By Maggie LaNoue , Contributing Writer
June 5, 2026
The sky that morning was as blue as the letters ALBION painted on the tank. It was the kind of day Michigan offers rarely — cloudless, warm without being hot, the air clean and still. Someone said later that the state gets perhaps fourteen such days in a year. This was one of them.
A gathering of several dozen people came and went throughout the morning at the East Industrial Park site behind Haas Trucking on East Michigan Avenue. City officials, engineers, state finance staff, a neighboring business owner, nearly all of city council — not a crowd, and some faces changed as the morning went on. But there was time. Time to stand in the sunshine and watch something remarkable happen slowly. Time to tell stories, ask questions, share a golf cart ride across the grass. To be with each other in a way that a council meeting or a ribbon cutting rarely allows.
None of them had seen anything quite like it before.
What they watched was the hoisting of the upper portion of Albion’s new 1-million-gallon water tower — a milestone years in the making and one that will not be repeated. The lift began around 10:30 a.m., was briefly delayed by an overheated generator, and was completed by 1 p.m., only half an hour behind the two-hour estimate. Crews from Caldwell Tanks of Louisville, Kentucky, one of the largest elevated water storage tank builders in the world, guided the massive steel bowl upward along the concrete shaft until it locked into place 128 feet above the ground.
When full, the tank will hold approximately 7.5 million pounds of water.
City Manager Dr. Sheryl Theriot, who had sent this reporter a set of fast facts at 6:07 that morning, was among those present. She offered this: “Seeing the water tower lifted into place feels symbolic of Albion’s positive momentum — we’re truly moving upward as a community. The new tower proudly features the City of Albion logo and offers a bright, welcoming landmark for everyone approaching our community. It’s an exciting sign of Albion’s journey — progress, momentum, and the brighter days ahead.”
Mayor Victoria Garcia Snyder called it “definitely progress for the community of Albion and for future development,” adding that she was happy to witness one of the major projects the city had been working toward for years finally come to fruition.
Nearly all of the city council was present, along with Doug Terry, who is currently working part-time for the City of Albion and served as interim city manager before Dr. Theriot’s return.
Engineers from Wightman of Allegan, staff from Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, and representatives from the Albion Economic Development Corporation rounded out the gathering. Steve Ferency of BrickStreet Marketing, based on South Superior Street in Albion, documented the event with a time lapse video that will be posted to the AEDC website.
By 1 p.m., the tank was seated. The crane stood quiet. People lingered a little longer, then headed back to their Thursday. It was a busy morning for the mayor on more than one front. Earlier that same morning, Mayor Snyder and City Clerk Jill Domingo had signed the electronic closing documents for 100 S. Superior Street, a fire-damaged building near City Hall that the city acquired from the Calhoun County Land Bank.
For those who stood on the grass that morning and watched it happen, it was a day none of them are likely to forget. The sky was perfect. The company was good. The stories came easily.
It was, by every measure, uplifting.
Part Two will examine the engineering, financing, and future development plans behind Albion’s $27 million Water System Improvements project, including the new East Industrial Park.
