olway Greenwaste Facility sold for about $2 million
Burchett said plans to sell another property, Oakwood Elementary School in North Knoxville, are still being finalized.
About one year after Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett outlined a plan to sell some pieces of county-owned property, he now has a revised list and additional property to consider.
The original strategy was two-fold: Control the county's debts, and help fun a new Carter Elementary school.
"We own several pieces of property that I don't think we should own," he said Thursday. "We've been working to get rid of some of it."
Last year, the Solway Greenwaste Facility sold for about $2 million. Natural Resource Recovery put in the winning bid for the 15-acre property on Joe Daniels Road.
"They paid a very good price for the property, and they're paying taxes into our system and that's really what we want," Burchett said.
The county also made a profit from an early payment from the city of Knoxville for county-owned Young Williams Animal Center.
Burchett said plans to sell another property, Oakwood Elementary School in North Knoxville, are still being finalized.
However, others on the initial list have not sold, and are unlikely to sell anytime soon. Those include the Three Ridges Golf Course, the Beverly Park and Hill Crest North Nursing Homes.
The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame is another property yet to be sold.
"It's on hold for now. We're trying to let their board do what they're trying to do to get it back marketable," the mayor said.
He also found other properties of initial interest would not be marketable, due to environmental and federal regulations. However, Burchett says he hopes to consider other opportunities to sell county property.
"I just don't think government is a very good steward of property," he said.