What Happens Next in the City?

Knoxville Urban Guy·
Development
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ULI Report

What happens next in the city? It’s the question that makes many of you tune in each morning to see the daily topic on this blog. Many of us feel like simple observers in the pageant that is downtown development. We’re hopeful that it goes well, but we feel powerless to influence it. Well, perhaps this is one of those opportunities for your voice to be heard.

The Urban Land Institute visited Knoxville at the request of the City. They were to make suggestions for the World’s Fair Park, the Jackson Avenue/McClung Warehouses site, Henley Street, the old Supreme Court Site and the Coliseum/Auditorium site. Taken together, decisions and resulting development on these sites will go a long way toward dictating the bigger picture of what happens next in the city for the next ten or twenty years or more. These are big topics.

ULI Report2

The final written report was published this week and on March 19 at 5:30 (site undetermined) the city will hold a public hearing to discuss the findings. If no one shows, the city will not know how we feel about the information. If you don’t express your opinion, no one will know what you think. Our city government is filled with good people who have good intentions and would probably be inclined to do what the people want – if you tell them what that is.

You can find the full report here. The whole document is 36 pages. The meat of what they have to say is only 22 pages. It’s an easy read and there are very few surprises if you attended the presentation at the Bijou Theatre or if you read my articles on the topic. I took three full posts to write  an overview of their impressions, their recommendations for Henley Street and the Supreme Court sites and, finally, their recommendations for the World’s Fair Park, McClung and Coliseum sites.

Here are the “overarching recommendations” from the final report, including a surprise or two:

  • Transform the Henley Street corridor by introducing on-street parking and activating the street with retail and a pedestrian-friendly environment.
  • Redevelop the State Supreme Court site with active uses, such as mixed-use development with a performing arts component, and ensure that any future requests for proposals clearly guide design and program mix.
  • Preserve the World’s Fair Park’s green space as an amenity for current and future Knoxville residents, and activate underused sites and additional infill sites with synergistic uses, such as homes for existing cultural organizations seeking new space.
  • Relocate those existing uses currently at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum to downtown, and engage in a public master-planning process to envision and create a vibrant, desirable, mixed-income community that includes diverse housing types and households.
  • Consider a master-developer approach to ensure successful and contextual redevelopment for 400 and 500 W. Jackson Ave.
  • Extend Knoxville’s greenway connection north from the World’s Fair Park.

Beneath the surface of the headline recommendations are some interesting details:

  • Although downtown Knoxville represents the smallest residential submarket in the region, it is also the fastest growing area in the region.
  • Knoxville was one of three cities in the country to have recovered from the “great recession” by 2012 (Pittsburgh and Dallas)
  • Market conditions do not support new office development at this time.
  • Market conditions do not support new hotel development at this time.
  • The downtown residential market has been the strongest performer in the area market since 2008.
  • Increased population will create a need for additional core retail offerings.
  • There is a strong opportunity for Knoxville to transform its infill sites
  • While the 2014 amended design guidelines for downtown are good, “the panel strongly recommends that the city go beyond these existing guidelines and develop educational programs and tools so that the private development community clearly understands the city’s design vision for downtown as well as specific design requirements.
  • Current rail operations (on the north side of town) carry about three freight trains a day and the city should attempt to reduce the width of this corridor.
  • Create a sports hub on the north side of Fort Sanders including possibly creating a new home for the Tennessee Smokies. Also consider moving the Knoxville Ice Bears to this location.
  • Daylight First Creek, plant trees and develop pedestrian walkways and reduce James White Parkway.
  • Support families in downtown with a full range of school choices
  • Use local artists to enliven the public realm, especially forgotten or overlooked public spaces.
  • Make Henley Street pedestrian-friendly, thus eliminating the need for elevated walkways.
  • Existing guidelines must be strictly enforced so that new buildings address Henley Street appropriately.
  • Place the Clarence Brown Theater in the old Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center (beneath the Holiday Inn).
  • Extend a pedestrian/cycling connection from the north end of the World’s Fair Park to West Jackson Avenue.
  • The Supreme Court site should target “mixed uses including ground-floor retail, a significant cultural or performing arts component (the functions now served by the Civic Auditorium) above that, and upper-floor residential.
  • Design for Jackson Avenue should be guided by a master developer. Parking should be below grade. Design guidelines could be included as terms of purchase and deed covenants.
  • The Coliseum area is an example of previous generations “urban renewal” gone awry and should be re-imagined as a mixed residential area. (They note that the current complex loses nearly a million dollars per year).

