Photo by J.J. Kindred
Jon Gustin, left, an IT manager for E-Government Solutions and a Knox County photographer, shares his findings with Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, right, as he went through the abandoned Oakwood Elementary School building in North Knoxville. Burchett is making a last-ditch effort to save the building from being torn down.
Photo courtesy of Jon Gustin/Knox County
The damage inside Oakwood Elementary makes the building ‘not fit for human occupation,’ according to Gustin.
By J.J. KINDRED
J.Kindred@theknoxvillejournal.com
Larry Cox knows what it was like to attend Oakwood Elementary School once upon a time.
“It was a great, great neighborhood and there were a lot of good kids here,” said Cox, who works as a part-time field representative for U.S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan. “Even my mother and father went here. They raised their families through here, and my aunts and uncles raised their families here. About 22 or 23 other families went through this school.”
Unfortunately for Cox and other past alumni and neighbors, the school building located on East Churchwell Avenue in North Knoxville has been long abandoned and is practically inhabitable.
Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett held a press conference outside of the run-down building Jan. 11 despite a downpour of rain, announcing that he wants to make a last-ditch effort for something to done with the property.
The building has been a concern for nearby residents and others in North Knoxville for quite some time. Last year, Knox County acquired the property from the Knox County Schools and issued a request for proposal (RFP) to see if someone could develop the property for private use. There was only one proposal made, but it didn’t work out.
“We will try one more time,” Burchett said. “We will ask the County Commission to issue an RFP one more month, and get someone interested in this building. It is past the point of decay. Something can be done, however the RFP process will make it possible. If not, we will have to tear down this building.
“This property is an important part of this community, and I know the neighbors here are tired of seeing the building in the shape it is in,” Burchett continued. “Public safety is always a concern with properties like this, and there are no illusions that making something happen here will be easy.”
Jon Gustin, a IT manager for E-Goverment Solutions and also a photographer for Knox County government, said he took pictures inside the building, and deemed that it was not fit for human occupation. He displayed his photos to prove his point.
“They sent me in to take photos, and all of them represent what it looks like inside,” Gustin said. “I noticed the floor was giving as I walked across, and there was asbestos everywhere, and animal droppings throughout. I was not able to find not much of anything that was structurally stable.”
“What happened was they built the new Christenberry Elementary and they closed down Oakwood, Brownlow and Lincoln Park (Elementary),” Cox said. “They let this one sit for so long and let it deteriorate, and the county never did anything.”
Kim Trent, executive director of Knox Heritage, which promotes the preservation of historic landmarks in Knoxville, said seeing buildings like Oakwood Elementary is “another day at the office.”
“We face challenges as big as this on buildings, and developers have as well,” Trent said. “To the untrained eye, it looks beyond salvage. It is possible to put together a development deal with the proper pieces in place, and work hard the next 30 days to bring someone to the table to take on this challenge.
“We hope this will focus attention in the development community,” Trent continued. “I would like to see the building for residential use or senior housing, and residents have expressed support for that. We hope to get a redeveloper to bring this together. This may not be their type of development, but like I said we see these buildings all the time and have seen these buildings come back from the dead before.”
The RFP will be released next week, and all proposals are due to Knox County Purchasing no later than 2 p.m. on Feb. 28. Once the RFP process is complete, the final proposal would require approval by County Commission.
