OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) -
City officials are now waiting to hear from the owner of Owensboro's Gabe's Tower after serving him with foreclosure notices. This comes as some preservationists fight to save the tower.
As of right now, city officials plan to eventually tear down Gabe's Tower, but some people think other options should considered.
John Lumea is an Owensboro native who now lives in San Francisco. He's been behind the "Save Gabe's" Facebook page and says that from what he's heard, many people are interested in preserving the building.
"A lot of people really are very fond of the tower, you know, and they would love to see it restored in some way," Lumea said.
Officials have also received their fair share of opinions.
"The city would, we've received a lot of response from the citizens and some people, they don't like it, some people want to save it. In a perfect world, the city would love to see that property rehabbed and see it up and running again," said Steve Lynn, the Assistant City Attorney.
Until Gabe's is up and running the city is paying to maintain the area around the building. Because the owners haven't reimbursed the city, a foreclosure notice has been sent out.
"These are purely nuisance abatement liens that have been filed with the property," Lynn said.
Those hoping for preservation say they know it wouldn't necessarily be easy.
"I think that's the real challenge, get people to really believe that it's possible," Lumea said.
Lumea hopes no more damage comes to the building before a decision is made.
"I think Owensboroans hopefully will, you know, sort of think very carefully about really holding onto their history," Lumea said.
The property owner has 20 days to respond to the city's notice.
Officials estimate the maintenance costs to be several thousand dollars.
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Those hoping for preservation say they know it wouldn't necessarily be easy.
