Gabe’s Shopping Center, located at 18th and Triplett Streets, is undergoing renovation as the last leg of a years long revitalization project called Triplett Twist.
According to Director of Community Development Abby Shelton, this renovation project will see exterior improvements made to the various buildings that make up the shopping center. Resident Adam Patterson bought Gabe’s Shopping Center for $1.2 million in 2017.
The rehabilitation project will cost $894,000. That money was allocated for the project through Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) funds that came from the federal government. This final stage of the Triplett Trist project will not include changes made to the shopping center’s interior.
“This is just exterior facade rehab,” Shelton said. “The City will not pay for interior rehab.”
According to Shelton, this project will serve as a boost for not only the shopping center — which includes a handful of restaurants and retail stores — but the neighborhood surrounding it as well.
“The public investment will provide a significant facelift for Triplett Twist,” she said. “It is the largest project thus far that is solely funded by federal grants and private funds. We hope to bring more retail options to the neighborhood, as well as improve the overall perception of the area.”
Residents are still waiting to hear whether the City of Owensboro will demolish or rehabilitate Gabe’s Tower, which stands high above the rest of the neighborhood being revitalized. Shelton said Monday that she is not sure what the tower’s fate will be, but that the City purchased the building for $360,000 because they weren’t sure the tower would attract other investors.
“Something needed to be done with it,” Shelton said.
Shelton told Owensboro Times previously that she was in the process of procuring requests for proposals from developers who might be interested in rehabbing the tower.
If the building were to be rehabilitated, Shelton said no plans have been set in stone for the 13-story tower.
“The next few months will give us those pieces to narrow down feasibility of any planned rehabilitation,” she said. “We will allow the experts to help us determine the most feasible use. If that does not pan out, we will be working with federal agencies for alternatives to rehabilitation, including, but not limited to, demolition of the structure.”
