The final home of Conway Twitty could be demolished following damages sustained on Dec. 9, 2023 when tornadoes tore through Middle Tennessee.
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The property in Hendersonville, Tenn., — which is located right outside of Nashville — was known as Twitty City from 1981 until the Country Music Hall of Famer's 1993 death. The land included a gift shop, a museum, a performance space, homes for Twitty's children and the mansion in question. Christian cable station TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) bought the property in 1994.
Per the Tennessean, TBN officials attended Tuesday's (Dec. 9) Hendersonville Planning Commission meeting to present plans that affect the mansion. TBN hopes to expand a preexisting studio that was also damaged. In addition, the network is "seeking the rezoning for development of assisted living and independent living."
"We're at a crossroads right now, and the crossroads was really none of our doing. Really it was a tornado that hit Dec. 9th," said Frank Amedia, president of the real estate division for TBN (as quoted by the Tennessean). "We have 100 staff people - production editors - that are all displaced. Some are working from home, some are trying to work in a building that's unsafe right now to be honest with you, were trying to get them out of there quickly."
TBN's plans involve demolishing the mansion, which was heavily damaged well before Dec. 9. Per the Tennessean, this part of the network's vision "concerned commission leaders due to wanting to preserve the tradition and history of Hendersonville."
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Amedia said that the "Hello Darlin'"/ Twitty Bird sign on the property will be preserved, and the network will seek the rights to display artifacts from Twitty's career in its expanded studio.
"I think if we go forward to try and bring forth a revival identity of what Twitty was there, I think that satisfies a lot because right now you have no identity of Twitty there," Amedia explained. "You can't see the Twitty bird, the brick wall is there but most people don't know what it is."
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