ULI Report3

There is more and there is supporting information for what I’ve included above in the full document. Please take time to read it if you care about downtown Knoxville’s future. The question on the table now is what will we do with this information? Will we say these ideas are too bold and crazy? Will we give them some lip-service, but ignore them going forward? Do we have the will to downsize Henley Street and James White Parkway? Do we have the will to fight for a realistic size for our train yard? Will we really unearth a creek (or two)? Will we really begin to insist that developers must find a way to place retail at street level in new construction?

Or will we simply say those ideas are too fancy for us and we’ll just stick to “good enough?” Will we continue to say, “We’re not Chattanooga/Asheville/Nashville/New York City.” Are we ready to demand excellence?

The answer to that question may be up to you. For the city to have the will to make bold statements, they need to know they have support. Will our design community step up and insist that the city reach for a higher ideal? Will downtown residents let the city know how much these things matter? Will developers be willing to find a way to include these ideas in their proposals, designs and construction?

Read the report. Comment to the city starting today at  ULI@cityofknoxville.org. Attend the meeting on March 19. We will not get a do-over if we don’t get this right this time around.

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32 Responses

  2. Thanks for the great summary! Our community has great opportunity. The March 19th meeting falls during Spring Break, but I hope there will still be a good turnout.

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  3. It’s a good start. Now it’s time for action. Let’s read the full report, prepare our responses, and most importantly, show up and make our voices heard. We should also consider a pre-hearing meeting to get organized? Anyone interested?

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    1. I think that some pre-meeting preparedness or community organization is an excellent idea. A choir singing together is much easier to understand than are disorganized voices !

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      1. Ah, replying to myself. I wish I could think all my thoughts at one time !

        A couple of posts ago, Knoxville Urban Guy unveiled an ‘IoK Live’ concept, and asked for topics to discuss. Randy’s idea is a great one. If Urban Guy can devote one or two meetings prior to March 19 to the topic of ‘ULI Assessments and Recommendations’ perhaps a critical nucleus of commentary can develop.

        Reply

  5. I’ll miss this meeting due to work, but the idea of having the Tennessee Smokies in Knoxville thrills me. Will someone go and put my vote in for that?

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  6. I think that the ULI report embodies tremendous opportunity–if we can make our voices heard. Go to the City website, read up, and send the City your thoughts. I made a set of comments, below–if you’re pressed for time or effort, just copy-paste the ones you like.

    http://www.cityofknoxville.org/urbanlandinstitute/KnoxvilleTN_PanelReport_FINAL.pdf

    ULI@cityofknoxville.org

    ————-
    Frequent readers will know my thoughts on the possibilities for downtown (some of which are linked below).

    One specific set of recommendations they made, which was unexpected, was to (a) construct a new coliseum site, (b) attempt to re-acquire the Smokies baseball team and build a new stadium for them, and (c) cluster a sports complex north of downtown. I think that such an idea could be great ! If we assume we’ll be stuck with the interstate 275/Henley interchange for a long time (though we needn’t resign ourselves to it), an overhead map shows two easy sites for new municipal buildings–making use of space that otherwise no one will ever want to use.

    A coliseum / auditorium space situated between the (upcoming) new Broadway viaduct and the east side of the interchange would provide a great terminated vista for viewing along the railyard (or, say, an elevated park over it). The Smith-Hammaker building is already going away (a consequence of Broadway reconstruction), so property acquisition would be less a concern than it could have been.

    The second available ‘gap site’ lies at the southwest side of the interchange, the wedge-shaped space just north of the curving Western Avenue. A new Smokies Stadium would fit there quite nicely–grandstands and home plate at the apex of the wedge, and outfield southward.

    ————

    Earlier thoughts:

    — Changing James White Parkway:
    http://insideofknoxville.com/2014/10/how-could-we-change-james-white-parkway/

    — Fixing Henley Street:
    http://insideofknoxville.com/2014/09/another-attempt-at-a-henley-solution-a-multiway-boulevard/

    — Re-working the Interstate interchange at Henley:
    http://insideofknoxville.com/2014/11/improving-the-citys-road-network-and-transit-pt-1/

    — Revitalizing the Coliseum District:
    http://insideofknoxville.com/2014/10/the-coliseum-district/

    — Jackson Avenue and the Norfolk-Southern Railyard:
    http://insideofknoxville.com/2014/08/transformative-vision-part-two-terminated-vistas-buildings-and-parking/

    —————–

    I’ve strung together a few words, for the benefit of the busy commenter. Simply copy and paste any of these that you agree with, and e-mail them to ULI@cityofknoxville.org .

