Bringing Down the Tower

State government has received a formal recommendation to do something that's far-sighted, fiscally smart, environmentally sound, and good for both state employees and the Frankfort community.

That pretty much guarantees it's never going to happen.

But let's take a look, if only to have one more thing at which we can look back in 20 years and say, "if only Beshear had ...."

The 26-story Capital Plaza Office tower that dominates the skyline of Kentucky's capital city might come down.

A Lexington architectural firm is recommending demolition of the office tower and construction of a new five-story building nearby.

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Frankfort Mayor William I. May Jr. said he thinks the plan would be ”a definite improvement“ for downtown Frankfort and will open up future development for the area.

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To renovate the existing facilities would cost $134.7 million. The price tag would be $156 million to demolish the office tower with its garage and plaza, build a new 270,000-square-foot building, demolish Fountain Shops and construct a new ”green“ plaza with a building site and add 520 parking spaces to a garage and 140 spaces to the YMCA garage addition and renovation.

The extra cost would provide a life cycle of 50 years for the complex, Sherman said. To do nothing, he added, would cost the state millions of dollars in upkeep for the deteriorating facilities.

Jim Abbott, facilities and services commissioner for the state Finance and Administration Cabinet, said the state will seek public comment on the report and submit a funding request to Kentucky's 2010 General Assembly.

Set aside for the moment that unless Goveror Beshear proposes and forces the legislature to pass comprehensive tax reform including a large increase in the cigarette tax, the state is not going to be able to buy paper clips, much less construct new office buildings.

Remember that more than a decade ago, a similar study recommended that the state make a long-term investment in constructing several new office buildings on state land along the Connector, with the goal of moving all state offices out of rental property.

The up-front cost was in the billions, but it would have saved the saved even more billions in rent.

Initial investment for long-term savings vs. wasting billions by doing nothing.

Guess which one the state chose.

Read the whole thing.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.