• Special Opportunities
  • Map 8: Special Opportunities
• Public Participation
• Special Opportunties

Special Opportunities

Historic Resources and Neighborhood Conservation
The Central Sector contains the largest proportion of historic districts and landmarks in Knox County. Downtown, the centerpiece of Knoxville’s historic growth, contains three National Register Districts (the Gay Street district, Southern Terminal, South Market and Market Square) as well as a wide variety of individual landmarks such as Blount Mansion, five churches, the Customs House, the Post Office and the County Courthouse. These districts and landmarks create a rich architectural heritage that is significant in understanding local history and in creating an ambiance that will foster reuse and compatible development.

Knoxville’s historic neighborhoods were created in response to the city’s economic growth, just as new neighborhoods are today. The historic styles and the pattern of development of these neighborhoods link them to a certain time frame. Some, like Old Mechanicsville, were within walking distance of the iron and rail industries. In Ft. Sanders, residents could walk to jobs downtown or they could take a streetcar. Other neighborhoods relied heavily on streetcar transportation. These include Old North Knoxville, Fourth & Gill (which, together, once formed the separate town of North Knoxville), Parkridge (which comprises the historic subdivisions known as Edgewood and Park City) and Lincoln Park. Common characteristics are long parallel streets lined with sidewalks and broken by short side streets, and a rich variety of Victorian-era and Craftsman-style architecture. The houses with their porches, clapboard siding and mature landscaping create a pleasant place to live. The consistency in architectural styles and streetscape offer potential for the creation of new historic preservation and neighborhood conservation areas.

Two basic programs, the National Register of Historic Places and overlay zoning, are associated with historic preservation. The National Register is an inventory of the nation’s historic resources. Placement on the Register offers some protection from the impacts of federally funded projects and provides income tax incentives for the renovation of income producing properties. Historic overlay and neighborhood conservation overlay zonings are local tools used to protect the character of historic and older neighborhoods.

Some of the earliest neighborhoods, such as Old North Knoxville, Park City and Mechanicsville, have been recognized as historic districts for a number of years. Reinvestment and conservation of homes in these areas is readily apparent. As the development of the early suburbs such as Oakwood and Lincoln Park has come to be better understood, and with an appreciation of more recent architectural styles, new opportunities for preservation can be envisioned.5 The neighborhoods which are potential candidates for historic preservation or neighborhood conservation programs are outlined in the Building Stronger Neighborhoods section of the 15-Year Plan.

Public participation
In gathering background information, MPC staff worked with the Center for Neighborhood Development through the Empowerment Zone (EZ) public meetings. This process included similar types of workshops that MPC typically uses in identifying community concerns and a vision for a better future. Rather than duplicating efforts, MPC staff attended the Zone Area Council meetings to listen to residents’ discussion of issues, values and visions. A summary of that information is presented in the Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement’s publication, Zone Advisory Councils’ Program and Project Concepts: A Vision for Empowerment, dated February 20, 2002.

MPC staff provided an overview of what it learned through the EZ process and began to identify special opportunities and gather information for land use, community facility and transportation proposals at public workshops in April 2002. A summary of the workshops follows:

Landuse and neighborhood issues
The need for...

• protection of neighborhoods, including better design of infill housing, better transitions between commercial and industrial projects, traffic calming in view of high speeds and truck routes in neighborhoods
• economic development in the Empowerment Zone, including neighborhood commercial projects and reuse of vacant and blighted properties, tax incentives and expansion of business improvement districts
• the creation of well designed, mixed-use districts
• the establishment of additional historic and neighborhood conservation districts, including the Emory Place/ 5th Avenue area, the Chicago Avenue vicinity, Oakwood-Lincoln Park, and “Happy Hollow”

Community facilities
The need for...

• neighborhood school maintenance and renovation
• greenway extensions and grade-separated trail crossings
• open spaces within parks that can be used for a variety of purposes
• more usable open space near senior citizen apartment towers
• various improvements, including noise barriers at the Fourth and Gill Park, a walking trail in the St. Mary’s hospital area and park acquisition on the north side of Sharps Ridge

Citizens noted that well designed in-fill housing helps sustain neighborhoods. The homes that were created on Mechanicsville’s vacant lots are outstanding examples of good design.

The reuse of schools for recreation or similar community-serving purposes, such as Moses School, was seen as a critical factor in sustaining older neighborhoods.

Transportation
The need for...

• traffic calming, especially along Magnolia Avenue, North Central Street and in neighborhoods (particularly Old North, Oakwood, Lonsdale and Lincoln Park)
• specific improvements in the design of projects, including the Broadway/ I- 40 connection (reducing neighborhood impacts)
• expanded transit services, including extended hours, greater use of small buses and more trolley routes
• improvements in the street system, including sidewalks, curbs and landscaping

After the draft of the plan was prepared, MPC staff presented plan proposals to citizens through two public workshops, various neighborhood association meetings, including COIN, the Oakwood-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association and the NW Zone Area Council, and particular interest groups, including the land use committee of the Knoxville Chamber Partnership and the Knoxville Greenway Commission.

Special opportunities
In the following pages, the scope of proposals goes beyond the traditional land use, community facility and transportation plans that form the framework of a sector plan. Significant opportunities are identified, including those that can enhance neighborhoods and foster economic development. The reasons in identifying the opportunities are summarized under the following themes.

Building stronger neighborhoods
Many blocks of late 19th and early 20th-century housing are found throughout the sector. In many cases the historic architecture and residential character are largely intact. Neighborhood conservation and historic preservation programs are two means to improve many older neighborhoods.

The problems that undermine the vitality of neighborhoods can be considerable and involve the rehabilitation of housing, community facilities, streets and sidewalks. In the Central City, quasi-public space, particularly cemeteries, need to be restored. In some areas, relatively simple design solutions can be used in making safer and more attractive neighborhoods, including such street improvements as traffic calming, curb and sidewalk repair, street trees and more functional alleys.

Renovation and redesign of public housing areas is another opportunity that has begun to be addressed and will be continued. The creation of more “seamless” neighborhoods, where the renovation designs, including streets and architectural styles, are compatible with the surrounding housing is important. Mechanicsville serves as a model in this regard.

Building a stronger economy
The city’s experience in initiating the Center City Business Park has been a positive one, a model that holds promise for other underutilized industrial areas. Downtown revitalization—which is well on its way through the efforts of the city and Nine Counties One Vision—is another major component to foster economic growth. Linkages from the neighborhood are also important in creating stronger neighborhoods and economic activities, building a mutual support system between downtown with its retail, office and public functions, and nearby neighborhoods where greater stability is needed.