    Without further to-do:

    I whole-heartedly support the ULI’s findings for improvements to downtown Knoxville.

    REGARDING THE REDEVELOPMENT OF JACKSON AVENUE:

    I support decking over the railyard with a park. I believe that if this is accomplished prior to issuing the RFP the land sites will be much more desirable, and the City will capture that value via higher sales price and faster absorption. I believe that such a park would make the empty lots north of the railyard equally desirable. I believe that Norfolk-Southern can be convinced of the public-relations benefits of agreeing to participate in the process.

    I support completing the purchase of the Smith-Hammaker building on Broadway and including that site in an RFP.

    I support the creation of underground or below-grade parking.

    I support “master-planning” the large site to ensure an appropriate mix of uses.

    I support reserving space for desired tenants–arts, museum, or even utilitarian tenants like pharmacy or grocery–even if they cannot be immediately attracted.

    I support mixed-use redevelopment of 4 to 10 stories. A tower might take too long to absorb.

    I believe redevelopment should be mostly residential, with street-level spaces filled by a combination of retail, arts, restaurant, and residential-foyer spaces.

    I support creating a landmark site, such as a roundabout at Broadway and Jackson with central sculpture.

    I support streetscape improvements and traffic calming for Jackson Avenue: street trees, on-street parking where possible, pedestrian bulb-outs at crossings.

    I support improving connectivity with a roadway or pedestrian way from Vine to Jackson.

    I support improving connectivity with a roadway or pedestrian way from Vine to Broadway.

    REGARDING THE WORLD’S FAIR SITE:

    I support preserving the open and green spaces of the park, keeping them off-limits to development.

    I support lowering the adjacent parts of Western to ground level, allowing better at-grade interactions with the park and nearby neighborhoods.

    I support intensification at the convention center and exhibition hall buildings themselves, via adding structures for additional uses: the Clarence Brown theater; MUSE; or added residential space of four to 10 stories. There is plenty of street-side space to create inviting entry-foyer spaces.

    I support using the trapezoidal land space between the two limbs of Cumberland Avenue just west of Henley Street, now holding only small utility works, to add additional residential and commercial space to the area.

    I support sector-parking development north of Cumberland, with the northern surface lots used for additional intensification: mid-rise residential; MUSE; or theater.

    I support sector-parking development south of Cumberland, with a garage placed east of Second Creek. Negotiate with the Church Street Methodist Church and UT to include their surface parking needs within this garage. Use the newly available space for additional intensification: mid-rise residential and student housing; commercial; park-related uses like climbing walls.

    I support trenching of the railroad line, below surface level, to remove the split in the park space.

    I support daylighting Second Creek where possible.

    REGARDING HENLEY STREET:

    I support traffic calming, via roadside improvements. I support wider sidewalks, street trees, and on street parking.

    I support the ULI’s proposal of simply narrowing the road by introducing street parking lanes, though I believe that a better solution in the same vein would be the reimagining of the street as a multiway boulevard, with rapid traffic and local street-side traffic separated by planted medians.

    I support additional traffic calming, by narrowing the wide lanes currently in use, to a more urban-appropriate 10 feet per lane. This creates additional space for either sidewalks or transit or shared space.

    I support the introduction of space for alternative modes of transportation, including bicycle lanes.

    I support the introduction of dedicated lanes for shared transit, such as dedicated bus traffic lanes in the medians.

    I support greater intensification of uses along the street side, both at the Knoxville convention center in exhibition hall, where there could be additional theater space or above-center residential midrise towers.

    I support intensification in currently open spaces along the street coming including the patch of space between the two branches of Cumberland Avenue, currently housing only small utility devices. This space is owned by the city, and could easily be placed in an RFP.

    I support a sector parking plan, in which addition of parking to the garage at the exhibition center allows removal of additional surface parking along in the street, along further intensification there.

    I support the creation of grants to allow buildings currently along Henley Street which have turned their faces away from the street side, to re-create active street faces.

