A prime piece of Gay Street real estate has changed hands for the third time since 2020.
Compass Ventures announced on Facebook it has acquired the property at 308 S. Gay St., one of the most valuable pieces of undeveloped land downtown Knoxville. The company, based in Sevierville, owns multiple restaurants and specializes in developing townhomes and apartments in the Smokies.
In addition to this vacant property − next to The Humble Hog and Chivo Taqueria − Compass also acquired the building at 304 S. Gay St., which is home to Friedman's Lofts and has a dentist's office on the first floor. The building was home Friedman's Jewelers from the 1940s through the 1990s and featured an iconic clock facing Gay Street.
Patrick King, property manager for
Compass, told Knox News the company purchased the properties at a foreclosure auction July 31. The Knox County Register of Deeds had not yet recorded the sale as of Aug. 11, which means we don't know the sale price. Compass did not share plans for how it would develop the vacant lot.
The properties were acquired from Ephant Group, which in 2022 purchased the vacant lot for $2.4 million and announced plans for a boutique hotel. Property records show Ephant acquired 304 S. Gay St. for $4.9 million that same year.
The previous owner, Knoxville entrepreneur and philanthropist Josh Smith, acquired the properties in 2020 for a combined $3.75 million in 2020 with plans for a mixed-use building on the vacant lot.
Compass is still deciding what's next for the properties, but King told Knox News the company wants to "take good care of it."
Sophia Tiedge is the growth and transformation reporter for Knox News. Email: sophia.tiedge@knoxnews.com
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Prime property on Gay Street changes hands (again). Who will develop it?
