Aggressively Priced Downtown Corner — Retail or Office Below, Urban Lofts Above | For Sale or Lease $384,000

FOR SALE / LEASE | 233 E. Sullivan St., Kingsport, TN 37660 | Sale: $384,000

Aggressively Priced Downtown Opportunity — Move-In Ready Office or Retail, Urban Loft Redevelopment

Imagine buying a building at approximately $45.58 per square foot and getting reimbursed for the new windows you put in. This property offers an acquisition basis that is exceptionally difficult to replicate today — well below replacement cost for historic construction of this character. With portions of the building already improved and additional space available for redevelopment, a buyer can pursue a phased renovation strategy and tailor the project to today’s market.

Address

233 E. Sullivan St., Kingsport, TN 37660

Size

±8,425 SF two-story historic building on a prominent corner

Year Built

1917

Price

$384,000 — approximately $45.58/SF, well below replacement cost

Parking

77 free parking spaces next door

Zoning

B-2 Central Business District (CBD)

Incentives

Qualified Opportunity Zone, KEDB façade & redevelopment grants, Downtown Loan programs

Preserved Historic Character

What immediately distinguishes 233 E. Sullivan Street is its preserved historic character. These original elements create the authentic loft-style environment increasingly sought by residents, office users, and retailers — and dramatically reduce the cost of recreating similar character in new construction:

• Original pressed-tin ceilings
• Exposed brick walls
• Large historic windows and abundant natural light
• High ceilings and original masonry construction
• Prominent corner storefront with excellent visibility

The Vision — Retail or Office Below, Lofts Above

The building’s two-story layout, corner visibility, and B-2 zoning line up naturally with the classic downtown mixed-use formula:

• Ground Floor — Retail, Restaurant, or Showroom. The prominent corner storefront is built for a boutique retailer, café, restaurant, tasting room, gallery, or destination retail concept. Street-level activation on this block benefits from City Hall foot traffic and downtown Kingsport’s growing calendar of events and programming.
• Upper Floor — Urban Lofts. Subject to buyer verification and municipal approvals, the upper floor may accommodate approximately four urban loft residences. Downtown lofts are currently appraising and selling at $250+/SF, and a recent condominium at Sterchi Suites (217 Broad Street) sold in July 2026 for approximately $265 per square foot — demonstrating continued buyer demand for renovated historic downtown living.
• Upper Floor — Boutique Office Alternative. The same open floor plate, natural light, and exposed brick also make a compelling creative office headquarters, professional office suite, or co-working environment for a firm seeking an authentic downtown address at a fraction of new-construction cost.

Prime Downtown Corner — Steps from City Hall

233 E. Sullivan Street is one of Downtown Kingsport’s most architecturally authentic historic commercial buildings — approximately 8,425 square feet across two stories on a prominent, highly visible corner just steps from City Hall. The property benefits from excellent visibility, strong pedestrian activity, and convenient access to Downtown Kingsport’s growing collection of restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, boutiques, galleries, entertainment venues, and professional offices. Beyond the 77 free spaces next door, more than 1,800 public parking spaces are available throughout Downtown Kingsport.

Flexible B-2 Central Business District Zoning

Kingsport’s B-2 Central Business District — the city’s most flexible and use-permissive commercial zone — encourages adaptive reuse and supports a broad range of commercial and mixed-use development. Potential permitted uses include:

• Residential loft apartments and live-work spaces (upper-floor residential expressly supported)
• Boutique retail, gallery, and specialty storefront concepts
• Restaurant, café, brewery, or tasting room
• Professional, medical, creative, and co-working office
• Entertainment, personal services, and educational uses

Qualified Opportunity Zone Asset — Tax-Advantaged Investment

Investors rolling recent stock, business, real estate, or crypto capital gains into a Qualified Opportunity Fund may defer tax on those gains, offset operating income through cost-segregation and bonus depreciation, and potentially exit federal-tax-free on appreciation after a 10-year hold. The 2025 federal tax law made Opportunity Zones a permanent part of the tax code. Buyers should consult their own tax advisor regarding eligibility and current OZ rules.

