![]() | This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia's layout guidelines .(January 2018) |
Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa Building | |
The Equitable Building in 2008 | |
Location | 604 Locust Street 316 6th Avenue Des Moines, Iowa |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°35′12″N93°37′31″W / 41.586557°N 93.625197°W |
Built | 1924 |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 15000154 |
Added to NRHP | April 21, 2015 |
The Equitable Building is a high-rise located in Des Moines, Iowa. It is named after the insurance company Equitable of Iowa, which originally owned the building, and is located along Locust Street in the downtown area of the city. The 19-story Equitable Building, at 604 Locust St. in Des Moines, was completed in 1924, and standing at 318 ft (97m), for 49 years was the tallest building in Iowa. It remained the tallest building in Iowa until the completion of Financial Center in 1973. The Equitable Building is now the eighth tallest building in Iowa. [1] [2]
The building consists of retail, office and residential spaces. Since early 2006 a developer has been working to convert much of the building to condominiums. [3] In late 2007 the main retail tenant, Joseph's Jewelry, announced that it would relocate from the Equitable Building after 83 years to Davis Brown Tower, located at 10th St and Walnut. The move was completed in 2008. [4]
The Iowa Attorney General's lawsuit vs. Equitable L.P.:
The Iowa Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit May 5, 2009 alleging numerous asbestos violations from 2005 to 2008. [5] The Attorney General's lawsuit alleged that Equitable L.P., while renovating the top 13 floors of the Equitable Building from 2005 to 2008, failed to inspect for asbestos, failed to provide notice to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, failed to remove asbestos-containing material before renovation, failed to properly handle the asbestos-containing material disturbed during the renovation, and failed to properly dispose of the material. The first six floors were occupied during the renovation.
The lawsuit was filed after the Polk County Health Dept. forwarded an anonymous complaint about the renovation project to the DNR in the latter part of 2007, and the DNR investigated and documented numerous violations. The DNR issued an administrative order requiring Equitable L.P. to stop activities until all floors were thoroughly inspected and all asbestos-containing material was removed by a licensed asbestos-abatement contractor – but Equitable L.P. continued with renovation in violation of the order, the suit alleged. The DNR issued a second Notice of Violation to Equitable L.P. in February 2008 for failing to comply with the earlier DNR administrative order. The renovations were completed in 2008 with no additional violations reported.
On May 5, 2009, Polk County District Court Judge D.J. Stovall entered a “Consent Order, Judgment and Decree” that ordered Equitable L.P. to pay a $500,000 environmental civil penalty for conducting extensive renovations of the historic Equitable Building in downtown Des Moines without taking required precautions for the presence of asbestos-containing material. [5] Judge Stovall also permanently prohibited any further violations.
“This is the largest civil penalty by far in Iowa for asbestos violations,” said Attorney General Tom Miller. “We alleged Equitable L.P. completely ignored asbestos-handling requirements during renovations from 2005 to 2007, until the Iowa DNR became involved.” [6] Department of Natural Resources Director Richard Leopold said the amount of the civil penalty underscores the importance of properly handling and disposing of asbestos during renovation and demolition projects. “What’s important to remember is that asbestos poses potentially serious health implications and that we do not have a situation like this happen again,” Leopold said. “This enforcement action should serve as a warning that the regulations relating to asbestos removal and disposal will be vigorously enforced.”
In the Consent Order, Judgment and Decree entered May 5, 2009, Equitable L.P. admitted that it:
Failed to thoroughly inspect the Equitable Building for the presence of asbestos prior to starting renovation activities.
Failed to submit written notice of renovation activities to the DNR before beginning the renovation.
Conducted the building renovation without taking precautions for the potential presence of asbestos-containing material.
Asbestos – which often is present in older building materials – is regulated as a hazardous air pollutant. It can cause lung disease and cancer, especially if it is contained in dust when asbestos-containing material is crumbled, pulverized or reduced to powder. State and federal laws and regulations have stringent requirements for handling regulated asbestos-containing material during demolition or renovations.
The Criminal Case
A federal grand jury indicted Russell Coco, the supervisor of the Equitable Building renovation, and developer Bob Knapp, owner of the building, on 11 counts, accusing them of gutting several floors of the Equitable Building while large amounts of asbestos were present, then improperly disposing of the material.
Bob Knapp pleaded guilty to two charges in February 2011 for his role at the head of a conspiracy to ignore federal asbestos regulations during a three-year renovation project at the Equitable Building. Knapp was sentenced on June 22, 2011, to 41 months behind bars. [7]
Knapp was paroled on March 25, 2014. On March 30, 2014, Knapp was found dead in a burned out car near Panora, Iowa, after stealing it from an acquaintance in Waukee whom he had been staying with. Federal authorities had reported Knapp to have escaped home confinement. [8]
Russell Coco also pleaded guilty in February to charges of conspiracy to impede and impair Environmental Protection Agency asbestos removal procedures and violations of the work practice requirements of the Clean Air Act. Coco was sentenced on July 13, 2011, to three years of probation for his involvement in the illegal removal of asbestos from the building. [9]
Local developer Bob Knapp purchased the building for $5 million in 2005 using a loan from Vantus Bank. His aim was to convert some floors into upscale apartments. In March 2009 Great Southern Bank, having acquired the loan after the failure of Vantus Bank, foreclosed on the property. The Equitable Building was scheduled to be sold at auction on September 30, 2010. [10]
The Equitable building was sold to Equitable Lofts LLC, on February 15, 2012 and has been converted into upscale apartments.
