KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Pryor Brown Garage could be demolished as soon as mid-February, according to Knoxville Knox County Planning.
Historic Preservation Planner Lindsay Crockett said the property's owner had applied for a demolition permit on Wednesday.
"This project is pretty high profile. It will be subject to the 60 day delay of demolition," she said at the Historic Zoning Commission meeting Thursday. "I feel like we'll hear a lot more about it, but I did want to keep the Historic Zoning Commission in the loop."
Historian Jack Neely of the Knoxville History Project said Pryor Brown helped modernize downtown Knoxville in the 1920s.
"Pryor Brown built the first part of that in 1925 and finished it in 1929. This may be, as far as I know, the oldest or one of the oldest parking garages in America," Neely told 10News in September. "Architects used pictures of it to show how parking garages should work."
In the years since, however, the garage has deteriorated in the heart of downtown.
A 2013 project memo obtained by 10News suggested the "repair of the garage would not be feasible due to the cost."
A structural engineer told the owners on June 13 it was his opinion that they should consider demolishing the structure. He flagged numerous concerns with the structure back then.
"The roof is partially collapsed and is deteriorated, sagging and it has leaks in many areas," he wrote. "The entire concrete structure should be investigated for repair which would include removal of all loose concrete, cleaning of rebar, replacement of rebar if necessary, patching and coating."
One week later — on June 20, 2013 — records show Royal Properties applied for a demolition permit. The structure was never knocked down.
In 2016, developers announced plans to convert the historic structure into a mixed-use apartment building. Those plans never succeeded either.
In September 2021, the city of Knoxville closed surrounding streets after the roof partially collapsed on the Northwest corner of the garage.
Those streets re-opened after emergency repairs. No formal notices have been issued since, according to the city.
10News called and emailed one of the garage's owner on Friday to see if there are any development plans and whether they intend to preserve any of the structure.
The Pryor Brown LLC also owns the surface parking lot adjacent to the Pryor Brown Garage. We have not yet heard back from its representative.