Talkin’ Trash and Grabbin’ Butts
I promise I will deliver on the headline – though not maybe in the way you might expect. Should I lead with “Infrastructure?” What a snoozefest! Who cares about the details? Not my problem! Ah, you...
Downtown Development Update, June 2026
Here we are, six months after the last general overview of construction sites downtown and we’re mostly down to two visibly under construction and another that has invisibly neared completion. We’ll have more soon, no doubt....
City Summit Shifts to Condos, Returns PILOT to City (& a Glimpse Inside)
City Summit isn’t complete, but it’s getting very close. The project has also taken a turn, noted by an intrepid reader who mentioned the shift in a recent comment: The LawlerWood project, built by Merit Construction...
Purchase Finalized, More Detail on Plans Emerge for 607 Market Street
I reported in January that 607 Market Street (AKA The U.S. Bank Building, AKA The Crystal) was under contract to LawlerWood, LLC. That sale was finalized recently and plans for the building to be converted to...
Big Ears 2026: Through a Personal Lens
Live performances offer singular experiences sometimes revealing an artist at their most vulnerable. A recording is made in seclusion, its digital representation sent out into the universe for others who are also likely to receive it...
A Look Inside the New Lone Tree Pass
I mentioned in my last development survey of downtown that I hoped to have a little something more on Lone Tree Pass. Contracts are being closed and new residents have begun to move into the new...
Major New Development Connects Old City & Beyond
Natural and (mostly) man-made barriers squeeze downtown as we’ve come to accept it into a tiny footprint the size of West Town Mall and its parking lot. For that reason, our imperative in building a dense,...
Chick-n-Sack Bringing the Spice to Downtown Knoxville at New Location
Chick-n-Sack, which has built a devoted local following, will plant its first brick and mortar (U.S.!) location at 410 West Jackson Avenue, former home of Sweet P’s Downtown Dive. The new location culminates quite a journey...
GBX Buys the former Old City Performing Arts Center and The Standard; Former Sweet P’s Building Sold
GBX, a historic real-estate investment company based in Cleveland, Ohio has purchased several downtown buildings, marking their first incursion into the Knoxville market. Late last year the group acquired the building at 111 State Street, most...
Downtown Development Update, January 2026
Four months have clipped by since the last set of photographs of the major developments underway in the heart of downtown. There’s been quite a bit of movement as you’ll see in the photos if you...
U.S. Bank Building Under Contract; Initial Plans Released
Last July when Leslie reported the U.S. Bank Building was being offered for purchase, a number of questions surfaced immediately. Would the new owner (like the current owner) come from outside Knoxville, or would a local...
West Family Takes a Tip of the Hat with New Hat Bar on Market Square (And It’s NOT a Bar!)
Downtown’s First Family of Bars (with a strong side of retail) has entered their latest venture with See Scruffy City, a Hat Bar and Souvenir Shop, at 27 Market Square. Notably, among their long list of...
Town Homes Planned for North Central (Former Site of the Dempster Building)
Long time readers may remember a story from 2019 in which I detailed plans to renovate and bring back to life the Dempster Building at 609-617 North Central Street. Then owned by Dewhirst Properties, they hoped...
Three Downtown Businesses Closing Brick & Mortar to Focus Elsewhere
I’ll admit upfront that these are a bit personal for me. I’ve long had relationships with two of the owners and the third business is extremely important for downtown, though I’m just not sure we are...