New Report Says RCA Studio A Could Be Saved

A new report issued on Monday (Sept. 29) refutes the claim that the building housing the historic RCA Studio A is in such poor shape that it cannot be saved.

Nashville-based Bravo Development bought the building in July, and after an inspection, owner Tim Reynolds said the old building suffered from so many problems with mold, old wiring, HVAC and other issues that it was impractical to renovate it. He served the building's tenants with an eviction notice earlier in September and has announced plans to proceed with demolition.

Nashville-based songwriter and producer Trey Bruce is part of the the Save Studio A campaign. That group funded its own report on the state of the building, and the results differ significantly from Bravo's public statements on the matter.

The new report was compiled by construction management firm Building Trust, Inc., using information from public tax records, satellite images and public photos, For Sale by Owner documents, discussions with existing and past tenants, records of recent upgrades and repairs and two reports provided by the current owner himself through news media.

No physical inspection of the property took place; attorneys for Bravo served Bruce with a legal document on Sept. 18, which read in part, "Any plans you and/or your associate(s) have to send an inspector to the Property without the permission and consent of Bravo Development will be treated as an invasion and illegal trespass, and Bravo Development will seek all appropriate legal remedies for such illegal actions."

The new report concludes, "We have carefully reviewed the general observations made in the architectural and engineering reports provided by the owner. We estimate that the cost of completing the readily achievable ADA upgrades, as well as completing the identified repair and maintenance issues addressed for Studio A, under its current use, to be less than $375,000. Additional funds should be budgeted for routine ongoing annual maintenance."

In light of that, Bruce is challenging the veracity of Bravo's previous assessment.

“If Mr. Reynolds’ claims about Studio A are true, we urge him to welcome the public and news media to visit the building and photograph the ‘catastrophic conditions’ he has described, if they actually exist,” he says in a press release. “Instead, he is trying to keep us quiet with Cease and Desist notices. Our community wants to know why the headlines don’t match the facts.”

The building is currently slated for demolition unless someone with a eye toward preservation makes an offer by Tuesday (Sept. 30).