KNOXVILLE, Tenn — Demolition has at last begun on the city's old Public Safety Center, the site of which has been tabbed one day for a science museum.
Construction crews could be seen at work Wednesday at the site at 800 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. The Knoxville Police Department used the 1969-era building as its headquarters for decades until it moved last year to renovated headquarters in North Knoxville at the old St. Mary's Hospital site.
Businessman and entrepreneur Jim Clayton more than five years ago unveiled his dream of building a science museum at the site through the Clayton Family Foundation. The plan meshed well with KPD's plans to relocate.
Clayton, who for decades oversaw the Clayton Homes manufactured housing enterprise, told WBIR last summer in a brief conversation that the pandemic had proved a challenge to his family-oriented project, setting back plans to move as fast as he wanted because of construction material shortages.
Clayton's vision at least originally called for perhaps a $100 million museum and a $50 million endowment.
He told WBIR he'd visited museums across the country, looking for tips and inspirations. Representatives presented city leaders with ideas for the project in 2019.
Knoxville Science Museum Inc. formally acquired the property in 2020, records show. The family foundation had assets of about $200 million as of 2021, federal 990 tax records show.
WBIR was awaiting comment Wednesday from project representatives on its status.
