MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — After the historic Parks-Belk Building burned down in Morristown, plans are moving forward to mostly demolish it and build new storefronts and apartments. City leaders said the building's owner also owns adjacent buildings and has big plans to redevelop the area.
They also said the owner is trying to salvage as much of the building's history as possible. It was a landmark building in the region's clothing and retail industry when it was still in use.
"Mostly clothing and those sorts of things. The Boy Scouts store, I bought some, I got to say, I bought my Boy's Scouts uniform there," said Gary Chesney, the Mayor of Morristown.
After an arson burned down the building, a cloud of dust now hangs at the corner of Cumberland Street and Main Street. The road surrounding the site of the building has been closed, and some nearby businesses said they are eager for the area to reopen once demolition is complete.
Chesney said the building has been vacant for around 20 years and he wants to rebuild it preserve history and maintain a unique feature of downtown Morristown.
"One — it's historic. Two — it's location. Our downtown, with its overhead sidewalks, it's kind of a unique feature of downtown Morristown," he said.
Natasha Morrison, the Director of Downtown Development in Morristown, said locals can expect around 60 new apartments with some aspects of the original building preserved in the new project.
"This corner will occupy retail and restaurant space on the main level, and then residential units above," she said. "(The owner) has a heart for historic preservation, and these types of projects, this is not something that's a first for him."
She said the owner is working with an architect and a team working to replicate some areas of the original building.
Chesney said over the next few years, some other projects may follow suit and build new apartments and condos.
"He's bough the two buildings that are adjacent to the Belk Building, and that all will be included to his residential," he said. "So, we've seen improvements and modernizations here and we expect to see more."
Work to rebuild the building will begin once demolition work is over, and a spokesperson said that the project to build new residential and retail space is expected to be done in a couple of years.
“It's been an important part of downtown redevelopment,” Chesney said.