Alger County garage will be demolished
Alger County garage will be demolished
By JOHN PEPIN, Journal Munising Bureau
MUNISING — With a bid being awarded for demolition of a former Alger County Road Commission garage in downtown Munising, the crumbling structure is set to be torn down early next month.
The demolition project, which is being funded by a $157,100 state brownfield redevelopment grant and $75,000 loan awarded to the city of Munising, will see local contractor Gerou Excavating raze the building, beginning July 5.
“They have 30 days to take it down, but we think they’ll be done before that,” said developer Dan Boucher of Munising.
Boucher and business venture partner Todd Beckwith plan to build a brew pub-type restaurant on the site of the old garage this fall. If possible, the pair hope construction could be finished by next spring.
“Right now, we’re in discussions with architects and we haven’t finalized anything yet,” Boucher said.
For months, Boucher, the city and the Alger County Road Commission worked through difficulties in selling the property and clearing contaminant clean-up issues associated with the Munising Avenue parcel, via the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Last November, a deal was reached whereby the road commission would sell the building to Boucher and give the $55,000 proceeds to the DEQ.
The road commission will also pay the DEQ an additional $40,000 over four years to remove a $315,742 lien the state agency has held against the property since December 2005.
The lien was placed to hold the road commission financially responsible for alleged pollution at the Tendercare Health Center Munising, located north of the garage.
The city is eager to see the property developed for the increased tax revenue and potential additional brownfield projects spun off of the garage demolition.
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