Contributing Writer
Albion City Council voted Monday to accept the $1 transfer of the fire-damaged building at 100 S. Superior Street, taking ownership of the long-vacant downtown property just one day before a deadline that would have cleared the way for demolition. City Manager Sheryl Theriot, in a letter to the Albion City Council and Calhoun County Land Bank Authority ahead of the vote, described the building as “the cornerstone of our historic downtown district which is undergoing a revitalization.”
Along with the transfer, the city assumed closing costs estimated at $1,700. Theriot noted that a Phase 2 Environmental Study would likely be needed at an estimated cost of $20,000, though Council Member Jim Stuart suggested during discussion that the study could be deferred and passed on to a future owner. Future stabilization and restoration costs remain undetermined…