KAAR celebrates ‘beautiful facility’ renovation
Knoxville Area Association of Realtors recently held a ribbon cutting for its newly renovated building at 609 Weisgarber Road, Knoxville.
Knoxville Chamber of Commerce facilitated the event.
“This building was designed to serve the needs of our members, and it’s much better than we could have imagined,” KAAR president Jeff Grebe said. “We are proud to have a beautiful facility that reflects the nature of our industry.”
The decision to renovate the facility was a long time coming, said Lyle Irish, KAAR CEO.
“The Association had been in the facility for several decades without much more than some minor facelifts,” Irish said. “[The decision] was only made after looking at all the options that might be available (i.e. relocating to some other existing facility, building a new facility from scratch at a different location, etc.).
“In the end, the Association's board of directors decided it made more sense to stay in the existing location and renovate.”
The square footage was only increased by about 1,800 square feet, Irish said, “But the renovated facility ‘lives’ much larger after higher ceilings were incorporated and several offices/spaces were reconfigured.”
Brewer Ingram Fuller Architects Inc. was the project’s
architect. H-S Whitson Construction Company did the construction while the Lauderdale
Design Group designed the interiors.
Renovations included a larger education center, which boasts state-of-the-art technology, an on-site catering kitchen, a new conference room and entertaining space.
“For years we’ve brought in top-notch instructors to provide continuing education to our members, and now we’re finally able to offer an equally upscale facility to better assist them in their professional development opportunities,” Irish said. “The renovated facility will serve the Association's approximately 4,300 members for many years to come.
“With state of the art audio/visual and new furnishings in the facility's education center, plus a large catering kitchen, Association members will enjoy a superior education experience unlike any other in realtor associations across the state,” he added
“In addition, the Association added a well-planned outdoor space complete with a large water feature for members to enjoy during course or meeting breaks.”
Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, founded in 1912, is one of the largest Realtor associations in the state with more than 4,000 Realtors members in 12 East Tennessee counties: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Cumberland, Fen-
tress, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott and Union.
