Existing Land Use
View Map 6: Existing Land Use
View Map 7: Business and Office Park Study

Figure 3: Existing Land Use

Residential Trends
There is a growing residential population in northeast Knox County, primarily in the Gibbs area. Development is also increasing along Millertown Pike, fairly near the Knoxville Center Mall and in scattered subdivisions throughout the rural area. In 2002, the sector showed a dramatic increase in subdivision activity, and for the first time outpaced all the other planning sectors in number of residential lots. Building permits are expected increase soon, as construction in these subdivisions begins. Recent trends put Northeast County Sector fourth in the county in number of residential building permits, behind Southwest County, Northwest County and North County.

Commercial Trends
Rutledge Pike contains a large concentration of trucking related land uses. This land use, which requires a zoning designation of commercial or industrial, is very different from the retail commercial uses around the Knoxville Center Mall. Retail shopping centers include Gibbs Plaza at E. Emory Road and Tazewell Pike, Millertown Center and Walmart on Millertown Pike No other areas within the sector are experiencing large-scale commercial uses, due to the low volume of traffic. Some neighborhood commercial services are located at the major intersections within the sector, such as Tazewell Pike at E. Emory Road and Washington Pike at Murphy Road. As residential neighborhoods increase in population, additional land will be needed for commercial services. Much of this can be done at a pedestrian friendly scale using the recently adopted Neighborhood Commercial zone.

Source: Knox County Property Assessor’s 2002 records, MPC adjustments based on field survey.

Figure 4: Residential Building Permits, 1998-2002

Commercial services at Harbison’s Crossroads serve the growing residential population in Gibbs.

Office Trends
No significant concentrations of office space currently exist in the sector, but there are several usually small professional offices scattered throughout the sector in the more populated areas.

Industrial Trends
Industrial land in the sector is concentrated along the southern boundary, between Rutledge Pike and the Holston River. Eastbridge Business Park in Mascot is one of six publicly managed business parks in Knox County, and is the only one in the sector. The park has a total of 800 acres, with 228 acres available. The tradition of this area serving as an employment center dates back to the nineteenth century zinc mining industry, and the railroad that enabled the industry to grow. The historic community of Mascot, an intact mining town, was developed as housing for workers at the zinc mines there. ASARCO currently owns the zinc mines.

Dixie Cement occupies 400 acres south of Rutledge Pike.

Much of the industrial land in northeast Knox County is located along the Norfolk Southern railroad, near the Holston River.

Other industrial activity in the sector includes a limestone quarry and cement plant operated by Dixie Cement Company on 400 acres off of Rutledge Pike. The switching yards of Norfolk Southern Railroad are located on approximately 500 acres between Old Rutledge Pike and the Holston River. General Shale owns tracts of land along McAnnally Ridge near Millertown Pike. This is a growing residential area with no potential to become an industrial district.

MPC Business and Office Park Study lists sites meeting certain location criteria, including appropriate terrain, sufficiently large vacant land, compatibility with surrounding uses, transportation access and availability of utilities.

The following sites identified by this study are located in Northeast Knox County Sector:

• BP-10: Old Rutledge Pike and Cement Plant Road, 255 acres
• BP-11A: Rutledge Pike east of Ellistown Road, 255 acres
• BP-11B: South of Rutledge Pike, east of Ellistown Road, 770 acres
• BP-12: Mascot Road, 260 acres

For more information on the above categories, please see the following publications, available in the MPC library:

Development Trends in the 1990’s
2000 Office Market Analysis
2001 Industrial Space Inventory
2002 Shopping Center Market Analysis
2002 Business and Office Park Study