After the discovery of numerous sinkholes and water erosion under the majority of Stoffer Plaza, the entire area has been the focus of a major excavation and infrastructure replacement project in recent months.
Now, the city is left to decide what will become of the space. At Tuesday’s meeting, council will discuss proposed options for the redesign of the area.
Though this project did not stem from the May 2023 proposal to revamp the plaza through a Community Development Block Grant, it turns out it may be getting the proposed upgrades after all.
Last September, while city employees were preparing for the Festival of the Forks celebration, a sinkhole was noticed near the Farmer’s Market area of Stoffer Plaza.
There are natural springs under the plaza and behind the Cram Medical Center along with an Artesian well that had been routed into a storm drain that empties into the Kalamazoo River across from Lloyd Park. Another Artesian well in Stoffer Plaza had been capped off by the city many years ago.
Upon the discovery of the sink holes last fall it was determined that the storm sewer had a break in it, causing the ground underneath the roadway to erode.
Throughout October and early November crews worked to find out how extensive the erosion was. Two excavating companies were hired to work together to complete the project before winter. As they continued, they found large voids in the ground throughout much of Stoffer Plaza.
A Nov. 14 post on the Albion MI Department of Public Services Facebook page gave the following update: “This has been a very long road dealing with the issues at the Plaza, the sinkholes, the voids under the cement at Stoffer Plaza, the broken storm sewer drainpipes, the collapsing manhole structures, collapsing catch basin drains, the large Artesian well located in the grass between the sinking alleyway and the medical office parking lot, and the Artesian well that was the fountain in the center of the Plaza.
Needless to say, we tore out pretty much everything and started over with all new, larger pipes, manholes structures, catch basin drains, added more drains, new curbs, re-routed both Artesian wells, and reconfigured the directions of the storm sewer pipelines. Stoffer Plaza is going to be coming out completely due to the numerous voids underneath it, and the majority of the area will be grass.”
According to an update submitted to the city by Public Works Deputy Director Jason Kern “We are making the entire area into a green space and a blank canvas for future projects.”
The project will be presented to council at Tuesday’s meeting, describing what is left to do, what problems they anticipate, such as the possibility of another Artesian well on the northwest side leaking slowly into an abandoned storm sewer pipe, and the general discussion of what is to become of the space once the emergency work is completed.
The Albion City Council is meeting Tuesday next week instead of Monday due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The meeting will be held at 7 pm in council chambers at Albion City Hall, 112 W Cass St., Albion.
