Normally when a business opens, remodels there is a ribbon cutting. Today, the government times three cut a ribbon for a building that hasn’t begun the renovation yet.
Remember, the Federal Government Agency TVA, Knox County Government, Knox County Schools and the University of Tennessee all are swapping money for the TVA East Tower. It ain’t their money, it’s our money. So do they care? Anyway they cut a ribbon.
Here are the back slapping, complimenting one another speeches. First, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, then Congressman Tim Burchett, then Jacobs, again, then TVA President/CEO Jeff Lyash, then UT President Randy Boyd and then Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas.
The UT Presser says, UT Tower One Step Closer to Becoming a Reality
Knoxville – University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, Tennessee Valley Authority President and CEO Jeff Lyash and Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas ceremonially cur a ribbon to celebrate the transition of the TVA East Tower into the UT Tower Tuesday morning.
The event was planned with COVID-19 health and safety protocols incorporated.
The ceremony comes after a nearly one year-long coordinated effort to approve the building for UT System use. the UT System will move into to top six floors beginning next spring, while the remaining floors will be leased out to the Knox County Schools for its administrative offices.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to bring our teams together in a space that embodies who we are and how we work,” Boyd said. “The move will unite 396 UT employees currently working at multiple locations throughout Knoxville. Our move into the new UT Tower (formerly TVA East Tower) on the northeast end of Market Square truly is an opportunity for us to create greater collaboration, synergy, efficiency and sense of community.”
Mayor Jacobs agreed, adding that he looks forward to the heightened collaboration this move will create.
“Beyond the incredible savings we got on this deal, the opportunity to have the region’s two largest education systems operating under one roof, I know, will prove to be invaluable,” Mayor Jacobs said.
The move was first unanimously approved by the UT Board of Trustees in November 2019, followed by approval from the state building commission in June 2020.
The tower will consolidate four UT office across six miles into one collective space. The UT Foundation, which is currently located on University Avenue, will also move into the tower.
A majority of the UT System staff currently work in Andy Holt Tower, which will need an estimated $150 million in renovation in the future. The move also opens up space in the UT Conference Center, located on Henley Street, for the audiology and speech pathology department, which has been housed in South Stadium Hall below Neyland Stadium.
The UT System expects to move into the UT Tower during the spring of 2021.
When Mayor Jacobs sold the idea to the Knox County Commission. It was said that Knox County was long term leasing the building and UT was sub leasing from the county. That is not what UT says or believes obviously. So who the hell knows? 🤷🏼♂️
