By Harold C. Ford
Over the course of two recent meetings, the Flint Board of Education (FBOE), unanimously adopted a design and timeline toward reopening the long-abandoned and deteriorating Central-Whittier campus at 601 Court St. by the fall of 2028.
The votes happened across the Board’s November 12 and December 3, 2025 meetings, before the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation subsequently announced its support for the project on Dec. 4 with $5.3 million donation to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint “to support planning and development for a new Flint Community Schools [FCS] high school.”
The Foundation had previously granted $750,000 to FCS “to support community engagement and the first phase of design work,” according to the same press release.
As East Village Magazine (EVM) reported earlier this month, the cost of building the renovated campus is likely to be north of $134 million. Though a comprehensive budget has not yet been made public, it’s clear that the Flint-based Mott Foundation will be a major contributor to the development.
“We’re excited that FCS has crafted a vision for how to bring the former Flint Central campus back to life,” announced Ridgway White, CEO, on the Foundation’s website.
At a special meeting on Dec. 3, board members were effusive and virtually unanimous with their praise for the foundation’s support.
“Mr. Parker, thank you sir,” said FBOE Trustee Melody Relerford to Thomas Parker, Mott Foundation Executive in Residence, who was in the audience. “I support you.”
Parker has been a frequent visitor at FBOE meetings since joining the Mott Foundation in 2021.
“Look at how far we have come,” said a beaming Laura MacIntyre, FBOE Vice President . “I am really encouraged … We are doing remarkable.”
“Tower” in, “Cube” out
A schematic design of the proposed new campus “maintains a signature historical element” according to a presentation shared on Dec. 3 – the so-called “tower” of the current Central High building.
The design is a departure from an earlier-offered rendering in September, which included a “cube” structure, similar to that now seen at the Brownell-Holmes campus in northwest Flint. While that cube design was one of four possibilities presented to the FBOE for a vote on Dec. 3, it did not get the board’s approval.
The approved Central-Whittier design will also include the construction of new athletic fields.
While the design vote was ultimately unanimous, some discontent was evident in its aftermath.
When EVM followed up on a social media post in which FBOE Treasurer Dylan Luna wrote he’d “strongly advocated for greater
historic preservation and more robust public engagement,” Luna said there had been another design scenario that would’ve preserved more of the current Central structure on the table.
“There was a bit more preservation [in the other design],” which he said the community had asked for in public comments and recent feedback sessions. He said the other design included the tower, too, but also more of Central’s current façade.
“Ultimately though, this one had the consensus,” Luna said of the chosen design. “At that moment, when I realized I didn’t have the votes, I thought it was important to move forward, because this is a good thing for the kids, the community, and the entire City of Flint.”
Construction manager
The FBOE also approved a construction manager-agency (CM-A) method for delivering the Central-Whittier rebuild project.
According to Nicole Blocker, a partner with Plante Moran Realpoint (PMR) who frequently advises the district about real estate matters, the CM-A approach is “commonly used in K-12 districts.” She added that the CM-A construction delivery method is recommended by the school district’s legal counsel, Thrun Law Firm P.C.
Blocker told the FBOE the construction manager’s duties will include hiring, coordinating, and supervising subcontractors “that build on site.” The CM-A also assists with the design phase including constructability reviews, scheduling and cost estimates … “staying on track with scope, schedule and budget.”
Blocker said that methodology, inherent in the CM-A approach, was also utilized during construction of The Cube at the Brownell-Holmes campus this past year. She also said the law does not require that the selection and retention of a CM-A be publicly bid out, as the work of a CM-A is deemed a “professional service.”
