Over the summer of 2017, a lot happened around the city of Albion. Centered around the new Courtyard Marriott Hotel and the reconstruction of Superior Street, Albion is continuing to rebuild and rejuvenate with new amenities all around the city.
Courtyard Marriott Hotel
The new hotel being built along South Superior Street is several months ahead of schedule and is expected to open by the start of the spring semester. According to Andrew French, director of community action and special assistant to President Mauri Ditzler, the hotel will be posting available jobs in November and training staff in December. It will include a bistro dining experience with an American food menu, a small bar and a conference room that can hold about 100 people. The conference room can also be divided to form a boardroom and a larger meeting room.
Out of Saginaw, Shaheen Development is leading the project. Dr. Samuel Shaheen (‘88) is the president of Shaheen Development and an Albion College trustee. The $10 million project will feature amenities such as extended-stay suites; a pool and fitness area; patios; a courtyard seating area and a fire pit.
New Brick Road on Superior Street
Greg Finnila, assistant construction engineer for MDOT, said the new brick road on Superior Street is a few weeks behind for a few different reasons. The removal and installation of new water and storm sewers took longer than anticipated and there’s a lot of unmapped mains and pipes.
French said the bricks are going in well, but the rain in recent weeks has slowed progress.
In the next week, French is hopeful that the Cass Street intersection to be complete and open. The city will need to close Erie Street so they can connect water and storm sewers. Upon completion of that, they will be putting in base layers, concrete and brick. The project is to be completed by November as long as the weather cooperates.
According to MLive, Finnila said water mains had broken in five different places due to outdated and miscalculated blueprints that map the pipes below Superior Street.
Microbrewery
Albion’s first microbrewery, Albion Malleable Brewing Company, will be located at 420 South Superior Street right across from Homestead Savings Bank. French said the business has finalized their financing and work has begun on the building. There’s hope that the brewery will be open in the spring.
The microbrewery will start off as a small kitchen selling the beers it brews, but they’re hoping to get a wine license to make ciders in the future.
Stirling Books and Brew
After a complete renovation to what used to be Books and More, Stirling Books and Brew is now open in downtown Albion. Co-owner Jim Stuart says the shop has a European-type feel and is open until 10 p.m. every night with live music and events.
The Stuarts want to stress diversity with their newly renovated bookstore. They hope to see college kids and retired residents of Albion mingling and getting different people involved.
Photo by Steve Marowski
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