SBA 10% to 20% Down Payment Options for Purchase

For an owner-user — retailer, restaurateur, professional firm, or service company — the SBA 504 program can put ownership within reach with terms of 10, 20, or 25 years. This option could save around $500,000 in rent payments over a 10-year period. Example for illustrative purposes, subject to lender approval, underwriting, and market conditions.

Downtown Incentive Stack — Grants & Programs

Kingsport hard costs run meaningfully below peer markets — approximately $175 per square foot for multifamily hard costs versus $200 in Chattanooga, $210 in Knoxville, $245 in Nashville, and $235 in Asheville, NC. Paired with incentives — Opportunity Zone tax advantages, façade improvement grants, and the City’s Redevelopment Grant and Downtown Loan programs through the Kingsport Economic Development Board (KEDB) — projects achieve a superior basis and stronger risk-adjusted returns. Learn more at kingsporttn.gov/ecd/incentives.

Why Kingsport — Steady Growth Without the Boom-Bust Risk

Downtown Kingsport offers a compelling redevelopment story. Unlike many high-growth markets that experienced significant overbuilding, Kingsport’s historic downtown remains a supply-constrained environment where new historic buildings simply cannot be created. Combined with lower construction costs than larger regional markets, ongoing public infrastructure investment, Opportunity Zone incentives, and steady downtown revitalization, the city offers investors an opportunity to acquire irreplaceable historic assets at acquisition costs that remain well below replacement value.

$294M Capital Improvement Plan (2025–2029)

Kingsport is in the middle of significant infrastructure and beautification efforts aimed at revitalizing downtown: the Main Street Rebuild Project (new water, sewer, and stormwater lines, utilities moved underground, stamped brick crosswalks, landscaping, and bulb-outs from Market Street to Sullivan Street), the Riverwalk Park expansion backed by a $7.8 million BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation grant along the 11-mile Greenbelt, Bays Mountain Park renovations, street resurfacing, and a comprehensive Downtown Master Plan. Over 1,200 residential permits have been issued in the last five years, resulting in approximately 2,500 new residential units.

Investment Highlights

• ±8,425 SF two-story historic building — built 1917
• Priced at $384,000 — approximately $45.58/SF, well below replacement cost
• Prime downtown corner with prominent storefront visibility
• Original pressed-tin ceilings, exposed brick, historic windows, high ceilings
• Partial renovations completed — phased redevelopment strategy available
• Approximately four urban loft residences possible above (buyer to verify)
• Downtown loft comps at $250+/SF; Sterchi Suites condo sold July 2026 at ~$265/SF
• B-2 Central Business District — maximum use flexibility
• Qualified Opportunity Zone — significant federal tax advantages available
• Eligible for downtown Façade Grant, Redevelopment Grant, and Downtown Kingsport Loan Program incentives

Submarket: Downtown Kingsport / Kingsport-Bristol CBSA

Demographics Snapshot

Contact

Carson Lee Jones
615-212-5524
[email protected]
Passive Investments | eXp Commercial

Serious inquiries only — tours available upon request. Please contact the listing agent for lease rates and showing appointments.

Keywords: downtown Kingsport building for sale, historic corner building Tennessee, urban loft redevelopment Kingsport TN, retail space for sale or lease, office building under 400k, pressed tin ceiling exposed brick, Opportunity Zone property Tri-Cities, E Sullivan Street Kingsport, mixed-use investment below replacement cost, SBA 504 owner-user building

Disclaimer: All information contained herein has been obtained from sources deemed reliable; however, no representation or warranty is made as to its accuracy. The featured exterior image is a conceptual rendering depicting a potential façade renovation and does not represent current conditions. Prospective purchasers should verify all square footage, zoning compliance, loft or unit counts, Opportunity Zone boundaries, incentive program eligibility, and permitted uses with the appropriate authorities and their own professional advisors. Any references to comparable sales or per-square-foot values are for illustrative purposes only and may not represent current or future performance of the subject property. Financing examples, including the SBA 504 program, are illustrative only and subject to lender approval, underwriting, and market conditions. Opportunity Zone provisions carry specific deadlines and conditions and are subject to change by legislation or regulation.