A rendering of the proposed redesign of Flint Central High School. The Flint Board of Ed voted on the design, which preserves Central High’s tower along with a couple of other historical elements of the current structure, during a December 3, 2025 special meeting. (Rendering courtesy Flint Central Schools) 
An aerial view looking north of the proposed redesign of Flint Central High School. The Flint Board of Ed voted on the design, which preserves the current building’s tower, during a December 3, 2025 special meeting. (Rendering courtesy Flint Central Schools) 
A rendering of the proposed redesign of Flint Central High School’s north entrance. The Flint Board of Ed voted on the design, which salvages the current building’s front entrance, during a December 3, 2025 special meeting. (Rendering courtesy Flint Central Schools) 
A rendering of the proposed north entrance design of Flint Central High School. The Flint Board of Ed. voted to approve the design on December 3, 2025. (Rendering courtesy Flint Community Schools) 
A south-facing aerial rendering of the proposed redesign of Flint Central High School. The Flint Board of Ed voted on the design, which preserves the current building’s tower, during a December 3, 2025 special meeting. (Rendering courtesy Flint Central Schools) A rendering of the proposed redesign of Flint Central High School. The Flint Board of Ed voted on the design, which preserves Central High’s tower along with a couple of other historical elements of the current structure, during a December 3, 2025 special meeting. (Rendering courtesy Flint Central Schools)
CM-A hire timeline
Scott Smith, PMR senior vice president, announced the timeline for hiring a CM-A for the Central renovation project at the Board’s Nov. 12 meeting. Several steps in the project’s timeline have already been completed.
From Nov. 13 through Dec. 1 a request for proposal (RFP) was issued by FCS describing the scope, schedule, budget, and any constraints of the project; a pre-bid meeting was held with interested bidders (candidates); proposals were submitted followed by a criteria-based review of proposals to shorten the list of bidders; and interviews of CM-A candidates began Dec. 4.
By today, Dec. 15 a recommendation letter is due from PMR “with hopes of having a construction manager on board by the end of the calendar year [2025],” Smith said. At its upcoming Dec. 17 meeting, the FBOE will consider the finalist recommended for the CM-A position.
“The construction manager is obviously a really big component of this process,” added Smith.
Early on, the FBOE is to receive an initial contract that includes details of pre-construction services: fencing to secure the site; temporary toilets, roads, and construction office; related staffing; and fee percentages as applied to the cost of the work.
Amendments to the plan are possible after the demolition-abatement phase and after the construction phase begins in 2026.
More open or more private?
With the process for selection of a construction manager settled, it remained for the seven FBOE members to determine if the hiring of all remaining contractors and subcontractors would be undertaken with “open bids” or in a “more private” manner.
FCS Superintendent Kevelin Jones explained the two choices to secure those who would do the bulk of the work in transforming the Central-Whittier campus. The first was “open bids” available to anyone in the public, a more time-consuming and more transparent process. The second option would utilize RFPs, a “more private” process that would include input from the CM-A.
“We can do it either way,” said Jones.
“I’m not comfortable with someone else having that process decision,” said Trustee Relerford, moving to adopt the “open bids” approach.
“I think that’s what the public wants,” added MacIntyre. “It’s good democracy.”
The board then voted unanimously, 7-0, to adopt the “open bids” process for hiring contractors and subcontractors for the Central-Whittier rebuild project.
“Long time coming”
The upgraded campus is projected to open to students in the fall of 2028, according to early design scenario documents obtained by EVM.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Terae King, the board’s assistant secretary-treasurer.
The campus was shuttered by the district in 2009. Since its closure, there have been many starts and subsequent stops for reimagining and reoccupying the campus as reported by this magazine.
In March 2017, for example, then-FCS Superintendent Bilal Tawaab told EVM that 2020 was the target date for the opening of a new, consolidated high school at the Flint Central High School campus.
This magazine, as it has done in the past, will report on developments as they arise.
The next FBOE meeting is scheduled for Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. According to current scheduling, the meeting will take place at “The Cube” on the district’s Brownell-Holmes campus.
Editor’s Note: Kate Stockrahm contributed to this reporting. This article originally ran in East Village Magazine’s December 2025 print edition but has been updated here to include additional proposed design renderings.
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