White Lakes property owner will demolish abandoned mall, saving city of Topeka $2.5 million
Demolition work on the White Lakes Mall building will finally start this week, but it won't be done through the city of Topeka.
Instead, property owner KDL Inc., which itself is owned by Topeka real estate developer Kent Lindemuth, has agreed to undertake the demolition work, Mayor Mike Padilla and interim City Manager Bill Cochran announced Tuesday morning.
"We've worked closely with KDL to get this moved forward, so it's just exciting news," Cochran said.
KDL is contracting with McPherson Wrecking Inc. for the project. Preliminary demolition work, such as putting up fencing, has begun, and more comprehensive razing work will start as soon as the Kansas Department of Health and Environment signs off on an asbestos abatement report.
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Contractor awaiting approval from KDHE
Cochran said that approval should come any day now, after which a subcontractor will start on asbestos removal. Full demolition work will start about two weeks after, and Cochran estimated clearing the "extremely large building" could take three months.
"It'll be basically a site with a basement, but completely cleared out other than that," Cochran said.
Brian Lensing, the listing agent for KDL, said in a release the demolition is the first step toward developing the property. Lensing said the company is excited to do its part to "Bring Back the Boulevard."
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"Obviously, the property has experienced some challenges in recent years," Lensing said. "This demolition will align the concerns of a number of stakeholders, including KDL, the City of Topeka and neighboring residents and business owners, and we are pleased to be able to finally announce what has been in the works for months."
A fire in December 2020 set by three teenagers had significantly damaged the abandoned building, which was originally built in the early 1960s but lost its popularity when shoppers started flocking to the then-new West Ridge Mall in 1988.
Joel Andrew Sink, then 18 years old, agreed to admit to arson and criminal trespassing in a diversion agreement. Criminal proceeding information isn't publicly available on the two other underage teenagers who participated in the arson.
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$2.5 million to return to Topeka's cash reserves
The fire pushed the Topeka City Council to vote to raze the building with as much as $2.5 million in demolition funding. With Tuesday's announcement, that funding will return to the city's cash reserves, Cochran said.
The city's demolition work had been scheduled to start in December, but that was later pushed to January after a breakthrough came in getting KDL to rehab the property.
"To me, it was worth waiting the extra three, four, five weeks to get this worked out with the property owner and save the citizens of Topeka $2 million," Cochran said.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka, White Lakes Mall owner KDL Inc. reach agreement on demolition
