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| Fire Street Lofts, Old City, Knoxville |
I’ll move on to other topics after today’s post, but I did want to mention the last two homes I visited on my downtown home tour. Both are in the Old City, which is contains the greatest density of population in the center city. Fire Street Lofts are located at 220 W. Jackson Avenue (the street comprised of exposed brick) and Westmoreland Condominiums are located around the corner at 135 S. Central Street.
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| Entrance to the condo at Fire Street Lofts, Knoxville |
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| Bathroom, Fire Street Lofts, Knoxville |
I’d visited Fire Street Lofts before and really liked them the first time around. As I recall, I toured one or two units with balconies which looked toward the south. This unit was on the northern side of the building and so, had views toward the train depot and Sharp’s Ridge. Like many downtown homes, it is long and fairly narrow and it is a single-level dwelling. A hallway runs along one side and inter-connected rooms are partitioned off down the other side, with the bathroom leading to a laundry room then a bedroom, which has only a partial wall separating it from the kitchen and dining area/den.
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| Walk-in Closet/Laundry Room connects bathroom and bedroom |
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| Fire Street Lofts, Bedroom with brick and half-wall |
As I write that, I’m not sure I’m doing it justice as it was very cool and open, though privacy was preserved for the bedroom from the rest of the home. Pipes and plumbing were exposed, but something that warmed all that up for me was the exposed beams, which were massive and unadorned, but softened what could be a more industrial feel without their influence. Also included was very cool downtown Knoxville art and historical photographs and paintings. If you like this condo, you might want to check this one out. It is a unit in Fire Street Lofts for sale for just over 400K with just under 2K sq. ft.
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| What home? |
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| A closer look – Westmoreland Condominiums |
I’m always surprised and delighted by at least one of the homes I visit on this annual tour and the spot for “Coolest Home” was waiting at my final stop. Around the corner and very easy to miss were the Westmoreland Condominiums. I’d never toured them and time was short, so I skipped the Jacksonian which I’d seen before. At first glimpse, their did not appear to be a home to view, simply the parking lot for Enterprise Rent-a-Car. A second look revealed mums, pumpkins and a little door.
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| Kitchen/Den, Westmoreland Condominiums, Old City, Knoxville |
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| Laundry Room/Bathroom, Westmoreland Condominiums |
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| Young Urbanite’s Room, Westmoreland Condos, Old City, Knoxville |
Inside was a beautiful surprise: Not only did I find some of downtown Knoxville’s most discerning citizens, Brent and Casey (hint: they read this blog – what great taste!), but I found a beautiful home and a lovely little family including one of our newest urban citizens whose grandmother held him the entire time I looked around – which was also something I could completely get behind.
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| Westmoreland Condominiums, Old City, Knoxville |
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| Another view of the gorgeous kitchen |
The condominium is very spacious and the kitchen in particular is beautiful with its stainless steel and colorful tile. Like most homes in the city, the kitchen opens into the living area which is, in this case, very large. Just outside this area is a private enclosed porch and I think parking is provided with the home, which is a very sweet deal if you can get it in the city.
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| Private Porch, Westmoreland Condos, Old City, Knoxville |
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| Den/Living Area, Westmoreland Condominiums, Knoxville |
And so concluded another tour of the city. I love these tours – in our city and in others. It’s interesting to catch a glimpse of how other people live and utilize space in a private setting. It says something about us, I think. I also come away from these tours realizing the variety of housing options even our small city has to offer and looking forward to the homes to be added soon. Maybe one of them will be yours!