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BOMA discusses community center site
Food City site considered for possible County partnership
Heather Mays - Fri, Oct, 23, 2009
A Farragut resident and commercial realtor approached the Board of Mayor and Aldermen about using the soon-to-be-vacant Food City as a community center.
“The idea is to use this as a potential spot for Knox County to deal with their senior center issue, and use some of the space for a senior center, use some of the space for a Farragut community center,” Pamela Treacy said.
“That might be a property to turn more into a government use. As a commercial realtor, I can tell you, I don’t think it’s a good commercial use,” she added.
The Board recently established a Community Center Committee, designed to determine the viability of establishing a Farragut community center.
Knox County is searching for a new site for a larger senior center, likely resulting in the ultimate closure of the popular Frank R. Strang Senior Center in Lovell Heights.
“It might be a possibility to have kind of a partnership,” Treacy said.
Treacy also mentioned known space constraints at Farragut Town Hall, mentioning the Food City building could house County offices currently located in Town Hall.
“To give you an idea of the scope of the property, there’s 65,000 square feet,” Treacy said.
“It’s already got a kitchen in it, so if you had a community center … with cooking classes or something like that, you could use that kitchen facility,” she added.
Treacy said the owners of the building mentioned a price hovering around $7 to $8 a square foot. Prime real estate in Turkey Creek, by comparison, Treacy said, goes for $25 a square foot.
In addition to the Food City, other retail spots in the same building also are vacant.
Reportedly, the owners also were open to a non-commercial use for the building.
“They see the competition on Kingston Pike and know it will be hard to get retail in there,” she said.
The Board asked that the idea be passed along to the Community Center Committee.
“They’re the folks who are considering what the amenities might be, and what sort of space we might need,” Alderman John Williams said.
“Obviously, the space is beautiful,” he added.
Alderman Jeff Elliott asked about parking, a common complaint at the Strang Center, and said he found the idea of partnering with the County “intriguing.”
Treacy said the Food City parking lot is pretty large, and another vacant property adjacent to the building is on the market, if more parking were required.
“That does sound like an intriguing opportunity given the location, the parking and the convenience,” Elliott said.
“My preference for that 65,000 square feet would be that it produced sales tax revenue,” Mayor Ralph McGill said.
“But if that’s not going to be in the cards, then we need to think about other uses,” he added.
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