    I support a simplification of the complex interchange at the north end of Hinley Street. This can be accomplished in any number of ways, but I believe that reorienting Broadway and Western into a single Curved way, with a simple crossing intersection of Henley Street and the ramps would allow great improvement of that area, and further intensification in the newly open spaces of the interchange.

    I believe that, since Henley Street is one means of entry and exit from the city, an added connection from Neyland Avenue along the current Estabrook Drive to Cumberland, and from there to Henley, would allow for improvements at the downtown part of Neyland Avenue, including narrowing the roadway to a more appropriate size, allowing riverside improvements.

    I support the removal of the pedestrian bridge. This bridge saps what pedestrian energy there currently is, and if the street is narrowed it would not be needed.

    REGARDING THE STATE SUPREME COURT SITE:

    I support the redevelopment of this large block as a mixed-use area, with ground-floor arts or educational facilities, or perhaps retail. The space is large enough for a grocery store or similar utilitarian tenant, alongside and in addition to more interesting uses.

    I support the creation of needed parking either in underground spaces on the block, or if this is not feasible then in structured parking in the side of the block away from in the street, hidden behind liner stores or façades.

    I support the use of a “master planning” service for development of this block, rather than as a single monolithic building. Variation in building character and frontage creates a more inviting streetscape. It also allows a finer grained mix of uses, and better absorption.

    I believe that mixed-uses could be accomplished via creation of one or more larger retail or arts oriented sites on the ground floor, and subsequently the selling of smaller parcels of air rights. This would allow finer grained mixing.

    I believe that, since this project is of an entire city block, there is room to allow for more interesting architecture. Consider pedestrian alleys leading into the central core of the block, not narrow but rather daylighted and well-appointed, leading to interior arcade structures or courtyards.

    I believe that among potential uses for the ground-floor space, in addition to the grocery store or other utilitarian fare, would be a site for the Clarence Brown theater, or a children’s museum, or other arts oriented use.

    REGARDING THE COLISEUM DISTRICT:

    I support reconfiguring the area as a more traditional set of urban blocks, rather than the disused superblocks that are currently present.

    I support repurposing the land for residential development. However, I believe that the large parking garages flanking the roadways in the district are quite useful. These would offer an infrastructural foundation for construction of midrise or even high-rise towers. They are set back significantly from the roadway, offering space for ground floor retail and commercial liner buildings.

    I support the concept of renovating or reconstructing a coliseum that is up-to-date and attractive. Whether this is in the current site, or elsewhere, is less important.

    I believe that if the coliseum is to be moved, then it may be advantageousl placed north of Western and Broadway, near Henley Street. This would be more easily accomplished if the complex interchange there is simplified. There is extensive over complication of the road system there. One can imagine, if the large interchange is simplified to a T intersection or smaller intersections, especially if the central/downtown part of I 275 is reconfigured as a boulevard, then there are many, many acres of available space. This could create the site for an urban hub, as all of the major interstate highways and several city radials have a confluence there.

    Some of the land in the coliseum district is owned by a park foundation. This land should be retained as green space, though it may be potential he better used if landscaped as an urban amenity.

    Regardless of the potential for redevelopment and reconfiguration in this district, the area will remain underused as long as it is so strongly separated from the rest of the city by the large highways. I believe that James White Parkway and Neyland Avenue should be right sized, to accommodate normal traffic uses rather than traffic for football games.

    I support the reconstruction of the Hall of Fame Avenue as a broad avenue or multiway boulevard, with accommodations for bicycle and transit, as well as accommodating the drivers who would otherwise be on the nearby highways. In turn, I believe that the highways should be removed, and first creek unearthed. This would create an urban amen it, allowing redevelopment on a total of seven city blocks on each side of the creek.

    I believe that the city should capitalize on redevelopment of this area, and upon reimagining of the transportation valley between it and the downtown proper, by using value capture techniques to partially repay the costs involved in reconfiguration.

    I believe that the current low income subsidized housing developments at the northeast and northwest corners of the district should be reimagined as mixed income mixed-use more urban areas, such as view townhomes or mid rise buildings. I believe that this should be accomplished via an inclusionary zoning in process, in which subsidized housing is indistinguishable from and intermixed with market rate housing.

    I believe that the James White Parkway portion south of the district, on the riverfront, should be reconfigured as a standard avenue or multiway boulevard.

    I believe, similarly, that the portion of Neyland Avenue south of downtown is over-large. It may be reduced in volume by half, allowing creation of standard intersections rather than limited access, as well as creation of a Riverside Park, a public amenity for all.

