The vacant Christian Student Center located on the corner of Patterson Street and Watauga Avenue is up for sale to the highest bidder, and The University may have some competition.
The Highland Street Church of Christ owns the property, which was vacated in May when the Christian Student Center moved to a new location on Midland Avenue.
Church interim administrator Allen Hewitt, who is responsible for the property, said the site's future is still uncertain.
"The University has expressed some interest in it, and we are having it appraised," Hewitt said. "We have another party that's interested in it also."
"We really want The University to buy it," Hewitt said, but admitted that the property "will go to whoever pays the most for it."
Hewitt declined to name the other interested party, but said they were interested in acquiring the property as an investment. Part of The U of M master plan to expand campus to Highland Avenue could lead to increased property values in the neighborhood between Patterson and Highland as the land is bought up by The U of M.
On a map of the proposed campus expansion, a parking structure is located on the vacant Christian Student Center property.
Edwina Washington, University assistant vice president of business services, declined to comment on the University's interest in the property.
The Highland Street Church of Christ recently roped off the parking lot at the property, leading to complaints from commuters who had been taking advantage of the unmonitored parking spaces.
Jonathan Woodall, who worked at the old Christian Student Center, said that they used to sell $50 parking passes, and employees would monitor the parking lot and give tickets to unauthorized cars, but after the move, parking permits were no longer enforced.
"This year they left it open and did not sell spots, so it was a first come, first served deal," Woodall said. "I actually told them, 'You probably want to go ahead and rope this off before the fall semester starts, or you're going to have people parking here all the time.'"
Hewitt said that they wanted to keep it open as a convenience to commuters, but following complaints from people whose cars were blocked in or damaged, they closed it due to liability concerns.
"If we could figure out a way for it to be open, we would," Hewitt said. "But we can't monitor it and check cars every day."
The new Christian Student Center, located at 3611 Midland, is owned by a partnership of local churches including the White Station and Highland Street Churches of Christ, Hewlett said.
