lines, widening the sidewalks, and landscaping, will hurt her business.

She told that landscaping is fine, "but we are working here." She said businesses need to have trucks making deliveries. And landscaping trees and bushes will take away from the parking spaces near her store.

City officials, however, believe the project will benefit Fenton in the long run.

"I think the project will brighten up the area. Downtown hasn't been redone in a long time," said Fenton City Manager Lynn Markland in a NBC TV 25 article.

Work is scheduled to begin this year.

Plans are for the project to be substantially complete in 2013, with some landscaping and other items possibly occurring in 2014. The project will include approximately $2.75 million in roadway reconstruction, $942,000 in pavement rehabilitation and $838,000 in streetscape improvements. It will include LeRoy Street, from Elizabeth Street to Sixth Street, with some work along Shiawassee Avenue and Elizabeth Street (to the east).

Part of the project is bringing walkways up to Americans with Disabilities standards. The project will add eight parking spaces to the downtown