County to Demolish Abandoned School in Albion

Three days after an Albion teen was raped at an abandoned school building, Calhoun County has made plans to tear it down.

The Albion Department of Public Safety says that around 1:20am Monday, July 10, a 17-year-old girl told police that she had been in the 600 block of Dalrymple St, when she was grabbed from behind.   The girl said that she was dragged behind the former Dalrymple School, and sexually assaulted.  Police are looking for a black man in a grey hooded sweatshirt.

Albion Department of Public Safety Chief Scott Kipp told WBCK Thursday that no further details have been released and that no arrests have been made as the investigation continues.

Also today, Calhoun County Treasurer Brian Wensauer announced demolition of the former Dalrymple School building in Albion will begin the week of July 17.

“The former Dalrymple School has been vacant since 1982, and has been an eyesore in our community for too long,  This demolition will remove an unsafe and blighted building, and allow the site to be re-imagined in the future.”

The school was built more than 100 years ago and named for a long time school board member, Charles Dalrymple.   The school was boarded up in 1982, and the Calhoun County Treasurer’s Office foreclosed and took possession of the property on April 1, 2016.  A press release from the treasurer’s office says that they have been working in concert with the Calhoun County Land Bank Authority to conduct environmental testing and finalize plans for demolition. The demolition process will be led by HOMRICH, a demolition and environmental contractor headquartered in Carleton, Michigan.  HOMRICH will use a wet demolition process to contain any dust or small debris. Demolition will take three to four weeks to complete.

“We are proud to assist the treasurer with this demolition and to address this long-standing problem,” said Krista Trout-Edwards, executive director of the Calhoun County Land Bank. “We recommend residents keep their windows closed, reduce time outside during active demolition and stay off the property.”

The project is funded in part by a $125,000 grant from the Cronin Foundation, a Marshall based foundation that provides funding support for projects within the Marshall School District.