Culligan Plaza Re-Design Unveiled

At Monday night’s Alpena City Council meeting, one of the most important parts of the agenda was the proposed re–design of Culligan Plaza.

With the new design, in place of a fountain is a stage feature, for small venues and artist displays. There is a controlled flowing river that runs alongside 2nd Avenue and is meant to be similar to the Thunder Bay River. There will also be areas for people to sit down and relax in the plaza and enjoy the area. A new feature in the plaza is a fire area where people can sit and enjoy a warm fire in the winter and even in the summer time.

“Having the opportunity to gather around the warmth and ambiance of the fire element really provides a high value to the space, certainly from what was there previously,” said landscape designer Aaron Senchuk of Drost Landscape.

A new element that they wanted to focus on was the nightlife element, and having the center hub of Alpena be better lit.

“It’s the heart of the downtown, you know?” said Senchuk. “When you look at city centers, they’re active, they’re vibrant places, and Culligan Plaza as our city center is neither of those currently.”

The proposed re–design was unanimously approved by the council, and they look forward to it getting started.