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Demolition of Capital Plaza Complex will go on, but Plaza Hotel will avoid the wrecking ball


By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today

FRANKFORT — Demolition of the crumbling Capital Plaza Complex will go on as planned, but the Capital Plaza Hotel will not have a date with the wrecking ball.

Finance Secretary William M. Landrum III appeared before the General Assembly’s Interim Joint State Government Committee on Wednesday to update lawmakers on the Capital Plaza Redevelopment project that was announced in May.

It includes demolition of the 28-story, 338-foot tall Capital Plaza Tower, the adjacent Fountain Place Shoppes and the Frankfort Civic Center. He said there is $194 million in deferred maintenance in Franklin County alone and the complex makes up a big part of it.

“I’ve walked the Capital Plaza, as many of us have, and it’s sad,” Landrum said. “From a state perspective, I was embarrassed. We have a state-owned crumbling infrastructure with multiple safety and building code violations.”

Franklin County Judge-Executive Huston Wells, left, and Frankfort Mayor William May spoke at Wednesday’s meeting over the Capital Plaza Complex project. (Kentucky Today/Tom Latek)

Landrum testified there have been no upgrades to the Frankfort Civic Center since it was built in 1971 and understands the community’s attachment to the facility.

“What concerns me the most is safety,” he said. “There is no sprinkler system; the seating, the restrooms, the elevators are not up to code and violate the Americans With Disabilities Act. It technically places anyone who enters it at risk.”

He said it would cost $22 million just to bring it up to code, plus another $12 million to have it meet today’s needs and market requirements, including adding meeting rooms.

Landrum addressed rumors around Frankfort that the Capital Plaza Hotel would also be torn down.

“When it comes to upgrades to the hotel, I want the owners completely involved and will refurbish the back side of the building,” he said. “I have also made it so that there will be no lost time for the hotel” during the project. “We will make the hotel whole.”

Frankfort Mayor William May and Franklin County Judge-Executive Huston Wells also appeared before the committee to discuss a possible successor to the Civic Center.

“Right now, we’re looking at coming up with a design committee engagement process for a multi-purpose redevelopment strategy from downtown Frankfort to the Kentucky River,” May said. “We want to have a consultant come in, since we don’t have the internal expertise, to look at what the community will support. If we have a multi-use facility, how big does it need to be, and if it will be a sports or convention center.”

“This is a tough time for all of us,” Wells said. “This is something new. Change is hard, as all of you know. We’re proud that Secretary Landrum has thought of our community the way he has.

“Getting input from the residents is our first priority. We want to find out if the community will support another civic center. Everything is up in the air right now.”

The two local leaders said they hope to have their findings to the Finance Cabinet by the end of the year.

The centerpiece of the redevelopment is a design-build-financed new five-story, 385,500 square foot state office building on eight acres where the Capital Plaza Complex currently sits, housing 1,500 state employees and consolidating offices spread throughout the Frankfort area.

“This will create payroll growth to the city of approximately $7.8 million and double the number of employees as the Tower which only held about 755,” Landrum said.

The timetable calls for developers to submit bids by Aug. 25 with a contract to be awarded on Nov. 8. Demolition would begin in December with the completion in March 2020.

Tom Latek can be reached at tom.latek@kentuckytoday.com


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