LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than one month has passed since a city inspector ordered an emergency demolition at a historic downtown Louisville church deemed "unsafe" and "unstable."
The owners, KY Medical Center Hotel LLC, applied in late March for a wrecking permit. But that request is on hold until Metro government receives their plan to stabilize the church's façade while the partial demolition occurs, Codes and Regulations spokeswoman Emily Martin said.
"They've gotten us all the other necessary documents," Martin said in an interview. "We're just waiting on that plan from them."
Those comments are among the first public statements that indicate the scope of the proposed demolition, which Martin said would aim to "preserve those historical elements."
A three-alarm fire damaged the former St. Paul's German Evangelical Church on East Broadway last October. A city-commissioned report found that most of the roof framing was burned, exposing the building to the elements.
A photo from a city-commissioned memo on the structural condition of St. Paul's German Evangelical Church (courtesy Metro government; Tetra Tech)
Engineers concluded that the framing behind the façade wasn't affected by the fire, although it could further deteriorate if left open.
The façade "appears to be relatively stable and feasible to save," the report said. Experts noted "major safety concerns" inside the building and recommended that the rear portion of the church be razed. They found no apparent fire damage to a bell tower.
But David Tandy, an attorney for the development team, said in an interview last week that "we will respond in a way, in a matter, that is consistent with the emergency order that was presented to us."
The property is the site of a proposed $80 million, 11-story development with hotel rooms and extended stay apartments for workers at nearby hospitals and medical offices. The plans, however, stalled after KY Medical Center Hotel LLC announced them in 2020.
The company compiled thousands of dollars in property maintenance fines, but Tandy said last month those penalties have been paid.
Historic preservationists have called for portions of the church to be saved, rather than a full demolition, and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has suggested a new owner is "probably" needed.
An example of Gothic Revival architecture, St. Paul's was built in 1906 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It has been listed as a local landmark since 1996.
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