City officials, along with the Michigan Economic Development Corp., continue to work together to remove the final few hurdles to clear the way for the project to begin, Alpena Engineer Steve Shultz said.

The MEDC committed a nearly $1 million Community Development Block Grant to use toward the projected $1.2 million cost of the renovation of the plaza and a new restroom facility near it.

In order to receive the grant, the city agreed to pay a 10% percent cash match of $118,555. A $20,000 grant from the Alpena County Youth and Recreation Committee was added to the pot. A $100,000 donation was also made from the First Federal of Northern Michigan Legacy Foundation.

When completed, the new plaza, which will retain its name, will include a performance stage, a fire feature, and a rolling river with miniature waterfalls. It will also contain many trees and flowers and features concrete, rock, and brick out of respect for Alpena’s history.

Courtesy Photo Culligan Plaza planned renovations are seen in this illustration.

Shultz said barring any unexpected hiccups, demolition of the current plaza will begin in the spring.

Because Alpena received the state grant to help pay for the project, Shultz said there were many steps the city needed to take and several entities that needed to sign off on the logistics, environmental impacts, and design of the proposed park.

He said the city is close to hiring a grant administrator, which was a condition of the grant, and the plan has already been approved by the Michigan Historic Preservation Office.

The employees who work with the National Environmental Act need to review the plan and give their blessing too, Shultz said.

Once those steps are taken, the project should commence.

“Before we can really do anything, even put pencil to paper, pay for any design work, or do any demo work, it has to complete a certain process,” he said. “It all has to be approved through our MEDC representative. These aren’t major hurdles or anything we didn’t expect, and I don’t see it delaying the project.”

The work on the plaza is only phase one of the project, Shultz said. “He said the plaza construction phase should be complete later in the year, but the construction of the restrooms would likely not begin until spring of 2025.

He said at this point, no design changes are expected to the proposed design, but, he added, there might be small tweaks made during the construction process, but nothing that takes away from the features planned for the park.

Shultz said a renovation of the plaza is badly needed because there are unseen issues with the plumbing underneath the concrete and because it is not very accessible to people with disabilities. He said if the condition of the plaza is not addressed, its condition will continue to deteriorate and become worse.

“Nothing has really been done to it and we have just maintained it the best we can,” Shultz said. “We have a lot of leaks going on and in order to fix them we have to bust everything up. We feel it is time for the fountain to be updated and bring it up to today’s standards.”

Since the rebirth of the downtown, Culligan Plaza has seen its usage increase, as people often enjoy an ice cream, read, or enjoy the street performers who play music during the warm weather months. Shultz said the plaza is important to the downtown and it’s become a destination for people who shop, eat, or enjoy the events downtown hosts.

“It is the central point to the downtown and a place for people to meet and collect everyone,” he said. “You go there before shopping, after shopping, to eat lunch, or to enjoy entertainment. It is becoming a place that people gravitate to.”

Perhaps even more important than the redesign of the plaza, is the addition of the restrooms downtown.

The downtown area and locations near the harbor and Bay View Park have long needed restrooms. Besides the plan to construct the bathroom facility near the plaza, Alpena also received state funding to help pay for a new bathroom facility to be built near the Kiwanis Kiddie Park and the band shell at Bay View Park.

It is not uncommon for people visiting downtown to enter a store and ask to use a bathroom. Once the new facilities are complete, people will have easy, clean, and safe access to take care of their business.

The proposed project didn’t come together without a few hiccups.

In 2022, a preliminary design rendering was released that drew the ire of some residents and several local artists who disapproved of the layout, features, and lack of involvement of those outside of the city government. The city formed a committee and residents were included in the mix and the current design was created and released to the public in February. Much of the furor from the first design faded and support for the updated plan increased. Once the current design was revealed, the reception to it was much more positive and the Alpena Municipal Council voted to move forward with the project.

The Culligan Plaza property was purchased by Alpena in 1978 from the Richards family for $165,000. The Culligan Building, located on the site at the time of purchase, was demolished in 1979. The plaza was last revamped in the early 1980s with assistance from the Alpena Downtown Development Corp., which raised more than $25,000 for the renovation. The plaza was named Culligan Plaza in memory of Patrick Culligan.

Shultz said there is no plan to change the name of the park, but there will be subtle additions that recognize those who made the project a reality.