During Monday’s Knoxville City Council meeting the council held a discussion regarding what to do with the old East Elementary building after the Knoxville Public Library is done with the building on July 13th. The council discussed two options for the building with the first option being to reutilize the building for other city needs or to allow the building to be used by non-profit organizations in the city. The council felt that the building was outdated and would be too big for non-profit organizations causing the city to potentially lose money, according to Knoxville City Manager Aaron Adams.

Adams tells KNIA/KRLS News the second option the city has is to demolish the current building and develop the property into 12 residential properties with the current playground green space left over. Adams says along with the potential residential development the city would like to upgrade the current playground on the property to allow residents another park area in a part of the city that doesn’t have one. Following the discussion the council directed city staff to investigate possible demolition costs of the building while also reaching out to potential developers interested in developing residential properties.