Knoxville College personnel have been ordered out of the the last two campus buildings previously deemed safe enough to occupy, according to a city of Knoxville official.
The college has failed to take out a building permit to fix problems at its library and chapel, said David Brace, senior director of the city's Public Works Department.
After a hearing in September, the college was given 90 days to address the deficiencies at the Alumni Memorial Library and McMillan Chapel. The city warned the college in May that the buildings needed critical repair work and officials asked then for a deferral.
By December, the college still hadn't pulled a building permit to begin work, and officials were given 30 days to vacate. That deadline has now fallen.
"It's not like we've pulled the rug out from under them," Brace said Monday.
Efforts to reach college officials were unsuccessful.
If the college does get a permit, makes the repairs, passes inspection and secures a certificate of occupancy, it can move back in.
"The hope is that the buildings would be fixed up," Brace said.
College workers moved into the library after being forced out of McKee Hall, the main administration building. Part of a wall collapsed in McKee in 2014, rendering it uninhabitable by city standards.
The city previously shuttered numerous other buildings on the 40-acre campus.
The college has fallen on hard times over the last 20 years. It lost accreditation, funding sources shrank and enrollment fell. In 2014, the science building was found to contain supplies of hazardous, potentially volatile and decaying chemicals, prompting state and federal intervention.
In 2015, classes were suspended indefinitely, and college leaders said they hoped to make repairs and recover enough so that they could reopen.
Knoxville College was founded in 1875.
Knox Heritage last year placed six of the campus’ buildings on its “Fragile 15” list of endangered historic places.
“The situation at Knoxville College continues to dramatically deteriorate with several building either condemned or suffering from a lack of maintenance,” Knox Heritage noted on its website. “Recent arson fires on campus have heightened the critical need for immediate intervention.”
The six buildings include: McKee Hall, Wallace Hall, Elnathan Hall, McMillan Chapel, Giffen Memorial Gymnasium and President’s House.