A historic building on Paducah’s Broadway Street is set to be demolished in the coming months.
The Katterjohn building – built by the Illinois Central Railroad in the late 1800s – was initially used as a hospital and later leased as office space. After nearly two decades of vacancy and partial demolitions for safety reasons, Paducah officials hope to develop the property.
The City of Paducah foreclosed on the building in 2023 due to a lack of maintenance and deteriorating infrastructure. Before demolition can take place, the city must conduct an asbestos abatement for the building and obtain a request for proposal, or RFP, to get bids from contractors for the demolition.
Paducah Mayor George Bray said many Paducahans are disappointed to see the structure go, but that the building’s best years are behind it.
“This is a good decision to move the community forward,” Bray said. “The community needs housing. It's a valuable property. We are moving forward with what we think is the best solution for our city.”
Bray identified the three-acre property as being well-suited for the development of “middle-income housing” and said the city is currently discussing plans with developers. He said any new housing development would be built to complement the surrounding architecture of Fountain Avenue.
“Our goal would be to find a developer who wants to find the range of housing prices along with housing that would fit into that midtown neighborhood,” Bray said. “We will work with a developer to do our best to find something that fits in.”
Bray said the demolition of the Katterjohn building is expected to take place within the next four months.
