Nov. 12–The new owners of Gabe’s Tower plan to spend as much as $6 million to renovate and reopen the iconic 13-story building as a refurbished hotel, Mayor Ron Payne announced Monday.

The city is working with the developers to find additional parking for the hotel and to waive landfill fees for the demolition debris that will come out of the long-closed circular edifice at 1929 Triplett St., according to Payne.

“It looks like we will be salvaging Gabe’s Tower,” Payne said. “There’s been talk of reopening the (hotel) restaurant. They need parking, and we’re assisting with that.”

Payne answered “yes” when asked if the developers had the wherewithal to spend millions of dollars renovating Gabe’s Tower.

“Yes, it could be $6 million,” he said.

When the City Commission meets at noon Tuesday for its regular work session, the city projects list will be presented as usual.

The list includes an item about Gabe’s Tower and plans by its new owners to ” … remodel (it) back to an operable hotel and consider parking alternatives.” It’s the first time the city has come out and actually said with any certainty what will happen to the building, although the possibility of reopening it as a hotel has been mentioned as an option.

Of late, city officials haven’t said much about the plans for Gabe’s Tower, but in September, Payne said the city was anticipating an “exciting announcement” as early as October regarding the abandoned hotel, which a Pennsylvania investment group purchased and said it intended to renovate.

Earlier, a city official said demolition work on the interior of the 13-story tower at 1929 Triplett St. was about to begin, with the possible goal of reopening the old round building as a hotel. Assistant City Manager Ed Ray said the new owners of the building have said they intend to remove drywall and other materials from the guest rooms and other spaces in order to see what they had.

The building was purchased in early May by a Levitttown, Pa., group for $185,000, according to a deed of transfer recorded at the Daviess County Courthouse.

In other news from the projects list, the city is considering departing from its earlier plans in order to build an indoor/outdoor tennis complex at Ben Hawes Park.

The city’s most recent proposal was to build an indoor tennis facility at the site of the former National Guard Armory on West Parrish Avenue.

At last report, the city and the Owensboro-Daviess County Tennis Association were to partner to build a $1.8 million, six-court, 48,000-square-foot indoor tennis facility near the site of the former Kentucky National Guard Armory in Moreland Park. The City Commission agreed in March to a proposal that included the city providing the land and $500,000 to make the project happen, while the tennis group would provide $500,000 in matching cash it has already raised and be responsible for paying off an $800,000 loan the city would secure to complete the project.

The indoor courts were expected to be ready for play by the fall of next year.

The possible switch to Ben Hawes Park is mentioned in the latest city projects list, which will be presented to the City Commission during Tuesday’s commission work session at noon at City Hall.

Amanda Rogers, manager of the Owensboro Parks and Recreation Department, confirmed that a change in plans for the tennis complex was being considered, as a way to save money.

“The situation with the property at Moreland Park (the armory site) is that an indoor facility has four fronts, basically, with all sides visible, and we’d have to dress it up, and that drives costs,” Rogers said.

Soil conditions at the Parrish Avenue site are also questionable, requiring expensive foundation pillars, Rogers said.

The plan for a Ben Hawes Park tennis complex would include a six-court indoor facility and 12 outdoor courts, Rogers said. Two or four renovated tennis courts would remain at Moreland Park, where a dozen now exist, she said.

Payne said he likes the idea of a tennis complex at Ben Hawes Park.

“It’s easy to get to off the (former U.S. 60) bypass, and I don’t think there will be a problem with the tennis community going out there,” Payne said. “I like the idea of utilizing Ben Hawes Park. It’s a beautiful setting. … There would be challenges squeezing something else in at Moreland Park.”

At the same time, however, moving the tennis complex to Ben Hawes Park opens the door to building a new senior citizen center on the former armory site, Payne said.

“It sure does,” he said.

Steve Vied, 691-7297, svied@messenger-inquirer.com