A proposed land swap deal between East Tennessee State University and the Carnegie Corporation, which owns the Carnegie Hotel, has been abandoned.This decision was made following the discussion and lack of support from the Student Government Association and the Faculty Senate.

Some of the problems addressed by the SGA and Faculty Senate concerned the lack of space for future student housing, the effect it will have on groups such as cyclers and hikers, as well as if this was for the school’s benefit or for a collapsing corporation.

Dr. David Collins, vice president of finance and administration, recently spoke to SGA about the deal and the issues that the university was having with it.

The basic outline of this exchange would have involved ETSU receiving 3.6 acre lot next to the Millennium Centre that could be used for a possible performing arts building or another academic building.

The Carnegie Corporation would have received a little less than 15 acres of ETSU’s woodland areas behind the campus in the deal. They planned to use the land for a living or retirement community.

When asked about the future housing situation, Collins said the university had many things to look at when making their decision.

“We have to look at building costs and renovation costs as far as which direction we need to go,” Collins said. “One thing that housing is looking at right now is how much need is there for student housing?”

Timothy McDowell, a member of the Faculty Senate, “We are offering to swap for a retirement community that is really not a retirement community but a bailout for some investors who are very close to university and it won’t do the students or the university any good,” McDowell said.

Collins spoke earlier about the same point.

“This came up because if this does not occur there is a good chance Carnegie will go bankrupt,” Collins said. “That would affect the hotel and all of the things they do for us.”

Emergency legislation was passed at this meeting that would allow for an open forum about the swap.

This would allow the public to come and have a better understanding of what was to occur with the purchasing and selling of land with the Carnegie Corporation.

Within 24 hours of this four hour meeting, ETSU President Paul Stanton decided that the deal would not go through.

SGA President Chad Hall spoke about the recent developments that led to the land swap deal coming to abrupt end.

“The main sentiment was that while we want a fine performing arts building, we don’t want it at the expense of 15 acres of Old Grove Woods,” Hall said. “I have to be in agreement with that, I think that we need to exhaust all other options before we even look at that and even then I don’t know of any proposal that I would consider with tearing down Old Grove.

“I think the decision was the correct one and I think Dr. Stanton decided to not go ahead with the land swap and it speaks admirable of how he views the students.”

Hall recently spoke at an SGA meeting regarding the land swap and a meeting that the executive branch of the SGA had with Stanton following his decision.

“He felt blindsided and ambushed by the emergency legislation,” Hall said. “Not that he was opposed to calling off the land swap.

“He would have liked to come and have spoken with the senate, but he appreciated the discussion in the senate and the way it was handled because, in my opinion, it was handled a lot better by the students than by the faculty.

Author