The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is evaluating funding sources to tear down the five-story brick structure known as the Doctors Building on the edge of campus and weighing plans for more housing and parking.
Brent Goldberg, UTC's vice chancellor for finance and administration, said in a phone interview that plans are to demolish the 66-year-old building at 744 McCallie Ave. once funding is identified for the work.
"The Doctors Building site is a natural location for potential student housing and/or parking," he said. "However, as of today, we do not have any firm plans for timing of demolition or future use of the site."
UTC acquired the 45,000-square-foot structure in 2000 with the aim of including it in the campus master plan, according to the university.
Taxable bonds were used to purchase the building for $1 million through the Tennessee State School Bond Authority, though a document at the time said it was valued at twice that amount, according to UTC. A 10-year lease of the building was to be used to retire the debt, the document said.
Goldberg said a few tenants remain in the building, but they're expected to be gone by summer.
Todd Morgan, executive director of the local historic preservation group Preserve Chattanooga, said Wednesday that the Doctors Building has "an interesting modern design."
He said in an email that according to newspaper articles from the time of construction, the structure was the first building in Chattanooga to use the "lift slab" method in which vertical support columns are installed and poured concrete floors are then lifted from the ground.
"It is an interesting architectural study and, to my knowledge, unique to Chattanooga with regards to the concrete projections incorporated above and below the windows," Morgan said. "That was gaining in popularity at the time it was built. The projections were meant to break up the lines of the building and to also provide protection from sun and rain."
He said Preserve Chattanooga has not been approached by UTC and hasn't been included in conversations about demolition.
Goldberg said campus housing and parking are among the biggest needs for UTC.
Last September, UTC reported that freshman enrollment numbers had returned to pre-pandemic levels, although overall enrollment at 11,283 students was down slightly from 2021.
Last year, Gov. Bill Lee recommended $40 million to renovate the seven-story, 174,000-square-foot former Interstate Life Insurance Building at 540 McCallie Ave., a 1950s-era art moderne-style structure that later became a state office building before it was ceded to UTC.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.