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The lush grounds of the former McMillan home on Belleville Avenue has changed hands recently with ownership now transferred to the Brewton City School System.

The property was most recently owned by the City of Brewton having been deeded to the city by members of the family who owned the nearly six acre plot of land.

Dr. Kenneth Varner, superintendent for the Brewton City School System, said he is thankful for the gift from the city.

“We appreciate the mayor and council for this,” Varner said. “They have been steadfast in helping Brewton City Schools. Not just this, but with anything they can do to help the system.”

Mayor Yank Lovelace said the property would allow some expansions should T.R. Miller High School need additional space.

“The school is landlocked right now,” Lovelace said. “This would give them property to expand if they choose to.”

The property has been owned by the McMillan family of Brewton since it was built in 1948.

“We have looked into doing needed repairs on the home to get it back to good working order,” Lovelace told the council. “We had an estimate of $400,000. We also had someone look at the roof and the cost to get things back in good condition are just too expensive.”

Varner said no immediate plans are on the table for use of the property, but there have been several ideas already making the rounds for decision making consideration.

“We don’t have any formal plans or anything concrete just yet,” Varner said. “There have been a number of things discussed including some type of athletic facility or maybe a parking area for our track facility has also been thrown out for consideration. One of our greatest needs is a girls softball field. But, for now, we are not sure what we will end up doing there.”

Although no plans are yet made, Varner did say there are some needs for the grounds of T.R. Miller School.

“We are really landlocked where we are at T.R. Miller High School,” Varner said. “This property will allow us to expand our campus and our footprint. Our location has really limited our ability to meet future needs due to the lack of property. With the proximity of the school and the residential neighborhood adjacent, there was really no way to get any more property. This will give us an entire city block to expand our campus and our footprint.”

Although the lack of expansion has been an issue in the past, Varner said he is excited about having an option.

“Having property gives you options,” Varner said. “I am tickled to have property and have some options. We will have many discussion about the future use of that property. Whatever we decide to do there will be something that will add to the appearance of Brewton.”

The property recently transferred to the Brewton City School System is located at 1600 Belleville Avenue. The property contains a home built in 1948.

According to real estate and tax records, the home consists of four bedrooms and six bathrooms. There is a tennis court on the property as well as a pool. The home has more than more than 8,000 square feet of living space. The home faces Belleville Avenue and is bound by Peavy and North Streets on either side and by Escambia Avenue at the rear.