South Adams Square retail shops are located in Birmingham, Michigan in the heart of the city's lively, pedestrian-friendly downtown - one of the midwest's premiere shopping districts. Built around the late 1950s, South Adams Square's age had caused the block retaining walls of the emergency egress to bow in and fail, with several damaged and missing blocks.

The location of these shops, in this energetic downtown area, meant that closure of the sidewalk to make repairs would inconvenience shoppers, diverge potential walk-ins, disrupt deliveries and cause a safety concern for pedestrians. For this reason, it was decided to complete the repairs on a very tight schedule to minimize the disturbance. Structural Preservation Systems (SPS) was retained to complete the repairs with a scope that included removing a top layer of asphalt and concrete and excavating approximately 35 cubic yards of earth to access the wall, making repairs as needed.

The owner had many concerns regarding the project construction. Top priority was safety of the pedestrians and shoppers because of the egress wall railings that would be removed, as well as the large hole that would be created from the excavation of the earth on the outside of the egress wall. Safety barriers and signs were put up, as well as an alternative route to the building entry. Crews also had to arrange their work site so that a drive lane was left open between the building and the parking area big enough for delivery trucks to get through to make their deliveries at the rear of the building.

SPS first prepared the site, taking the necessary safety measures, and then started the demolition and repair of the wall. Asphalt and concrete were removed to allow for the excavation of soils to access the wall. There were two separate walls: one 20 feet in length and the other 30 feet in length. The dirt was excavated and sloped back, and the top eight courses of block wall were demolished down to sound block and re-erected. Steel reinforcement was inserted into the block cavities, and the wall was then grouted. The excavation was filled with a flowable fill in lieu of the original backfill material. The concrete drive and curbs were then reconstructed to match the existing areas.

With the project finished on-time and on-budget, the owner was extremely pleased and impressed with the structural work, as well as the new finish, which tremendously improved the aesthetics of the building.