BROWNSVILLE — The company that imploded the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, the Seattle Kingdome and the RCA Dome in Indianapolis has been hired to demolish Ocean Tower, an unfinished condominium tower that has been sinking into the sands of South Padre Island.
The 31-story building, since dubbed the “Leaning Tower of Padre,” is now the subject of a $125 million lawsuit against Raba-Kistner Consultants Inc. of San Antonio and Datum Engineering of Austin.
Zachry Construction Corp., which was working on the project under a joint venture with Coastal Constructors, was dropped from the lawsuit filed in June 2008. Purchasers have been released from all contracts and have had their deposits refunded.
“We believe it is in the best interest of all parties involved, including the people of South Padre Island, to demolish Ocean Tower,” Ocean Tower LP said in a statement Monday. “Unfortunately, multiple engineering studies have led us to the conclusion that it is not economically feasible to complete the building and to provide the caliber of condominium tower that we intended to build.”
Matthew Cano, an attorney for Raba-Kistner, said he advised his client not to discuss pending litigation with news media.
“I believe we have factual and legal defenses to this lawsuit, and we'll be vigorously defending it,” he said.
Demolition is set for November by Controlled Demolition Inc., which set the Guinness World Record for largest structure implosion by volume when it brought down the Kingdome.
The ambitious project extended South Padre's skyline to the north and was billed as one of the most luxurious new spots on the island. Construction halted in the summer of 2008 after the building settled more than 14 inches in some spots, causing cracks in beams and columns.
It was not immediately clear how much the implosion would cost. Jeff Coyle, the San Antonio-based spokesman for Ocean Tower, said most of the building materials, including steel, concrete, windows, and fixtures such as flooring and bathtubs, would be removed and recycled for other projects.