    I believe that the creation of an additional network street, coursing from the intersection of Summit Hill and East Hill avenues, making its way to Jessamine Street and from there to the foot of Hall of Fame Avenue at the interstate interchange, would improve connectivity and access.

    I believe that the intersection at Summit Hill and East Hill offers an opportunity for a place making site, perhaps a roundabout or central square.

    ————-

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  7. I certainly don’t describe myself as a sports fan, but I think one of the top five things the city could do to leap ahead economically would be to attract the Smokies baseball team (now owned by Randy Boyd) back to downtown with a new stadium. The peripheral business boost to adjacent city nightlife during the warm weather months is undeniable.

    One of the downsides of the former location, Bill Meyer Stadium, was that it forced driving visitors into an area and onto streets that were uncomfortable to them via Magnolia. However, since the demolition of the old grandstands, a lot has changed in that area, including the street layout. Most importantly, however, is that the site (already owned by the City) now lies interestingly close to the Hall of Fame Drive exit off on I-40. A bridge over the railroad tracks near Fourth Avenue could bring cars right onto the site. (Feel free to check this on Google Maps). Something to think about.

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  8. As I read the report, the suggestion is not for placing Clarence Brown in the *old* Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center (beneath the Holiday Inn), but in the actual, freestanding (and underutilized) Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center.

    The space beneath the Holiday Inn isn’t suitable (and likely couldn’t be made suitable) for a performance space like Clarence Brown. The convention center, on the other hand, could perhaps be retrofitted.
    ~m.

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  9. Correction: I see now where the site map does suggest that space for CB. But I still think it’s highly unlikely that it would work.
    ~m.

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    1. I read it the way you did the first time, then I saw the map you reference. It’s too bad that we don’t have more distinctive names for those two spaces. They clearly would like to see Clarence Brown on the lawn level of the WFP. They also want to expand the parking garage beside the Holiday Inn, I just didn’t go to that level of detail.

      Reply

      1. One site that is never mentioned, but seems a good fit for a new Clarence Brown Theater or a MUSE, is the nearly block-sized space just south of the convention center, between Henley Street and the two split halves of Cumberland Avenue (AKA Cumberland and Main) there.

        — It is a huge space–about an acre.

        — It would activate Henley Street.

        — It fronts the corner of the park.

        — It helps to bridge the civilization-gap between downtown and eastern Fort Sanders / UT.

        — It currently only holds some electrical and/or AC gear for the convention center–truly insignificant fluff that could (SHOULD) be put on a rooftop or a basement rather than in a prime development site.

        — Parking would not be a problem. It’s near several lots already. The site slopes up-hill toward Henley Street, so an under-building garage that is at street level at the back of the block would be totally below-grade at Henley Street.

        –It’s already owned by public entities so land-value speculation / hard-bargaining would not be a problem during acquisition.

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        1. I totally agree that the triangle in question could be put to better use, and any of those uses would benefit Henley Street. However, getting KUB to move anything or change its mind has historically been next to impossible.

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          1. One might suppose (hope) the City could make an eminent domain case if needed–a bricked-off triangle containing electrical gear is a fairly blighting element, especially when the City is trying to redevelop that very area.

        2. That is a network substation, and if I’m not mistaken it was relocated to it’s current position from next to the old Millers parking garage after the World’s Fair, to allow the convention center to be built. It feeds a portion of UT, and a good bit of downtown, if I’m not mistaken. Relocating would be a huge undertaking.

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          2. Such fatalism already !

            In Google Maps that site contains two little shed-roofed buildings and a few other small things. I’m not an electrical person, but it seems like an awful lot of empty space. (1) It was moved once. (2) Even if it must stay in that area, the material itself takes up less than 10 % of the site. It could be consolidated in a corner or something.

            Please enlighten this non-engineer about why a set of items that seems so small in our map imaging must stay untouched as everything grows around it–at least for no other reason than so I (and others) can stop imagining pretty things there !

          3. Those aerial shots don’t show you whats under it, and I would imagine they are very deceiving based on what it looked like before they “hid” everything. In addition to that, there is a network of conduit in and around all of downtown, so moving down the same side of the street, although no easy task, was feasible.

            I would imagine this was a huge project in itself, but since then Telecommunications and the like have stressed this infrastructure, and this limited resource is quickly being depleted and is already limited. It is being addressed to some degree, work on S Central Street etc. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of digging in and around town as of late.

