Stockton Center gets permits

The Flint Historical District Commission Aug. 6 approved a restoration request from For Flint Investments for the structure at 720 Ann Arbor St. known as the Stockton Center at Spring Grove. The commission approved the addition of about 100 decorative exterior brackets on the first and second stories of the home to return it to its original design.

The house was built by Civil War Colonel Thomas Stockton in 1872 and is a prime example of Italianate architecture. Stockton called his home Spring Grove because of the perpetual spring located on the bluff behind the house.

The home remained a private residence until the Sisters of St. Joseph turned it into St. Joseph Hospital from 1921 to 1936.

In the following years it became a rescue mission, then a convalescent, nursing and elderly care home before becoming vacant and falling into disrepair.

The property was bought at a tax sale by For Flint Investments in 2002 and renamed The Stockton Center at Spring Grove. Freeman and Renee Greer restored the house now designated a Michigan historical site and eligible for national historical recognition.

Greer, an architect, said he invested in the property, "because of my love of history and my love of architecture. The first time I walked into the house, I could see its potential. I also had lots of local support to restore the property.

"But the determining factor was reading the historical account of Stockton, in Flint Journal columnist Kim Crawford's book, 16th Michigan Infantry, Greer said.

The center houses a museum and professional offices. The museum offers educational tours of the restored rooms decorated with period furnishings. A library containing local and Civil War history documents provides rare information.

Special events are held periodically.

This year the museum held a birthday party for people who were born in the hospital, a President Lincoln celebration commemorating Stockton's personal interview with the president that lead to his commission in the Civil War and private tours for local groups.

Restoration also included the three-story hospital extension to the structure. Visitors can tour the former hospital including an operating room, patient rooms and small chapel. The attic of the home housed the sisters who used a hand-powered elevator to transport patients and equipment in the structure.

The center has six tenants and is leasing professional office space that includes high-speed computer hookups, air conditioning and conference room facilities.

The Grand Traverse District Neighborhood Association meets monthly at the center.