The Beaty Mason home, built in 1826, was named for Robert Beaty, the founder of Athens. The 5,500-square-foot home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Beaty-Mason Home, one of the oldest homes in Athens, may soon be on the market after a recent decision to sell the property.

A majority of the board of trustees of Athens State University voted Friday to release the home for public sale.

The 5,500-square-foot home, built in 1826, is at 211 S. Beaty St. It was used as the president’s home since being purchased by the college in the late 1950s and has been through several renovation projects in the years since.

Bullington House, which has been the president’s home since 2010, is on campus near the entrance to the college at the intersection of Bryan and Beaty streets. It was built in 1910.

The Beaty-Mason Home has been vacant for more than 11 years. University spokesman Chris Latham said in that time, the school spent more than $1 million on “extensive renovations” to the home. He said it would take an estimated $1.2 million more to bring the home up to state standards in terms of accessibility.

The future of the home has been debated in recent years. Last fall, three public meetings were held to determine what the school should do with it.

“The consensus from these sessions was that the local community would prefer the home to serve as a private residence,” Latham said. “After further discussion, the Board determined the best interest of the University and local community is that the Beaty-Mason Home be sold.”

He added the board of trustees recognizes the historical importance of the home and desires it be sold “in a manner reflective of that significance.” To that end, he explained the home will be sold in one of three ways:

• Public auction;

• Publicly sought sealed bids in accordance with the state bid law; or

• By utilizing a duly licensed real estate broker who shall publicize the offer in accordance with customary practices or through negotiation after publicly announced requests for proposals to sell are made.

Latham said there are no immediate plans to sell or auction the property, but he added the process could begin within the next few months.

“Depending on which method is used, it may take a while for the process to be complete,” he said.