          4. (Replying to your answer below about the substation)

            Ah. Thank you for filling-out my knowledge !

      2. I suppose we could call it the former “Technology and Lifestyle Center,” which is what that space was during the World’s Fair. And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I could see it as a location for a theatre. But I think you’d have to level it and go from the ground up to build anything resembling a replacement for Clarence Brown.
        ~m.

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  10. David Denton asked me to post his comment:

    I applaud all and any efforts by the city of Knoxville to encourage innovative ideas and public discussion of urban design issues. Of course, the ULI had only a few days to address these issues but certainly some interesting ideas have been put forth. We all assume this is not meant to be a final plan, but a continuation of exploration and conversation that will eventually inform major decisions regarding downtown. We are all anxious to know what the next steps will be in this decision making process.

    All in all, the ULI demonstrated a good understanding of the existing conditions in downtown and the recommendations were for the most part appropriate within the context. I have a few comments regarding specifics, but first, a concern about the overall approach. While a selection of the four sites was appropriate, what seemed to be missing was the painting of a vision of Knoxville in the future that would excite and inspire. Such an overall picture might have generated more enthusiasm and discussion addressing such issues as the role of tourism in the future of downtown and the nature and location of desired additions such as more educational and cultural reasons to come downtown beyond eating and drinking.

    I have the following comments on some of the specifics, in no particular order.

    1. The Henley Street corridor was discussed with a recommendation of slowing the traffic by providing on-street parking. This seems rather dangerous, as even with the remaining lanes, through traffic will be moving faster than is safe for people to be opening car doors into traffic. Narrowing the street has some validity, but perhaps the eliminated lane should become landscaping and/or bicycle paths. The parallel parking would not provide enough parking to be significant. The reality is that Henley will never be a great retail street because new retail can only be built on the east side, not making for a pleasant, walk-able retail district. The retail should be concentrated toward the core of downtown.

    2. World’s Fair Park – The sketch plan, shown in this section shows a proposal for a Muse or other cultural use on a site to the north of the Knoxville Museum of Art, with parking between the two. The KMA is already isolated from downtown and even the World’s Fair Park. Placing another cultural use even further north only disconnects that use that is even more isolated than the museum. Perhaps the park should be surrounded with high density housing and the cultural facilities be located in the downtown core benefiting downtown businesses and offering a more complete experience for visitors.

    3. By proposing the Clarence Brown Theatre, the intention seems to be creating a tourist draw by activating the Park with additional attractions. The opportunity for creating a truly lively zone in this location was significantly diminished with the decision to convert the L&N Station building into a school. In any scenario, the World’s Fair Park will remain somewhat isolated from the downtown core. Serious consideration should be given to utilizing the McClung Warehouse site for that purpose. There has been concern expressed about losing any green space by additional buildings. While this seems quite reasonable, there were not specific proposals made for how to utilize those existing green spaces. Also missing were some major concerns such as the under-utilization of the amphitheater and the Convention Center, not to mention what to do with the Sunsphere. If the ULI proposal were to be followed and the Muse and/or other cultural use were placed in the northwest corner, that would do very little to animate and better utilize the World’s Fair Park. Ideally, the Clarence Brown Theatre would be located on Gay Street, adjacent to Pryor-Brown Garage, creating a significant theatre district.

    4. The pedestrian bridge to the KMA is meant to increase the accessibility and perceived connection to downtown. This will certainly help, but is probably not a panacea. Perhaps another way to increase the presence of the museum in downtown would be to take the art downtown. The large graphics that are produced for the front of the Museum building could be replicated in other downtown locations, and could be used for such things as blocking unappealing views such as surface parking lots.

    5. The ULI report did not have very strong recommendations for the State Supreme Court site. It would have been helpful if they had made recommendations relative to the merits of saving any of the existing structure, as well as an opinion on this as a hotel site with a possible pedestrian bridge. Their recommendation was for a mixed-use with a performing arts component. This does not seem like the right place for performing arts facility. Such would better be located in the theatre district . In this Henley Street location people would drive to the performing arts and drive away without providing any patronage to the activities of Market Square and Gay Street. It also would be problematic to building residential or hotel above performing arts spaces because of structural considerations.

