First Baptist Church complex at Georgia Avenue and Oak Street
A building designed by famed Chattanooga architect R.H. Hunt is going on the market in Chattanooga.
The County Commission is set to vote on May 6 to declare what is now known as the county’s MLK Building at 317 Oak St. to be surplus.
The county will then seek Requests for Proposals on the spacious, four-story building with a handsome pink sandstone front.
Minimum bid will be $4.1 million, which is the appraised value, officials said.
The building is jointly owned by Hamilton County and the Hamilton County Department of Educatioin, which formerly used it for the central office. The two will split the proceeds.
The building was constructed in 1928 as part of a complex to serve the congregation of the First Baptist Church, which had been built in 1886 at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Oak Street.
The church itself was a Romanesque-style building that featured a 140-foot tower. It was largely made of pink sandstone.
Architect Hunt, who designed many buildings across the South, was a member of the church.
The church was torn down at the time First Baptist moved to a new site at the Golden Gateway in the 1960s when the homes and businesses at Cameron Hill were being torn down.
There was an administration building at the rear of the church. It connected to the Sunday School building (or education building) by two upper passageways. The administration building was also torn down.
The First Baptist Church Education Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The county Real Property office will be handling the sale, which will have to be approved by the County Commission.
County officials said county employees in the building will be moved to other county locations.
Todd Leamon, county public works administrator, said, rather than the county continuing to spend money on upkeep of the building, “The higher and better use would be to put it back on the county tax rolls.”
Sunday School building of old First Baptist Church