The East Tennessee Historical Society presents the Downtown Home Tour 2024. Previously presented by the now defunct City People organization, a downtown home tour has been a staple of most years since around the turn of the century. This year’s tour features eight homes for general admission tickets and an additional two, plus a kick-off event, for those holding VIP tickets.
It’s an opportunity to walk through a wide range of homes across downtown and, for myself and my wife, it was our first introduction to the idea that we might be able to see ourselves living here. We started attending the tours sometime in the early 2000’s and moved to our first downtown home in 2009. We didn’t love every home, but we came to know the buildings and the kinds of homes inside each. When our eventual home came on the market, we were already familiar with the homes there. It was an easy decision.
The home shown in these photographs is one of the two featured on the VIP tour. Built in 1913 and serving as a bank, the Holston Building at 531 South Gay Street was reconfigured and re-purposed into 42 homes in the early 2000’s. It now also includes a restaurant, Vida, on the bottom floor. In 2008, the penthouse became the first home in downtown Knoxville to be sold for over $1,000,000. The home on the VIP tour, unit 1401 includes 2 BR and 2 BA, and approximately 1,988 square feet. This floor plan is only available on each of the top three floors. It also includes a balcony facing Krutch Park.
The residence has been home to Jim Harness and Rick Kennedy, who are the second owners, since 2010. (The first owners never actually lived in the home.) It has also undergone a recent, extensive renovation and is not only filled with beautiful furnishings, but overflows with a lifetime collection of fine art. Rick worked for TVA, working downtown, and retired from there, while Jim is a real estate broker and interior designer, owning Interior Market (5204 Kingston Pike, Suite 5) in Bearden. I spoke with the two about their time downtown, their choice of a home, and the details of their improvements.
Together since 1992, Rick worked downtown he was hesitant to move so near to where he worked, feeling he would have no place to escape. He retired in 2008, removing that obstacle. Jim said, “We had always wanted to live in an urban setting. I didn’t figure we would ever get to New York.” Rick interjected, “We came to the Rossini Festival that year and there was so much excitement, it was so vibrant, we just said, ‘We need to do this.'” They wanted a place they could “lock and leave,” going out of town without worry.
But it almost didn’t happen. They started looking at other residences which they thought might give them a chance to try out downtown living, with an option of renting the home if they didn’t like it. Coming downtown at night, they learned that some units were in parts of town they thought were too loud. Others didn’t feel quite right for various reasons. They almost gave up.
They had a 4,000 square foot home with a pool in west Knoxville and. wanting to downsize, they gave the plans to an architect with the instructions to “make it 2,000 square feet.” They bought a small lot they intended to build on. The plans were to be ready on a Monday, but on Saturday Jim spotted a unit that had become available in the unit and said he felt they should at least look at it before they made a final decision. They immediately fell in love with the location, returning early Sunday morning and signing a contract. They moved in a month later. Interestingly, Jim remodeled their old home for the person who purchased it.
In 2010, while they found everything they were looking for, it was a different downtown than the one you find today. The Hyatt Place across the street had one business on the ground floor, an office or two inside the upper floors, and was otherwise empty. The same was true of the building that now houses the Embassy Suites just across Krutch Park. Rick said, “We were happy from the very beginning. I wanted to do everything. We did the symphony, we did Broadway, we did the Jazz Orchestra, we did things in the Old City.” Eventually, he said, they acknowledged that they couldn’t do everything. “We were happy, we loved it . . . You walk out the front door and there is so much to do. Even at that time.”
Jim pointed out that in west Knoxville they had to get in their car to do anything and downtown they left it parked all weekend and had lots of choices of fun activities. Their friends, however, were skeptical, expecting they would soon tire of the little experiment and move out of downtown. They pointed out there was no designated parking and the work involved carrying groceries, and so on. He said, “It’s never been an issue.”
Rick said it was interesting that, “All of our neighbors and acquaintances from west Knoxville were so intrigued and always wanted to come down here if we were getting together. They were so enamored of the lifestyle.”
Over the fourteen years they’ve lived downtown they’ve seen a remarkable amount of change. Jim said, “We’ve seen the revitalization of downtown, watching it block by block. We were very excited when the Farragut Hotel (now Hyatt Place) got renovated. Suddenly that block became vibrant. The activity downtown has continually grown on weekends as well as weeknights. We walk out and feel that we’re in a big city even though it’s a small town.” He said he loves watching the construction in the area.
They also pointed out how it has changed their social lives. Jim said, “You meet so many different people downtown. You become friends with people just from walking on the street and someone saying ‘hello,’ and the next thing you know you are having a glass of wine or dinner with them, and you become friends. We’ve made a lot of great friendships since we moved downtown.” They enjoy their neighbors and love the feeling of community inside their building where they have so many good friends.
They also love their building. “We love being in the center of everything on Gay Street.” They enjoy their time in Palm Springs, but have strong ties here and that, to some degree, guided their recent renovations. “That’s why we put the 24×24 glazed porcelain in it and did all the light colors.”
They completely gutted all the flooring and put the porcelain throughout, removing the more traditional hardwood. They completely re-did their kitchen and bathrooms. Beside their kitchen you’ll see Rick’s grand piano (the first piece of furniture he ever bought), but no dining table. Instead, the kitchen contains an island that seats fourteen, an important feature as they are part of a supper club and often entertain. They’d had vibrant colors and they moved to “tone-on-tone walls with the color in our accessories and artwork.” In their master they removed the whirlpool tub and built a large walk-in, zero-step shower. “It’s such a different feel in here now.” Rick added, “Look at the light in here, now.”
They also love looking out the windows. They have views of the city to the east, north, and south, and even the west from their balcony. Jim said he enjoys looking for things he’s never noticed before. “Every day you see something different.” Rick said that he’s really enjoyed watching the stadium construction, which they can see very well from their east-facing windows.
They love walking around downtown, but Rick said he particularly loves the connection to the greenways. “I walk to Ned McWherter Park, over the World’s Fair Park, and along the Neyland Drive greenways. Sometimes I’m gone for two hours. It’s beautiful the way they all connect.
Jim said that the increase in the amenities available, like a pharmacy, a dentist, and the clinic has made a big difference. They said they always get asked about their groceries and they said they shop at Publix beside campus, but otherwise feel that “You can literally live downtown now and have all the services you need.” They acknowledge there are inconveniences, like unloading groceries and getting them into the building. They feel it’s a part of an active lifestyle that helps them stay young.
Bringing it all together they say they are simply happy living downtown. They feel it keeps them younger, there is always something to do, and say they would not go back and change a thing.
The tour takes place June 8 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. If you’d like to see this home and the other VIP-only space, or if you’d like to see the other homes, you can pick up VIP or general admission tickets here (look in the upper right-hand side of the page for the links). VIP tickets are $100 and must be purchased by tomorrow. General admission tour tickets are $25 if purchased by June 6 and are $35 the day of the tour. The tour begins at the East Tennessee History Center (601 South Gay Street) and more details are provided at the link above.