Johns Manville is an American company based in Denver, Colorado, that manufactures insulation, roofing materials and engineered products. For much of the 20th century, the then-titled Johns-Manville Corporation was the global leader in the manufacture of asbestos-containing products, including asbestos pipe insulation, asbestos shingles, asbestos roofing materials and asbestos cement pipe.
The Iowa Events Center is a public events complex located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States.
East High School, often locally referred to as East or East High, is a public secondary school located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. East is the oldest high school in the Des Moines metro and is part of the Des Moines Public Schools. East is currently the seventh largest high school in the state by enrollment with 2,076 students.
Southridge Mall is an open-air shopping center on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It attracts roughly 3.3 million visitors per year, with a primary trade area consisting of most of the city of Des Moines and areas to its south and east.
Matthew George Whitaker is an American lawyer, lobbyist and politician who served as the acting United States Attorney General from November 7, 2018, to February 14, 2019. He was appointed to that position by President Donald Trump after Jeff Sessions resigned at Trump's request. Whitaker had previously served as Chief of Staff to Sessions from October 2017 to November 2018.
The Iowa Old Capitol Building is located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It was once the main government building for the state of Iowa, and it now stands as the most prominent landmark at the center of the University of Iowa's campus. The building was depicted on the 1946 Iowa Centennial commemorative half dollar. It was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1972, and it was named a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1976. In 1978 it was included as a contributing property in the Pentacrest, a historic district listed on the NRHP.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is a department/agency of the U.S. state of Iowa formed in 1986, charged with maintaining state parks and forests, protecting the environment of Iowa, and managing energy, fish, wildlife, land resources, and water resources of Iowa.
801 Grand High Rise Building is a 45-story skyscraper in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, operated and managed by JLL Americas and owned by Principal Financial Group. The building was constructed in 1989 and is the tallest building in Iowa. It is part of a larger downtown campus run by Principal Financial Group and features a skywalk and an eight-sided copper pyramid at its top.
The Ruan Center is a high-rise office building located at 666 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa, which was built by Ruan Transportation. The building was completed in 1975 and stands at a height of 459 ft (140 m), and was the tallest building in Iowa until the completion of 801 Grand in 1991. The south side of the building's site was formerly occupied by The Chamberlain Hotel.
Financial Center is a high-rise building located in the downtown area of Des Moines, Iowa. It was completed in 1973 and stands at a height of 345 ft (105 m). It was the tallest building in the city and state until the completion of the Ruan Center in 1975, and is currently the fourth tallest. It was built in the international style, an architectural style that was particularly popular at the time of the building's construction.
The Iowa State Fairgrounds is located on the east side of Des Moines, Iowa. It annually hosts the Iowa State Fair in late summer. The state fair was begun in Iowa in 1854 and the current fairgrounds were established in 1886. The fairgrounds were listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as the Iowa State Fair and Exposition Grounds.
The Warren County Courthouse is located in Indianola, Iowa, United States. The courthouse that was built in 1939 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2003 as a part of the PWA-Era County Courthouses of IA Multiple Properties Submission. It was the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. The building was demolished in the summer of 2019 and removed from the NRHP in September of the same year. A new courthouse and justice center is expected to be completed in 2022.
The Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa, United States was built from 1955 to 1956 and extensively renovated over a ten-year period between 1998 and 2009. It is the third building the county has used for court functions and county administration. It is part of a larger county complex that includes the county jail, administration building and juvenile detention facility. In 2020 the courthouse was included as a contributing property in the Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kent Sorenson is a former Iowa state legislator who resigned after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and other felonies related to campaign finances.
The Hotel Fort Des Moines is a historic building located in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The Des Moines Marriott Hotel is a high-rise hotel located in Downtown Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The building rises 33 floors and 365 feet (111 m) in height. It is currently the 3rd-tallest building in the city and the tallest hotel in Iowa. The structure was completed in 1981 and contains 417 guest rooms. The property had been previously occupied by the Royal Union Life Building.
The Teachout Building is a historic building located in the East Village of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. In 2019 the building was included as a contributing property in the East Des Moines Commercial Historic District.
Within the United States, the use of asbestos is limited by state and federal regulations and legislation. Improper use of asbestos and injury from exposure is addressed through administrative action, litigation, and criminal prosecution. Injury claims arising from asbestos exposure may be tried as mass torts.
The Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) is a publicly owned, municipal water utility with its headquarters in Water Works Park. It was founded 1871 southwest of downtown Des Moines, Iowa, along the Raccoon River and provides water to half a million residents of the greater Des Moines metropolitan area. As of 2017, it has three treatment facilities.
The Flynn–Griffin Building, also known as the Flynn Block, Peoples' Savings Bank Building, and the Edna M. Griffin Building, is a historic building located in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)