Overton County has applied for an estimated $500,000 grant in hopes of uplifting the exterior of the historic courthouse on the square.
Livingston-Overton County Chamber of Commerce President Zach Stephens said Upland Design Group performed an architectural assessment on the building. Stephens said the assessment revealed several issues with the exterior of the courthouse.
“We’ve learned that there are some masonry issues, deterioration of windows, doors, their frames, and potentially even some mechanical systems issues,” Stephens said. “So that’s why we are applying for this grant.”
Stephens said Overton County has the eighth-oldest courthouse in the state. Stephens said he believes it is important to give the courthouse a facelift as it is such a historic building in Overton County.
“This building was completed in 1869, and it sits on the registry of historic places,” Stephens said. “And it truly is the centerpiece and backdrop of our beautiful downtown square. So, ensuring that this historic building is preserved is absolutely important to our community. Especially from a tourism perspective, as we want visitors to come here and see how beautiful this place is.”
Stephens said almost every grant nowadays is very competitive. However, Stephens said he believes the county has a good chance of receiving the funding.
“We believe based off of all the information that we were able to provide, thanks to the Upland Design Group condition overview, along with our community status as an at-risk community through the Appalachian Regional Commission, along with the county moving forward and appropriating $100,000 to help move this project forward, based off all of those factors, we believe that we have a pretty good chance,” Stephens said. “You know, of course, there is no guarantee in things like this.”
The grant is called the Historic Development Grant, which is administered by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Stephens said he is unsure when the county will hear back about the grant application.
Stephens said the courthouse’s uplift would go along with other projects that have been completed to improve the downtown area.