The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee leases unused DOE land and equipment to private-sector companies at the K-25 site, which is also referred to as the East Tennessee Technology Park or the Heritage Center.

If approved by the state of Tennessee and the Environmental Protection Agency, the proposal will be forwarded to DOE headquarters for concurrence and then transmitted to the appropriate Congressional committees for review, according to an Energy Department document.

Ranging from 14 to 44 years old, the buildings are located in the southern portion of K-25 - a World War II-era site originally used to enrich uranium for use in nuclear weapons. The buildings were reportedly used for office space and are identified as K-1007, K-1225, K-1330 and K-1580.

Originally, there were was a fifth building scheduled to be transferred to CROET as part of this deal. K-1400, an office building in K-25's main plant area, is used by the site's utilities systems and infrastructure contractor, Operations Management International Inc.

"The building was removed from this package at the request of CROET," explained DOE spokesman Walter Perry. "CROET has decided that they would like transfer of this property to be combined with one or two other buildings that are located in the same area of the site.

"The four buildings that are included in the [package] are all located near the periphery of the site."

The proposed transfers, if approved, could take place in the January 2005 timeframe, according to the Energy Department document. Previously, DOE officials said they hoped to have the transfer complete sometime during fiscal year 2004, which actually ended Sept. 30.