Feb. 21–In its heyday, the Farragut Building in downtown Knoxville played host to the likes of Merv Griffin, Babe Ruth and David Ben-Gurion.
The historic Gay Street property is mostly empty now, but a California firm is hoping to resurrect it as a hotel.
The city of Knoxville said Friday that representatives of Sacramento-based Halo Hospitality Group will host an open house on Monday to discuss their proposal for a 190-room hotel in the building at 530 S. Gay St.
According to a development assistance application filed with the city, an entity called Farragut Group LLC has an option to buy the building. The application indicated that Farragut Group is affiliated with Pacific Capital, a real estate investment firm also located in the Sacramento area.
The application estimated the cost of the project at $40 million, and said the new owner would seek a PILOT tax incentive and other grants to help finance the work.
A representative of Pacific Capital declined to comment for this story, but the application said the project “will return the building to its former historic glory and will enhance the density of the entertainment district.”
According to preservation group Knox Heritage, the building was designed in 1919 and named after Navy Admiral David Glasgow Farragut.
The organization said its past guests included Griffin, the television personality who hosted “The Merv Griffin Show”; the New York Yankees, during an exhibition tour in the 1930s; and Ben-Gurion, who was the first prime minister of Israel.
Downtown Knoxville has seen a slew of hotel proposals in recent months, although there’s no guarantee that all of them will come to fruition.
The Farragut Building is located two blocks from a vacant site at the corner of Church Avenue and State Street, where an Atlanta firm has announced plans for a 120-room Residence Inn by Marriott.
In addition, a proposed redevelopment of the former Supreme Court building, on Henley Street, is slated to include a 130- to 135-room hotel, and a project planned on the former Baptist Hospital site, in South Knoxville, includes a proposed hotel.
Developer Nick Cazana is also planning a 120-room hotel called The Tennessean in the former Henley Street State Office Building, across from the Knoxville Convention Center.
The Farragut Building has been targeted for renovations before.
In 2008, a San Diego-based entity called 5 Torrey Hills bought the property for $3.5 million. That company — which still owns the building — said at the time that it would be converted to apartments and retail, but that plan never came to fruition.
According to the new application, the building is now vacant except for the French Market cr?perie on the ground floor.
Halo Hospitality Group will outline its proposal during a 5 p.m. open house on Monday, at the East Tennessee History Center. A tour of the Farragut Building’s first floor will follow at 5:30.
