J. Michael looks to relocate temporarily after water main break
J. Michael Shoes may temporarily relocate to a new location in the University Hill area to sell and receive shipments after a water main break Friday shut down the store and temporarily closed Marshall Street.
‘It’s just so strange,’ said Jim Hicks, manager of J. Michael, about not being in the space the retailer has occupied for 28 years.
Students have tried to get into the store and walk around barricades thinking it is open, Hicks said. Hicks hopes to find a space in the area within the next two weeks, but there is not much space available, he said. The Marshall Street location will be closed for construction for two to three months, Hicks said.
Hicks and others have been in the store for the past few days, going through inventory and packing up the store. The stock, such as Longchamp bags and North Face jackets, was kept in the basement, and items would have individually retailed for about $100. Hicks would not disclose the cost of how much was lost but said it was ‘a lot.’ The carpet was also ruined.
‘There’s not a shoe box you could have picked up,’ Hicks said, describing how the basement filled with water and mud.
It is still unknown what exactly happened, Hicks said. He said he believes a pipe broke, although it is unclear where in the sprinkler system it could have occurred.
Archie Potamianos, the landlord of the building in which J. Michael is located, hired John P. Stopen Engineering Partnership, a structural and geotechnical engineering company, to make repairs. Engineers have been working in the basement since the weekend, Hicks said. The foundation was reinforced Saturday and Sunday.
The basement will be completely updated, said Potamianos, who also uses the basement as the office for his businesses Potamianos Properties and the Student Storage Company. Once the debris is removed, engineers will make sure there is no additional structural damage. With the exception of steel posts that support the building, everything will be removed from the basement, including the electrical service, the sheetrock and the ceiling, he said.
Once the basement is cleaned out, sanitized and dried out, structural repairs will begin, he said. Repairs include fixing the foundation, which collapsed due to the flooding, and replacing the electrical service with a new one.
Potamianos said he hopes the building will reopen within 50 days. He said he believes J. Michael will be opening a temporary store on the main floor of Marshall Square Mall in the meantime.
‘I don’t really feel like relocating my business,’ Potamianos said. ‘I’m going to suffer for the next few weeks.’
Published on January 25, 2011 at 12:00 pm
