KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ― “TVA is committed to downtown Knoxville and we plan to maintain our headquarters here for the foreseeable future,” said TVA President and CEO Bill Johnson as he announced that TVA is investigating the sale of its current headquarters buildings located on Market Square.

“Downtown Knoxville is a vibrant place to do business and the TVA towers sit on prime real estate,” he said. “We are only utilizing about 40 percent of the space, and selling and relocating to an adjacent site could provide development opportunities for the City of Knoxville and cost savings for our customers.

The potential sale, which would also include the TVA-owned Summer Place Office and Garage Complex immediately west of the headquarters building, would be contingent on a new owner constructing a build-to-suit building at Summer Place for TVA’s new headquarters.

“We looked into several options for our Knoxville office complex,” explained Ric Pérez, TVA senior vice president of Shared Services. “Selling the towers and adjacent property and moving across the street could offer the best opportunities and savings for all of our stakeholders.” TVA will continue to evaluate and develop this option before going to the Board of Directors for approval to sell later this year.

TVA had previously considered selling the headquarters buildings in 2004, but market conditions weren’t favorable. CBRE, Inc. has been retained to manage the marketing of the property through its extensive local, national and international network.

TVA has developed a strategic real estate plan that provides a long-term, comprehensive blueprint designed to reduce O&M costs and ensure best use of its real estate assets. As part of the planning process, all TVA real estate is being reviewed with a primary focus on buildings with low occupancy rates and poor material condition.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving more than 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.