Earlier this week, City Council unanimously approved the most recent incarnation of plans for redevelopment of the parking lot portion of the Supreme Court site bounded by Locust, Church and Henley Street. While mostly the same, it has evolved slightly since I last reported on it in December.
As approved, the building will stand at eight stories and will include 230 apartments and an interior courtyard, with a two level parking garage for residents below the building. There will be two entrances to the garage along Church Street, with each going to disconnected levels.
The corner of Church and Henley will serve as the primary residential entrance and leasing office. From that corner and running along Henley, plans are to include a co-working space and some “public function,” along with an exterior patio and work-out facilities facing the street.
The Church Avenue frontage beginning at the shared corner with Locust Street will have a secondary residential entrance. This (north) side of the development will include the two previously mentioned garage entrances and some sort of public art. A “bike lounge once planned for the corner of the building nearest Cumberland, facing Henley is now placed in the middle of the Church Avenue block.
The frontage along Locust Street will feature three townhouses with a stoop and direct access to the sidewalk and large windows facing the street from an elevated perspective. The plans as presented here are for the parking lot development only and so the end of this block at the corner of Locust and Cumberland is not included, but the existing Supreme Court Building will be preserved on that corner.
Financing is anticipated to be completed in June, making a groundbreaking a possibility for later this year. Mr. Dover said he expects to break ground by October and the construction process (which will run simultaneously to development of the other portion of the block) should take 24 months.
Editor’s Notes:
I have several events coming up to which I’d love to invite you. Check them out below to see if you might be interested.
- Urban Hike, Saturday, June 1, 11:15 AM. As a part of Bike, Boat, Brew and Bark, I’ll be leading a walk and talk as I did last year. We’ll follow a similar route, starting at the Market Square Stage and walking across the Gay Street Bridge to Suttree Landing Park before returning to Gay Street where we’ll disperse. Along the way we’ll talk about the city, development and whatever else you’d like to discuss. the walk is free, but participation is limited and registration is required here.
- Knoxville Writer’s Guild, Central United Methodist Church, June 6, 7:00 PM. I’ll be the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the Knoxville Writer’s Guild, discussing the writing journey that is Inside of Knoxville. It is open to the public and a small donation (for the guild) is requested.
- Arts and Culture Alliance, Emporium, June 13, 5:30 PM, “Growing Your Social Media Presence,” Cost is $5 for members and $8 for non-members. Registration and payment are required here.