Mayor Bill Haslam announced today that a Knoxville couple has purchased and intends to restore the historic Pickle Mansion.

Jon and Kara Haas, of Haas Haus LLC, intend to renovate the Queen Anne home, built in 1889, for use as their residence with one or two apartments on the back. The City has agreed to support their request to subdivide the lot so they can build additional housing in keeping with the design guidelines of the Fort Sanders community.

"This purchase represents a win for historic preservation and the Fort Sanders neighborhood," Mayor Haslam said. "The City worked with the previous owners to encourage the aggressive marketing of the property and we are very pleased by the successful result."

The house was damaged by a severe fire in June 2003 and has been vacant since that time. City officials deemed the home to be in a state of "demolition by neglect," invoking an ordinance passed in December 2003 that requires owners to stabilize the property to prevent further deterioration.

The house, located at 1633 Clinch Avenue, was built by G.W. (George Washington) Pickle, a Confederate veteran and former state attorney general. Newspaper articles referred to the home as "Confederate Hall" or "Fort Sanders Hall" during his lifetime.

"We look forward to beginning work on what will become a wonderful home for our family," said Jon Haas, an instructor at the University of Tennessee's School of Architecture and Design. "We appreciate the support of the City and the community and look forward to the challenge of saving this incredible house."