    6. The Jackson Ave, site seems to be one of the most important sites downtown, and deserving of far more consideration than was given. The master-developer approach has much validity if the city requires the developer to prepare a master plan for city approval even if the intention is to bring in other developers for different parts of the project. An important role that this project can provide in downtown is an impact on the arts district. At the moment, the arts district is one block and three galleries. It needs a catalyst to really take off, and this site is perfect for such a venue. Hopefully the city will require the master-developer to include a significant arts-oriented project (perhaps coupled with new technologies). Also there is a lack of parking in the area and serious consideration should be given to two levels of parking, creating a platform, bringing the building site to the level of the Gay Street/Jackson Avenue section. The report included a sketch of what a new development on this site might look like. The sketch implied an immulated historical post-modern solution that was popular in the 1980’s. What most projects from that era demonstrated is that by today’s economics, it is not possible to build with the same attention to detail, which is what makes the old buildings so wonderful. Imitative historic architecture usually looks quite pale in comparison and even detracts from the real McCoys. There are certainly issues of scale and color and material compatibility. But these are all things that can be solved within an architectural vocabulary of our time. Our message should be that we are looking to the future. The report emphasizes the importance of the view of this project from the interstate, but the sketch does not imply anything of architectural significance. This site provides a truly unique opportunity for Knoxville to create a facility that would be a major tourist draw and an architectural icon. This is definitely the site where Knoxville should rise to the occasion. This site belongs to the people of Knoxville and should at least partially be developed with some uses that will be accessible to all people, and not just private development affordable by a few. One consideration would be the concept of interactive learning centers, which are being constructed in other cities. Orlando and Chattanooga just opened such facilities.

    7. The report implies the removal of the Civic Auditorium and Coliseum. Presumably the report that is currently being produced will address possible reuse of the building and will examine the benefits to the city of retaining the facility versus the advantages of razing it, which would be a development opportunity that could bring tremendous revenue to the city and provide uses more benefit to the community as a whole. The sketch plan shown in the report shows a grid of streets that does not take into consideration the topography. This is again a popular notion from the 1980’s, which has worked in many places, but is not a solution for all sites, this one in particular. The intention is noteworthy of trying to tie the site with the housing developments to the north, which are currently isolated from downtown. It would have been helpful if the ULI could have been more specific about what kind of facilities might be appropriate in this location, as well as how to make the Marriott Hotel, now isolated from downtown, more viable in bringing more pedestrians to the Hall of Fame. The report did not address how to improve pedestrian connections to the downtown core.

    8. The report alludes to the advantages of an arts program, but was not specific. Perhaps a group of interested parties could be brought together to prepare a master plan for arts in the downtown which would include strategies for financing such. A similar group could be monitoring and making recommendation relative to new technologies and how they could be incorporated into downtown urban design.

    Reply

    1. I applaud David Denton’s contribution to the discussion–especially his discussion of arts and education. I’ll echo a few of his points, and add my thoughts as to solutions.
      –Henley Street parallel parking: I agree that having parallel parking smack-alongside free-flow traffic would be problematic. One solution is a multiway boulevard: fast through-traffic and local slip traffic are in the same roadway but separated (such as by a planted median), only interacting at set sites. The ULI report says Henley Street is 72 feet wide–but including right-of-way and medians it varies between 100 and 140 feet, which is easily enough to handle a multiway configuration. If, as Mr. Denton states (though I would be less certain) only the east side can hope for an active street face, then it’s easy to convert only that side of the street. The extra space could go to bike lanes or a transit median.
      –the Supreme Court site: if a cultural-theatric use would not go well at this site, then attention could turn to the other ‘downtown needs’ that require a large floor plate. How about the much hoped-for full-sized grocery store, or everyone’s favorite Scandinavian furniture store ? Since the site is sloping, there are opportunities for three stories with ‘street level’ entry; so, heck, put a Publix with its entry at Henley Street level, stack the Ikea atop it with its entry at the Locust-Cumberland street level, and have a multi-component / multi-building / multi-developer residential component (maybe with a through-block public alleyway or central court) starting at the Locust-Church street level.
      — Respecting topography: I agree wholeheartedly. Good design would use the slopes and valleys to the best advantage. The best use of the coliseum district topography would begin with recognizing that we actually have a creek valley. We should daylight First Creek through removing the James White Parkway and Neyland Drive and shunting that (usually low-level) traffic along the over-sized Hall of Fame Avenue. As for the architectural types to use in a proposed district redevelopment: the ULI planners seem to want to keep some delineation between ‘downtown proper’ and the other nearby neighborhoods, which makes some sense. In that vein, a combination of small-lot homes, duplex/triplex, townhome/rowhouse, and mid-rise condo/apartment uses would be good. An appropriate form-based code would allow all of these to coexist peacefully, similar to Fort Sanders.

