The City of Owensboro is moving forward with plans to demolish the Colonel House Motel, shifting away from earlier efforts to renovate the structure into affordable housing due to a lack of developer interest and extensive structural challenges.
The City purchased the property at 1829 Triplett Street earlier this year with the intent of addressing longstanding concerns from nearby residents and business owners. Officials hoped the deteriorating building — once a source of frequent police activity and code violations — could be rehabilitated into affordable rental units. However, after issuing a request for proposals (RFP), no viable developers stepped forward.
“It’s just not conducive to today’s building standards,” said Assistant City Manager Lelan Hancock. “Anyone in the housing development business who looked at it quickly realized it wouldn’t be feasible to bring the structure up to modern code. At that point, demolition became the only realistic path forward.”
The Colonel House site had long been identified as a trouble spot by both Owensboro Police and the City’s property maintenance staff. Its acquisition was part of the City’s broader revitalization efforts in the Triplett Twist neighborhood — a multi-year initiative that has included new home construction, façade improvements, and upgrades to nearby commercial properties like Gabe’s Shopping Center.
The City has now issued a separate RFP seeking demolition contractors, following a similar process used for the nearby Gabe’s Tower teardown. Once cleared, the lot will be made available to developers for reuse, with hopes that its location and surrounding improvements will spark interest from both commercial and residential developers.
“This will be the final piece in that Triplett Twist puzzle,” Hancock said. “It finishes the project out and sets the table for future investment, whether it’s professional offices, new homes, or something else that benefits the neighborhood and gets the property back on the tax rolls.”
City Manager Nate Pagan previously said the project aligned with the City’s mission to eliminate blight while expanding affordable housing options. Though the original redevelopment plan didn’t materialize, Hancock said the flexibility that comes with a clean site could increase marketability.
“You’ve still got a great location,” Hancock said. “We’ve seen what’s possible right across the street. There’s momentum here, and this is about creating opportunity for the next wave of growth.”
Once demolition is complete, City officials plan to pursue new proposals for redevelopment.
