Martin Funeral Home demolition makes way for parking in Rocky Top
Demolition of the old Martin Funeral Home in downtown Rocky Top will soon make way for creation of a public parking lot. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
The property is being cleared to make way for the city’s first public parking lot in the downtown area.
A special “brownfield” grant will help the city cover the costs of demolition and soil remediation on the lot, at 225 S. Main St. Contractor for the work is Johnson’s Service LLC, of Claxton, Ellis said.
The contractor last week completed an inspection for asbestos in the building, and it was determined to be clear, he said.
Prior to that, utility companies serving the property came in to remove all of the utilities, including gas, electric and water services, Ellis said.
Johnson’s Service had been expected to begin demolition this week, and had already moved some of its construction equipment, including a large backhoe, to the property about three weeks ago.
But Ellis said that equipment was removed from the property last weekend, and the city was told that the start of demolition had been delayed. He said no reason was given for the delay.
More than two years since the parking lot was proposed for the former funeral home site, the City Council during its May 21 meeting voted to hire the Knoxville engineering firm Ardurra Co. to check the property for underground tanks and possible leaked motor vehicle fuels in the soil.
Ellis said there appears to have been a gasoline station on the site in the 1950s, and the city must remove any tanks and fuel that may have leaked into the ground.
That’s required by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency, and the city has obtained the brownfield grant through the EPA to help pay to find the tanks and identify any leakage.
The parking lot was proposed by Mayor Kerry Templin in early 2024, and the City Council voted in March 2024 to pay up to $125,000 to buy the site.
Then on Feb. 20, 2025, the council voted to pay up to $175,000 to complete the purchase of the site to create the lot, and later that year completed the purchase. No progress had been made since then, pending possible remediation work on the site.
“We will never see development until we have dedicated parking downtown,” Templin said in 2024 when the council initially approved the offer of up to $125,000 to the owners of the property.
It was nearly a year later that Ellis said the attorneys were ready to close on the sale, and that up to $175,000 might be needed to cover the $125,000 purchase price plus $15,000 in back county taxes and associated closing costs.
The council approved the amount unanimously to complete the purchase, which includes the building, which the city intends to remove, along with the vacant lot next to it that has been used as a parking lot.
