An approximate 13,000-square-foot sandstone brick laundry and dry cleaning business opened along Portage Ave in 1901 to service the growing shipping industry.
It stands just as tall today as the MAC Building, thanks to Carol L. McClellan of McClellan Realty LLC.
Soon, it will be back up and running to serve modern clientele in a whole new light.
“My husband, Gary (Mac) McClellan, who passed away six years ago, had a dream to restore and revitalize this building ever since we bought it in 1985,” McClellan said. “Over the past 35 years, we maintained it as much as we could to keep it from falling down and still look presentable in the ‘Locks District.’”
Following Mac’s death, McClellan restored the building’s exterior, clerestory roof, architectural cornices, corbeils, and windows.
Not too much work was done to the interior at that time, but she was able to reinstitute the “structural integrity” of its second level. There is still much to be done.
“I want to make his dream a reality by maintaining the historic significance and revitalizing it using existing antique elements and facades, while adapting it to an active mixed use residential/commercial downtown business,” McClellan said.
Married to a living idea, McClellan envisions multiple businesses throughout the first floor and nine apartments on the second floor.
“The Portage business district has wide sidewalks, places to buy food, to work, to shop, to visit with friends and family members, and to enjoy recreational spaces, like our beautiful historic Locks Park built in 1880,” said McClellan. “This project seems to touch all of the bullet points of the master plan with historic revitalization, while maintaining market rate revenues upon completion.”
But it has already taken more work than originally thought, accompanied by soaring construction costs. Fortunately, McClellan has had some help carrying out her late husband’s dreams.
“Former Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Tony Bosbous is my best friend,” she said.
Son-in-law John Medrick functions as the “boots on ground for the MAC Building.”
McClellan said good friend Randy Pingatore has also served her well in this endeavour. She listed several more names, grateful to the community that has stood behind her city preservation efforts.
McClellan was awarded the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in 2019 to stabilize the building and replace its roof.
When the time came for “phase two,” Clark Construction was brought in to evaluate the structure. The crew discovered dangerous chemicals in the building’s surrounding foundation. Inside, they unveiled lead and asbestos.
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) immediately mandated the mitigation of toxins. McMclellan brought in the Sidock Group to conduct surveying.
“All the vapors and chemicals permeated the floor and ground under the building and around it,” said McMclellan. “It has been a huge project, costing well over $1 million.”
An agreement between the city of Sault Ste. Marie and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority allowed for a grant application of $850,000 to be sent to EGLE.
Due to rising prices, a $150,000 amendment to EGLE was later filed to cover the financial gap. Toxic elimination began in the summer of 2021.
“In July, the toxic mitigation system will be complete and fresh cement poured,” said McClellan, who remembers the building from childhood. “I am from Sault Ste. Marie and have always had a lot of pride in it. I like things to be maintained and well kept. I was really anxious to make his dream come true. My husband was a great, great guy.”
The cost of turning Mac’s dream into reality is expected to reach around $3 million.
“There is no plumbing, gas, nothing,” McClellan said. “We are starting from scratch.”
But every last penny is worth it to McClellan, whose hometown is important to her and the nation.
According to Michigan.org, 100% of iron ore passes through the locks annually at an average of 80 million tons. Its value is estimated to be around $500.4 billion per year.
“The Soo Locks are important in commerce history, and I am very proud of that. We shouldn’t be tearing down buildings,” said McClellan.
Like Mac and the structure carrying his name into the foreseeable future, McClellan works to maintain the tradition of Portage Ave commerce and downtown living. In her mind’s eye, nine living spaces will combine historic traditional art with more modern day appeals.
“I want to be able to recycle some of the historic monuments and reuse them,” she said. “The original floorboards will be used as decorative elements. There will be a historic hall in the front lobby. I am going to have antique elements in it.”
Antique features will include the weight scale used in the laundry building, along with some historic pictures.
"We feel confident that redevelopment through grants and loans it will cash balance, pay for itself and create a future for the MAC building and the Sault Ste. Marie “Locks District.'”
If anyone has pictures of Crisp Laundry from 1902 to 1975 or Cadillac Overall Supply from 1975 to 1985, please email Carol McClellan at [email protected].
The MAC Building is located on 411 W Portage Ave Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783.
