The State of Tennessee will soon sell its downtown-located Citizens Plaza to Metro Nashville and is also looking to lease its James K. Polk Building — the latter home to the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.
The Tennessee Journal reports the state will sell Citizens Plaza, previously anchored by Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company but empty since 2017, to Metro Nashville.
The Tennessee Department of General Services oversees state real estate holdings. Catherine Carter, General Services assistant director of communications, says the state has not finalized when the Citizens Plaza building will be officially sold to Metro.
The effort comes as the state looks to undertake a $183 million upgrade to its Legislative Plaza, also located downtown.
The state acquired the 15-story, roughly 195-foot-tall Citizens Plaza building in 1986 for about $25.36 million, according to Metro records. Sitting on 0.57 acres, the building offers an address of 400 Deaderick St. The state originally began the process to sell the building in late 2017.
The 24-floor Polk Building is located at 301 Rep. John Lewis Way and is recognized as the home of TPAC and as having formerly housed the Tennessee State Museum. The state paid $1.95 million for the property in 1974, with the Metro Development and Housing Agency the seller.
Carter says the plan is for the state to long-term ground lease the Polk Building property to a developer, "who can then redevelop the property as they see fit."
The state maintains some offices in the building.
Designed in a cantilever style, the James K. Polk State Office Building opened in 1985. It rises almost 400 feet, ranking it among the city’s 15 tallest buildings.
Tony Marks, TPAC vice president of marketing and communications, could not be reached for comment regarding the nonprofit's long-term plans related to the future possible ground-leasing of the Polk Building. The TPAC exterior entrance and marquee underwent an upgrade a few years ago.
This story first ran via our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
