by, WLEN News Staff
Published 2-12-18
Updated 2-12-18
125 and 127 W Maumee St. in downtown Adrian has been a hot topic of discussion the past few months. Several options for saving the building have been presented to the city, along with plans to demolish them. The most recent name thrown around has been PlaneWave Instruments. The California based telescope manufacturer and retailer has a facility in Deerfield, Michigan, and are looking to consolidate operations. After PlaneWave pitched their ideas to the city of Adrian, WLEN News reached out to their director of marketing, Ralph Emerson. Here is what he said regarding 125 and 127 W Maumee and some other buildings and property in the city:
“I would like to confirm that PlaneWave Instruments is currently in negotiations with the City of Adrian in regards to potentially purchasing property. If all goes well, we will relocate and expand our existing Michigan machining operation and relocate our California assembly and mirror polishing plant.
Our goal is to build a modern manufacturing facility that will help PlaneWave keep its competitive edge on the global stage. The scientific community has always been global and as a result approximately 50% of our sales are exports.
A key factor in our interest in Adrian is the quality of the local education system and the local college academic and arts communities. Educational institutions worldwide are major PlaneWave customers and partners. PlaneWave Instruments supports STEAM education goals and community education outreach.
PlaneWave is very appreciative of the support we have received from Adrian community leaders, as well as state and local government officials.”
The City of Adrian Brownfield Redevelopment Authority held a meeting on Feb. 8th to discuss 125 and 127 West Maumee, who are not move-in-ready. The Authority approved a motion to reimburse up to half of the costs to repair the roof at 125 and 127 and to “button up” the property.
The total repair costs are estimated at around $127,000. There is a proposed time restraint for PlaneWave Instruments to complete the roof and other projects.
The next step in this process is to get approval from the Adrian City Commission, who will be in a time crunch, as there is still a possibility that the buildings will be demolished. The Lenawee County Landbank had previously set February 23rd as the start of the demolition process if no offer was accepted.
The images in this news story are courtesy of Google Images and planewave.com. Tune into our newscasts day and night for this and many other local and state news stories.
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