by David Madison
How Mechanicsville could benefit from Empowerment Zone money
On page 31 of "Prospectus For Empowerment," an outline of improvements to come for Knoxville's Empowerment Zone, Mechanicsville is put in a time warp. One illustration depicts University Avenue with College Homes still standing across the street from the boarded up BI LO #11 mart. In the next illustration, Mechanicsville leaps to 2010 and suddenly the desolate scene looks like Mayberry.
Sidewalk shrubbery, decorative lamp posts, and shoppers gazing in store windows line the streetscape. The caption to the illustration reads: "Thriving Mechanicsville neighborhood resulting from EZ and HOPE VI."
The site of two federally funded revitalization efforts, Mechanicsville stands to gain a lot in the next decade. Though it's just a piece of the 16-square miles included in Knoxville's Empowerment Zone, a program which is supposed to channel $100 million toward revitalization projects throughout zone over the next 10 years, Mechanicsville's piece of the EZ is certainly appetizing. And combined with the federal, state and local funds going into public housing and commercial development through HOPE VI, the total package for Mechanicsville is downright mouth watering.
But so far, aside from HOPE VI's preliminary work, the neighborhood has seen much of the menu and none of the entrees. Many are anxious about where the $100 million in EZ money will be spent when—or perhaps, if—the Empowerment Zone is fully funded by Congress.
"At this point, they've only appropriated $3 million," says Jeanette Kelleher with the city's department of community development, which along with the non-profit Partnership for Neighborhood Improvement, is administering the EZ program. If Congress delivers the dollars, then during the first two years of Knoxville's EZ program, Mechanicsville could benefit from:
* Development of commercial vacant lots, or brownfields, potentially near the intersection of Western Avenue and University Avenue. Specifically, the EZ plan—in conjunction with HOPE VI and the city's Brownfields Initiative—is looking to prepare two commercial sites where it hopes a grocery store will locate.
* Additional funding to an urban farm at the old Beardsley School site, where neighborhood youth are already growing produce and learning agricultural and business skills.
* Establishing an empowerment bank where businesses looking to open in Mechanicsville—or other areas in the zone—can seek assistance.
Kelleher says the funding process is "a little bit fuzzy" because Congress still hasn't shelled out the remaining $97 million in EZ money. When the money eventually funnels down to Knoxville, the Empowerment Zone will divide into several Zone Advisory Councils, or ZACs. These councils should ensure that a cross-section of the community has a say on how the EZ money is spent.
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