The Statesman Towers are finally coming down, sometime within the next year, an Indiana State University official said today.
Several years ago, ISU announced plans to demolish the towers — which formerly housed the colleges of Education and Business. That plan was put on hold while a developer considered possible re-use of the buildings.
"We had been approached about potential reuses, but that just didn't work out," said Diann McKee, ISU vice president for business affairs. "We'll move forward with the demolition plans within the next year."
There is no specific date at this time, but one consideration is a time when the university is "less busy," she said. "We want to minimize risk to anyone."
Both buildings are empty and neither is being used, and asbestos abatement is being completed. "We need to finalize plans and the bid specifications" for a demolition contractor, McKee said. "There is still a considerable amount of work to do" before demolition begins.
The cost of demolition is about $4 million
Furnishings have been removed, and a demolition contractor will be responsible for salvaging building materials.
The decision to demolish was made "over the past few weeks, when it became apparent it wasn't going to be financially feasible for a third party to develop the towers into adaptive reuse for apartments," McKee said.
Once demolished, the property will be seeded and become green space. There are no other plans at this point, McKee said.
The towers were completed and dedicated in 1969 and originally used as residence halls, and later served as the Colleges of Business and Education — which have since moved to new facilities.