In 1998 Eugenia Williams willed the university the 10,800-square-foot (including the basement and garage) riverfront house at 4848 Lyons View Drive and the 24 acres of land that surround it. A childhood friend, John Fanz Staub (UT, 1913), designed the house for her in 1940. She gave the property as a memorial to her father, Dr. David Hitt Williams, a local physician who was an early investor in Coca-Cola. She specified that the property be used in a manner “commensurate with the retention of the natural beauty of the
land . . . for some educational, residential, social, cultural, or business purpose as will promote an interest of The University of Tennessee.” And she also stipulated that the architectural integrity of the residence should be maintained.
Williams was a colorful figure, once married to real estate agent Gordon Chandler, with whom she lived for a time in Chicago. The marriage ended in divorce. She enjoyed horses, expensive cars, jewelry, and her privacy. She dressed and lived well, furnishing her dream home with fine antiques and furnishings.
The university began fund-raising to renovate the house for a president’s residence, but President Wade Gilley preferred the house on Cherokee Boulevard, which was then renovated. The Williams house stood vacant, and in 2013 the board of trustees approved a recommendation from a committee appointed by President Joe DiPietro that proposals be sought to lease the house and grounds for a period of 99 years or a period of 50 years with one renewal. Under the proposal adopted by the trustees, the house would need to be renovated to university specifications, but improvements could be made, the house could be added to, and a second single-family residence could be built on the property.
UT announced on December 5, 2014, that it would request proposals and established March 6, 2015, as the deadline for receipt of proposal.