MONTEAGLE, Tenn. — Two $500,000 grants combined with a $150,000 general fund investment from Grundy County, Tennessee, are funding the purchase and eventual rehabilitation of a former Army National Guard building along U.S. Highway 41 as a center for workforce classes, training and community services.
The property is in the southern end of the county, about halfway between the towns of Monteagle and Tracy City.
“There’s 11 acres here, so it kind of goes in an ‘L’ pattern,” Grundy County Mayor Michael Brady said with a wave toward a wide, grassy field in front of the former armory building. “It’s a really large building.”
The original purchase price was $1.2 million, according to Brady. After receiving a $500,000 state Connected Communities Facilities grant to combine with a pending $500,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the county’s cost totals $150,000 for the property and the work needed to ready it for use.
Work to begin rehabilitating the buildings should start in three to six months, Brady said, with classes potentially starting up in about a year.
The idea is to develop most of the almost-16,000-square-foot building’s interior spaces for Tennessee College of Applied Technology classes, Brady said. There are already seven to 10 classroom and training spaces in the front portion of the building, and other areas of the building could also be adapted to workforce and trades training. The building also has a reinforced space for a storm shelter for local residents.
Aside from classroom space, a large gymnasium-sized room has an adjacent kitchen space for possible culinary classes and related training, Brady said. The kitchen space could be used for community events, too. Kitchen appliances are needed to fully equip it, but most necessary electrical supplies already exist.
The site includes another metal building, about 7,000 square feet, constructed as part of the armory, and much of the property around the buildings are surrounded by a security fence.
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“People are excited about the possibility of having classes where Grundy County students don’t have to travel 30, 40 minutes to further their education,” Brady said. “They’re excited to have a community-use facility too, where we can use it for the benefit of everyone in the community.”
A community survey is in the works to help explore ideas for uses and the TCAT facility in McMinnville has been assisting, according to Brady. Since word of the purchase got out, Grundy County residents lit up social media praising the potential boost for workforce training.
‘This is going to be a dream come true for many on the mountain,” local resident Sonya Hornbuckle posted. “I can’t wait to see all the good things coming from this project. For those of us who had to send our children off the mountain just out of high school to go further their education, this means so much. This will take a lot of unnecessary stress and worry off parents and Grundy will have one more thing to be proud of.”
One of the building’s selling points is its condition, according to Brady. It has a new roof, the heat and air conditioning work, and the walls, ceilings and floors are in good condition.
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“That’s really a nice building,” local resident Kenneth Anderson posted on social media. “I hope it all works out well for the folks in Grundy and the kids take advantage of the classes where they can get good training for better job opportunities. It might help bring some good-paying jobs into Grundy. That’s one thing your bigger companies look for when they decide where to locate — is how much of a trained workforce is available in the area. Congratulations, Grundy.”
Brady said a training center could help lure businesses and industries to Grundy County.
“It’s a really good bargaining chip for me,” Brady said, “whenever you’re talking with prospective businesses to say, ‘Hey, we have a location where we can have a trained workforce.'”
Contact Southeast Tennessee reporter Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.