Kingston Apartments, a 21-story, 204,435-square-foot apartment building sited on 2.75 acres facing Kingston Pike, was opened in the fall of 1968. At the time it was Knoxville’s tallest building. Constructed at a cost of $3,327,000, the structure was built under a contract-to-purchase agreement with private developer John Fiser. Architects for the building were Lindsey and Maples, and the contractor was John R. Fiser Associates. When completed it had 240 apartments, a two-story parking garage for 309 cars, a swimming pool, and other recreational facilities.
In 1972 bricks began cracking and falling off the building. The problem was created by a lack of expansion room in the brickwork, and Brisk Waterproofing Company of Atlanta was employed for a three-month project to correct underlying expansion problems and replace bricks. In 1975 Rental Properties spent $91,000 trying to correct the heat and air conditioning deficiencies in the building—the heating and air conditioning system installed was inadequate to provide heat and air conditioning to floors 12–20 of the structure. The work helped but did not correct the problems, so residents were issued portable heaters and fans.
The Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration auctioned the building in 2006 after UT decided that it no longer needed the facility. UT received $6.1 million from the sale to Vols Equities LLC.