The Chattanooga State Office Building is located at 540 McCallie Ave.The seven-story limestone building towers over most of its neighbors on McCallie Avenue in downtown Chattanooga.
The 60-year-old, utilitarian-style building at 540 McCallie Ave. is locally referred to as the former State Office Building and is viewed by many as a glum and gloomy eyesore in the developing downtown.
Tennessee's Preservation Trust begs to differ.
Saying the building is a piece of history and should be saved, the Preservation Trust put the former Interstate Life Insurance Co. building on its 2014 list of Ten in Tennessee Endangered Properties.
According to the trust's website, the Ten in Tennessee program is its strongest advocacy tool for the state's historic sites. Listing the building as an endangered site "raises awareness of the property's historic value, gives credibility to restoring the building, and draws the much needed attention of the public."
The trust website says more than half of the properties named to its lists since 2001 have been saved or are in the process of being protected or rehabilitated.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation named the building one of its 11 Most Endangered Historic Places earlier this year.
The building was erected in 1954 to house the Interstate Life Insurance Co. The state bought it in 1981 for office space. In the past few years, consultants have described the building as "functionally obsolete," and estimated a cost of nearly $8.49 million to bring the building up to date.
Since 2013, state offices have been moving out of the building. When it is vacant early next year, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will take it over, university spokeswoman Cindy Carroll said.
"Planning for the future of this building is fluid at this point," Carroll said.
School officials are unsure whether they will use the building for housing and academic support, or if it will be demolished.
UTC officials have said renovating the building would be a more attractive option if they received some preservation funding.
Meanwhile, Carroll said, UTC has acquired an additional 200 parking spaces at the building, which has made a large dent in the chronic campus parking shortage.
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.