Baptist Hospital Demolition and an Idea for South Waterfront Development

Recently a friend suggested I return to Baptist Hospital for some current photographs. Holes have been punched through the entire building, displaying just how narrow the building was from front to back. The City County Building is visible through the holes in the building. Somehow, it seemed bigger before. Demolition has that humbling aspect, I suppose. Both the back and the front sides host mountains of debris taken from within.

The building on the end has a “For Lease” sign on its side, meaning, I suppose that portion will be spared. It’s newer and I don’t believe it was ever actually part of the hospital. The whole thing constitutes the most dramatic change in the physical environment of the downtown area in many years. With the advent of the new buildings, it will be even more radically altered. I’ll soon be unable to picture it as it was and I’m probably not alone.

Steven Harris, a reader of this space, recently contacted me, I think partially inspired by the series by Just John saying he had a few ideas for what might be able to happen along the other portions of the southern bank of the river. I’m interspersing his vision here with the Baptist Hospital photographs.

Steven starts with what we know: The current plans for the Baptist Hospital Site and for Suttree Landing Park:

The thing that has captured his attention and is the obvious long-term elephant in the room is how to connect these two developments in order to help the south side of the river reach its potential. A funny thing, that, potential. At one time the gas silos on the opposite side of the river probably represented industrial prosperity and, perhaps it was felt, the river’s best use. But times change.

So, that leaves a gap. The two images below show first the site of the current plans and next, the gap between the two broken into the separate properties there. He notes that between the two are “a hill, Holston Gases, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Computer Systems Plus, Overhead Door Company of Knoxville, Trimble Residential Products, Kolbe Vinyl Windows and Doors,  and two (vacant) lots . . .”

Of these properties, Holston Gases seems to be the hardest to imagine moving. No doubt it would be exorbitantly expensive, but Steven points to a 2011 Knoxville News Sentinel article reporting that Holston Gases purchased a brownfield on the I-275 corridor with plans to expand there and stating that the company has no current interest in leaving its location on the river. In the article, however, board chairman Bill Baxter seemed to leave an opening for some flexibility on the issue of riverfront redevelopment, stating, the “company is interested in participating in those efforts when the right opportunity comes along . . . So taking this step at least gives us some future options in that regard. Right now, the highest and best use of that property from our standpoint is to continue growing Holston Gases.”

So, Steven asks the obvious question: What if we could get Holston to move once Baptist Hospital has been replaced by the new development? His thinking is that if we could secure the two vacant lots (on either side of Council Place – which is that section of Sevier Avenue which is one-way to the west leading up to the Gay Street Bridge) and the Holston Gases site, that would leave room for moving the lanes of Council Street over to Sevier Avenue which would unify the two currently isolated lots and improve Sevier Avenue. He pictures, “mixed use retail/restaurants with loft style living along the road on the bluff overlooking the Holston Gases lot and other development including “a restaurant or two (perhaps a Potbelly Sandwhich shop or a Tom and Chee) and some retail.”

This revision would look like this:

He imagines the stage with its back to the river, giving concert goers a view of the city in background and “a smallish berm/slope would be constructed up with three buildings at the top for restaurants, concessions and VIP areas. A ticket office would be constructed out side the area nearest the parking lot. An access road would connect around the top of the berm those areas with the Suttree’s landing park and parking lot. The outside of the berm would slope down into two small areas I could see being used as ball fields for the community or school right there across the street.

“River front docks would be extended along the area for people wanting to arrive via boat at the restaurant or new music venue.

Parking would need to be extended so along Sevier, I see a 2-3 story parking garage being constructed with retail being installed along the street front including such things as a barber shop (seen below with the dark black border). The dark red area below could be given to the school as room for parking . . .” The new development would now connect the Riverwalk development and Suttree Landing Park, making a unified waterfront development.

So, pretty cool ideas. It’s fun to speculate and his idea would seem a dream compared to the eyesores across the river at this point. Knoxville could certainly make good use of an amphitheater. I’ve certainly enjoyed the one in Nashville. I do wonder what chemicals might be left behind by Holston and Marathan and whether that might be a hurdle for redevelopment, but hopefully that would be minimal.

So, have fun thinking up your wish list for the site. And have a great weekend at First Friday which features, in addition to the great art shows, a free roots concert on Market Square and lots of good music around town including the Dirty Guv’nahs at the Bijou. Saturday brings a cool chess event in Krutch Park. Match wits with Urban Guy! Plus, the Farmers’ Market, tons of great music and some sort of college football event. Full listings here.