Notorious and condemned: Kinkead Building demolition underway after years sitting empty
Submitted by Jim Gustafson on Tue, 11/07/2017 - 3:08pm
Demolition of the much reviled Kinkead Building at 505 East King Street in Carson City is currently underway.
After a number of failed attempts the budget of nearly $1.7 million to demolish the building seemingly disliked by many has finally limped across the finish line being approved this past legislative session.
The Kinkead building was constructed in 1975, and is named after Nevada’s third Governor (serving from 1879 through 1882), John Henry Kinkead. For the time being it is among the tallest of buildings in Carson City. The six floors once held tens of thousands of square feet of office space and, until 2005, several state agencies were operating within.
The Kinkead Building is said to be the worst building the state of Nevada has ever constructed. According to The Nevada Appeal, “They had to re-pour some of the original footings on it before it was even completed,” said Mike Meizel the retired head of Buildings and Grounds in 2005. “The minute it was built, we started having problems. We got a design of a building that was really a cheapie,” he said.
Here is the short-list of known issues at The Kinkead building according to past reporting from 2005.
— Some parts of the building have settled faster than others, causing some areas of the floor to sag so badly that a ball could roll across the room by simply setting it down.
— The HVAC system is not adequate nor designed for a building of this size.
— The concrete center support beams are riddled with cracks to the point where chunks of concrete have been known to break off and fall.
— At one time none of the windows were weatherproof. The workers could feel rain and wind coming in at them from the cracks.
— An engineering report had said the building could collapse in a moderate to major earthquake.
— During an inspection Fire Officials found about 400 safety violations. (According to: Carsonpedia.com)
— It wasn’t until around 2003 that electricians discovered big fans designed to provide fresh air to the stairwells in case of fire were never hooked into the emergency fire system, according to the Appeal.
The demolition contract was awarded to local contractor Advance Installations, Inc. and work began on Oct. 16. A high reach demolition excavator and Bobcat front loaders have been gutting the inside of the building from the bottom up. The project is 30 percent complete as of Nov. 4, according to Deputy Public Works Administrator Chris Chimits.
The frame of the building left remaining will be brought down from the top-floor on Dec. 4, Chimits said. This method was chosen in lieu of implosion because of safety concerns as well as saving $70,000.
“We like it when we come in under budget and ahead of schedule,” he said. The construction company is projected to have the building removed by January 20th about two months ahead of the deadline, March 14, 2018.
Deputy Public Works Administrator Chimits worked in the Kinkead building himself for well over a decade.
“Even though it had issues it makes you feel nostalgic to see it go,” he said.
When the Kinkead building demolition is completed a small park with a grassy picnic area will be constructed to make this piece of land finally useful after sitting dormant and condemned for more than 15 years, he said.
The state has hopes of building a new office building at this location in the future, but the cycle of budget concerns and restraints at the legislature are predictable. The community will have plenty of time to enjoy the new park once it is built for years to come.
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