Capital Plaza Office Tower (Frankfort, Kentucky)

The Capital Plaza Office Tower (1972–2018), was a 338-foot tall, 28-story office skyscraper located at 500 Mero Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. It was the tallest building in Frankfort, Kentucky and the 11th tallest building in the state of Kentucky.[1][2][3]

Capital Plaza Office Tower
West Frankfort Connector Bridges under construction in 1988 (Capital Plaza Office Tower in the background to the left).
General information
TypeGovernmental Office
Architectural styleModernist
Address500 Mero Street
Town or cityFrankfort, Kentucky
Country United States
Coordinates38°12′12″N 84°52′37″W
Construction started1968
Completed1972
Opened1972
Closed2016
DemolishedMarch 11, 2018
OwnerCommonwealth of Kentucky
Height
Roof338 feet (103 m)
Technical details
Floor count28
Design and construction
Architect(s)Edward Durell Stone
Architecture firmEdward Durell Stone & Associates, Lee Potter Smith, Pritchett, Hugg & Carter
Structural engineerPraeger-Kavanaugh-Waterbury

History

Construction for the tower started in 1968 and was completed in 1972 as part of the Capital Plaza Project, which also included the Frankfort Convention Center and Fountain Place Shoppes. The building was designed by architect Edward Durrell Stone, who was also the architect for the Aon Center (Then known as Standard Oil Building) in Chicago, Illinois, and General Motors Building in Manhattan, New York City, New York.

The building mainly housed state government offices.

By the early 2000s, the Capital Plaza Complex had fallen into disrepair including the Capital Plaza Office Tower, with sections of the plaza being closed off to pedestrians due to safety. In August 2008, a Lexington-based architecture firm and city officials recommended the demolition of the Capital Plaza Office Tower and redevelopment of the site, after determining it would be more cost efficient to demolish the tower and put a new building in its place.[4]

Closure and demolition

In 2016, the building was abandoned and closed due to the poor structural condition of the building, the final tenants moved out by October 2016.[5][6] In July 2016, the building went up for sale. Falling concrete and water leaks from the building were reported in its later years, and after two years of debate as to whether to restore or tear down the building, the decision was ultimately made to demolish the tower.[7]

On March 11, 2018, at 1:30 PM, the Capital Plaza Office Tower was demolished via implosion with 1,500 pounds of explosives by main contractor Renascent, Inc. and subcontractor Controlled Demolition, Inc. to make room for a new 5-story office building, park, and 1,100-space parking garage.[8][9]

In 2019, the Mayo-Underwood Building, a new state build opened in the same location, named after the former Mayo–Underwood School.[10][11]

References
  1. "Capital Plaza Office Tower, Frankfort | 128347". Emporis. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
  2. "Capital Plaza Office Tower - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com.
  3. "Asbestos detectives: Preparing the Capital Plaza Tower for safe demolition". March 2018.
  4. "Two booms, a cloud of dust: Capital Plaza Tower is no more".
  5. "See this 330-foot tall Kentucky tower fall after implosion". Louisville Business First. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  6. "Capital Plaza Tower reduced to rubble after nearly 50-year reign as tallest building in Frankfort".
  7. "Tallest building in Frankfort, Ky. Comes crashing down". USA Today.
  8. "Tallest building in Frankfort, Capital Plaza Tower, to come down March 11, replaced by 5-story building | NKyTribune".
  9. "Implosion: Tallest building in Kentucky's capital demolished".
  10. "State office building named after historic Frankfort African American school". The State Journal. August 13, 2019. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
  11. "New state office building in downtown Frankfort officially named". ABC 36 News. 2019-08-13. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
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