Village Car Wash & Laundry Rebuilding After Dexter Tornado

After months of repairs left in the wake of an , owners of the Village Car Wash & Laundry on Second Street announced that the business will reopen this fall.

Cheryl and Pete Caffrey, who co-own the company, said the buildings were demolished last week in order to begin construction of a new facility.

Cheryl Caffrey told Ann Arbor.com that the owners are nearly finished with the insurance process, and are taking construction bids while waiting for plan approval from the county. They hope to break ground on two new buildings in August and open in late fall. Both the car wash and laundry were destroyed by the tornado.

"I'm looking forward to being able to wash my laundry in town again instead of driving to my brother's house in Grass Lake every two weeks," Daniel Ellis of Scio Township said.

According to Ann Arbor.com, the new laundromat will be expanded slightly to comply with the American with Disabilities Act. The bathroom will be made larger and the laundry machines will be located along the walls instead of the center of the room for better handicap access. All of the other features will remain the same, including the square footage of both buildings. The car wash will return to five self-service bays. The buildings will be made of cement block with updated colors.

"We had a person stop by yesterday to see how things are going. It’s nice to know people in the community want to get it up and running as soon as we can," Caffrey said.