      Reply

      1. John, I agree that on the Supreme Court site big box retail or grocery store facing Henley is a good idea. Such a store would want a regional customer base and the exposure of all that regional traffic on Henley would be great. You are correct the slope would lend itself to that solution. That kind of retail would be less concerned about sidewalk foot traffic.and would not be dependent on street parking as it would have its own on site garage..

        Reply

  11. I agree with some of the other commenters that putting the Clarence Brown next to the park isn’t optimal. The two don’t have synergies. People going to shows won’t hang out in the park, and people using the park won’t spontaneously decide to see a play.

    The convention center and the park have the same problem. They do nothing for each other.

    On the other hand, the MUSE would draw kids who might also play in the big splash fountain or on the playground equipment in the park.

    Reply

    1. Well stated, Greg! In general it seems the most logical direction is to surround the downtown core with high density housing leaving the core for cultural and entertainment uses. It seems very important that the existing businesses in the core such as restaurants and shops should be supported by bringing as much foot traffic in as possible. Theaters and science museums bring people in to the core and the proximity to the other businesses provides theater and museum goers with a more complete and interesting experience. It seems the best utilization of the World’s Fair Park would be to surround it with high density housing even if it takes some of the green space, which would make it better utilized. The Park also needs more things to do. I’ve never seen a picnic table in the Park and a carousel would be nice. Around the Park would be a great place to live, especially with a grocery store across Henley on the Supreme Court site.
      Other cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles have located their museums and cultural facilities in park-like settings. Exposition Park in Los Angeles is a good example of why they do not work very well. Without adjacent businesses and housing, these spaces can seem empty and even sometimes a bit dangerous.
      Going to a play in New York is far more exciting in a Broadway theatre next to Times Square with great restaurants close by than it would be if the theater was sitting in a dark park.
      I think the Jackson Avenue site is a much better place for these educational and entertainment uses. It could be a combination: a new facility for the Knoxville Library with an interactive learning center such as the one just built at the Chattanooga library. It could also be combined with MUSE and an arts oriented facility such as an art school with galleries. Placing these uses in this location would be building on what has become and will continue to be a unique draw for downtown. The Old City, the 100 Block and the emerging North Knoxville are exciting areas that have potential for uniqueness that would bring in many tourists. The synergy in this location could be extraordinary. The housing belongs around the World’s Fair site and the cultural entertainment facilities belong on the Jackson Avenue site.

      Reply

      1. I have to agree with David on some aspects of this discussion. I think the World’s Fair site is best suited to dense residential development along the periphery. The park then becomes both a beautiful window view and the “lawn” for the residents’ outdoor use. This is the best way to ensure that the area remains populated for years to come and largely avoids the issue of downtown residents having to cross Henley in order to bring people to the WF site. North Knoxville used to be a vibrant and fully integrated part of downtown. The raw material is already there to bring it back alive. Solving the railroad and highway underpass problems while revitalizing the Jackson Ave. corridor would transform downtown Knoxville both aesthetically and functionally.

        Reply

  12. Is the Residence Inn going forward on State? The ULI report said no, but it looks like some kind of construction has started.

    Reply

    1. The activity on that site is KUB staging for the work they are doing around the city. The city may use the site to stage the work to come on the 700 block of Gay Street. That stretches the timeline of any construction on that site out quite a way. Surmise what you will. 😉

      Reply

  13. Sorry to resurrect an older post, but it seemed initially there may be some enthusiasm for meeting prior to the public hearing on the ULI report. Is this going to happen? Do we need someone to organize this? Is anything happening in this regard? Thanks to anyone who may know.

    Reply

    1. That was mentioned by a person or persons in comments. The ULI meeting is two weeks from Thursday, so I don’t have it in me to get it together that fast. The article I wrote saying we would take our general conversations live came out before the meeting date was announced, so that more formal gathering will be deferred to after the ULI meeting.

      Reply

      1. Thanks. I should have pushed it earlier to get this organized as I was the one who suggested doing so prior to the ULI meeting. Next time I’ll be better prepared. Hope to see you at the meeting, and a lot of our downtown friends.

        Reply

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