Indianapolis Eyesore Brought Down In Implosion 8.28.11

WRTV

INDIANAPOLIS -- An eyesore that's plagued Indianapolis' northeast side came down in dramatic fashion Sunday morning.

Keystone Towers, a 15-story apartment complex and eight-story office tower at Allisonville Road and Binford Boulevard, was reduced to rubble in an implosion at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Watch: Multiple Angles Of Keystone Towers Implosion | Slideshow: Implosion, Frame By Frame

 

Mayor Greg Ballard and community leaders spoke shortly before the demolition, after which Eliya Kelly, the 6-year-old daughter of the owners of Advanced Explosions Demolition, hit the switch to bring the buildings down.

The taller tower went first, collapsing in the middle and sending a huge plume of dust into the air. The shorter tower came down seconds later. The elevator shaft at the core of that building was still standing afterward, which engineers said they had expected may not fall.

Officials said about 474 people live within the 1,000 feet implosion safety zone. Some were allowed to stay in their homes while others were asked to seek temporary shelter.

Watch: Uncut Video: Keystone Towers Implosion

Hundreds of curious bystanders packed public viewing areas at Living Water Fellowship Church at 2902 E. 46th St. and Clay's Enterprise Auto Repair Shop at 2750 E. 46th St.

"It was amazing. It's just unbelievable what they can do," said Kathy Pigg. "It was sad to see the building go. You just wished they could have done something with it, but I know it was causing the neighborhood a lot problems."

Laurie Anderson, an architect, said she's fascinated by implosions.

"It's just interesting to see, after you've constructed all of that stuff, to see how easy it is to bring that thing down," she said.

All nearby residents and businesses were encouraged to turn off their air-handling units five minutes before the implosion and keep them off for 30 minutes afterward to avoid circulating dust created when the buildings fall.

Funding for the demolition is being paid for by a federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant, which requires any redevelopment efforts to include mixed-income rental housing on the site.

Crews expect to have the resulting rubble hauled away from the site within 60 days after the implosion.
The once-high-end, high-rise apartments were previously called the VIP Center and Vantage Point apartments, before taking the name Keystone Towers. The crime-ridden complex was closed by the city in 2008.

Hundreds of people showed up from all over the city to watch the buildings come crashing down.

Robert Dalton brought his family out to witness the towers fade from the skyline.

“The girls had never seen it before, so we got up early and came over here before they went to church," Dalton said.

Advanced Explosives Demolition carried out the implosion and spokeswoman Lisa Kelly said they were pleased with how the results.

“Today's implosion was absolutely fantastic,” Kelly said.

After the implosion was complete, an elevator shaft remained standing.

“We already knew the elevator shaft was going to be left standing, due to the fact the engineer did not feel comfortable with us pre-weakening it any further than we had,” Kelly said.

Mayor Ballard said now that the Keystone Towers have been knocked down, the city is ready to put something better in its place.

Affordable housing will be key to redeveloping the area, Ballard said.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/29004715/detail.html