“It’s more money than what we expected,” said Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt on the $117,700 total bid from Bahman Kasraei for the Old South High School building and property.
“We’re excited about getting it back on the tax roles and having something positive happen out there in the community in regard to the redevelopment or renovation of that facility,” Holt told the Times.
That represents an amount $95,200 more than the $22,500 outright offer made by Renaissance Property Group for the property and building in November of 2006, which planned to invest $5.25 million in a project to bring a Creative Design Center to south Knoxville. Zoning issues that would have brought sufficient parking to the proposed center helped scuttle the plan afterward. Ninth District County Commissioner Paul Pinkston lauded the auction, saying that the outright sale of the property would have put too many restrictions on its use and reduced the potential sale price.
“If you put an RFP [Request For Proposals] out on it, you’re essentially telling potential developers and purchasers what they can do with the property,” Pinkston told the Times. “If you auction it, the county taxpayers have their money, and the developer can worry about if it needs rezoning or not.”
The bid and the developer’s plan must still be approved by the County Commission before the sale is final. In April, the County Commission voted 18-1 to offer the property for auction, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Ninth District Commissioner Victoria Defreese.
“I still think the county should look at if it’s really a fair trade to lose 2.2 acres so close to James White Parkway and the south Waterfront development area,” Defreese told the Times in a telephone interview Friday. “We spent nearly $250,000 just a few months ago on property for additional parking for the Burlington Branch Library, and we just let go of 2.2 acres for $117,700.”
“But I respect those in the community, including the preservationists, who want to see the exterior of that building preserved. I think we need to see some restrictions on the deed so that the property is actually developed. I’m anxious to hear this gentleman’s plan and look forward to what he has to say. I hope it’s a win-win for everybody if commission does approve this.”
Kim Trent, Executive Director for Knox Heritage, shares many of Defreese’s concerns.
“We will offer any assistance we can to make any developer of this building a success, but I’m concerned when the term ‘impulse purchase’ is used in reference to a 42,000 square foot historic building,” Trent told the Times. Kasraei told several news outlets that he purchased the property after driving by and noticing the auction sign on the premises.
“I would hope that they are prepared to spend the $250,000 required to stabilize the building immediately,” Trent said. “But the issue for five and a half years is that no one in county government has been willing to spend the money to stabilize it. The community wants it preserved, and we’re willing to help that happen.”
“I think it’s going to take some due diligence from county commission to make sure this building remains an asset to the community,” Trent concluded.
Cautious optimism was the watchword for Robert Lee “Bob” Neff, who spent 20 years at the school, from 1956 to 1976, as a teacher, a coach, and an assistant principle.
“The biggest thing I’m concerned with is that it will be an asset to the community,” Neff told the Times. “It’s important that it look nice.” Neff and former student Buddy Mulkey, along with others with a fondness for the venerable and historic building, recently utilized help from Paul Pinkston to have a small monument from the Island Home Monument Company erected near the flagpole at the school. The monument details the years that the building served south Knoxville as both a junior and senior high, as well as a middle school.
The building, designed by architect Charles Barber and built in 1935-36, has been the focus of preservationist efforts for years. An estimate prepared in October of 2002 by Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, Inc. of Knoxville as part of a physical review found that to restore the building to its original state would cost approximately $2.3 million, with additional funds required for asbestos removal. The report stipulated that total costs could be as much as 20% greater than the estimate.
Knox Heritage helped circulate a petition among the residents in the area calling for the preservation and reuse of the building, which sits at 801 Tipton Avenue.
In 2006, then-Commissioner for the Ninth District Larry Clark proposed that Knox County Schools move their central office from the Andrew Johnson Building on Gay Street and renovate and extend the building for that use.
