EPA begins long-awaited demolition of contaminated sites in Charlevoix

Yahoo

10-07-2025

CHARLEVOIX — After decades of testing, cleanup attempts and unanswered questions — including the drastic step of relocating the city's entire water supply — the long-anticipated demolition of several contaminated buildings in Charlevoix is finally underway.
The work marks the most visible phase yet in a slow-moving federal response to widespread industrial pollution that has impacted homes, businesses and city infrastructure in Charlevoix for more than 40 years.
The properties slated for demolition include 207 W. Garfield Ave., 230 Antrim St., and 207 and 208 W. Lincoln St. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asbestos abatement and demolition are scheduled throughout July, following the June teardown of 207 W. Garfield. Excavation is expected to begin in August at multiple locations, including 205 and 209 Garfield and 208 Lincoln, with work at 230 Antrim planned for September. Full site restoration is expected to continue through October.
The contamination at these sites stems from former dry cleaning and manufacturing operations dating back to the 1930s. Historical records show Art's Dry Cleaners operated at 230 Antrim from 1934 to 1979, while 207 W. Garfield was home to Michigan Cleaners from 1948 to 1952, followed by Hooker's Cleaners from 1954 to 1969.
Cleanup at the former Hooker's Cleaners site near Bridge Street was completed earlier this year, with excavation in May and restoration finalized in June.
More: Toxic land: one family's story
The effort to address Charlevoix's underground contamination has been a long, winding process marked by shifting strategies and technical hurdles.
The first alarm sounded in 1981, when the Michigan Department of Public Health notified Charlevoix officials that volatile organic compounds had been detected in the city's water supply. By 1984, the city received approval to abandon its groundwater wells and switch to a new Lake Michigan intake system, which was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Over time, the EPA identified multiple sources of contamination beneath Charlevoix, including dry cleaning solvents from sites like Art's and Hooker's Cleaners and trichloroethylene (TCE) from a tool and die shop on Lincoln Avenue.
More: Some answers from the EPA
The city was added to the EPA's National Priorities List, and in 2011, the agency officially acknowledged that its initial strategy — relying on natural attenuation to clean the groundwater — had failed. Beginning in the early 1990s, federal and state agencies had already introduced more aggressive remediation methods, including air sparging, which converts pollutants into vapor, and soil vapor extraction, which pulls and treats those vapors from the soil. While these technologies reduced some contamination, pollutant levels remained higher than expected.
In 2013, EPA testing confirmed that toxic vapors were migrating through the soil and seeping into buildings — a phenomenon known as vapor intrusion. By 2014, the agency had installed sub-slab depressurization systems at 17 properties to vent harmful gases.
A deeper investigation in 2016 revealed that the remaining contamination couldn't be resolved without excavating the affected soil beneath buildings. That finding ultimately led to this year's demolition of structures at several key locations.
More: Work planned to remove contaminants from Charlevoix soil, groundwater
Resident Barbara Godwin-Chulick raised her two children in the former dry-cleaning building at 230 Antrim St.
'I feel like I am at the mercy of the EPA,' she told the Charlevoix Courier in a 2021 interview, after the agency installed vacuum-like systems that vent chemical vapors through pipes running along the outside of her home. 'They drilled down under my basement.'
Godwin-Chulick purchased the property in 1980 with plans to open a pottery studio and start a family, unaware it had once housed a dry-cleaning operation that left toxic chemicals behind. A year later, the local health department notified her of the contamination. Despite the risks, she and her husband stayed and raised their children in the home.
More: Plan for Charlevoix's pollution clean-up
As of 2021, city officials estimated that 16 properties in Charlevoix had been equipped with similar mitigation systems, including the former Northwest Academy — then the Charlevoix Montessori Academy — on Hurlbut Street.
Still, the problems beneath the surface persisted.
In 2021, the Courier reported that the site at 207 W. Garfield Ave. had been flagged by the EPA as one of the city's most hazardous. Perchloroethylene (PCE) and TCE levels were so elevated that no future development would be permitted there without full HAZMAT protection during excavation.
Scott Kelly, director of BASES, formerly operated the city's teen center from a building at 208 W. Lincoln St. That property — along with the adjacent 207 W. Lincoln — was one of the handful acquired by the federal government for demolition cleanup.
Kelly said the building at 208 Lincoln had a long community history.
'It was built in 1946. Originally Max Power's Dairy, and I think it was the dairy for quite a while. Hoskins Manufacturing was in there in the '70s. Then Club 77 came in in the early '90s,' Kelly said.
Though environmental concerns at the site had long been acknowledged, demolition wasn't initially on the table.
'They tried all kinds of things with underground piping and pushing air into it and pulling air out, and all kinds of other remediations over the years,' Kelly said. 'We became aware that they were probably likely going to demolish the buildings or around the buildings — first heard of that seven years ago.'
Ultimately, Kelly said, the EPA determined that the only way to eliminate the risk was to dig out the source.
'Oh, just pulling everything out and replacing it — yeah, or replacing the dirt. I think that's probably the last-ditch resort,' he said. 'They seem to have exhausted (the other options).'
More: EPA and Army Corps to start soil and groundwater clean-up July 29 in Charlevoix
Kelly added that the sale price was fair.
'They gave (us) the price for the land that you felt like — if the contamination situation wasn't happening — correctly.'
Although Kelly and his BASES team didn't observe any direct health impacts during their years in the building, they did their research.
'We looked up a lot Like, 'Wait a minute, we've been in here for a long time,'' he said. 'But it was all focused on the water and the soil, right? So, you know, as long as nobody was eating dirt…'
Demolition on Lincoln Street and the former dry cleaners location at 230 Antrim will follow later this year. According to the EPA, all contaminated material will be excavated and transported to a licensed hazardous waste facility. Air monitors have been installed on site to ensure safety for nearby residents.
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The public is asked to steer clear of all active construction zones, which will be marked with fencing, signage and traffic controls. These closures are in place to ensure safety while contaminated materials are hauled from the sites, according to the U.S. Army Corps.
The cleanup is being carried out by Plexus-Avuda Joint Venture, LLC, under a contract funded through an EPA Superfund award.
As part of the work, Grant Street will be closed between Newman Street and West Antrim Street when needed from July through September while crews are active at 230 W. Antrim.
Construction will take place on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with breaks on federal holidays and during the Venetian and Apple festivals.
— Contact reporter Annie Doyle at 231-675-0099 and [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Environmental Protection Agency begins long-awaited demolition of contaminated sites in Charlevoix