Metro Pulse/Urban Renewal

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by Matt Edens

It's tough to capture with words, but wander around downtown lately and there's an unmistakable energy in the air. It was certainly there last Thursday at Sundown in the City. Undeterred by the steaming heat—courtesy of an afternoon thundershower—it was a record crowd that turned out for Scott Miller. And the fact that it was a local headliner, with music rooted in the region, made it that much better.

Add free beer courtesy of FiveMan Productions, a video production company right there on Market Square, and, well, that was icing on the cake. It was a brilliant move, promoting their newly rechristened business with a party/open-house to coincide with Sundown. Much the same way that Sundown may do more for downtown's economy than boost beer sales.

Why? Because, as noted by Richard Florida in The Rise of the Creative Class, creativity and innovation are the driving forces in modern business. The "creative class"—scientists and software engineers, architects and artists, marketers and mathematicians—now constitute more than 30 percent of the American workforce. And it's young people—able to work longer hours, take bigger risks and stay up to date on the most recent technological innovations—who are the workhorses of the creative age.

But Knoxville has traditionally run into trouble, recruiting creative folks—particularly from out of town. And keeping the homegrown ones here can be just as hard. It's a lament I've heard time and again from folks in my particular field—television and video production, a mainstay of Knoxville's creative economy. The root of the problem is that Knoxville, quite simply, isn't exactly the City of Light.

That may be changing, however, if the number of writers, editors, programmers, and designers of various sorts at last Thursday's party was any indication. And, for every twenty- and thirty-something hipster chugging IPA in FiveMan's office loft, there were a score more down on the Square listening to Scott Miller serve up a heapin' helpin' of local color. Scruffy old Knoxville is learning what it feels like to be with it and discovering that it feels pretty damn good.

By the end of the year, downtown Knoxville will be a good bit cooler on a full-time basis. That's when developer Leigh Burch figures that the Sterchi Flats—the largest urban loft development in Knoxville history—will be ready for occupancy. Of course, size isn't the only thing that matters with the Sterchi. With 10' to 16' ceilings, exposed ductwork, industrial sliding doors, stained concrete floors, solid-surface countertops and basic black appliances, it delivers everything you'd expect in an urban loft. And it's definitely urban—at the heart of the Hundred Block of South Gay, it's smack dab in the middle of what project architect and man-about-town Buzz Goss has dubbed the SO-Gay District. Whatever you call it though, it's only one block to the Old City and an almost equally short hike to Market Square or the World's Fair Park.

With fitness center, washer-dryer hook-ups, dedicated parking, security features and smart wiring, it offers many of the same amenities as any of those decidedly un-hip West Knoxville complexes. Downtown living doesn't come at a premium, either; starting at under $600, rates for most 1-bedroom units are comparable, or even less, than units in The Reserve, The Grove or Walker's Crossing. And then there are the amenities those complexes can't offer at any price—an eye-popping package of terra-cotta Art Moderne that's as stylish today as it was 81 years ago and a rooftop deck with stunning views of downtown and the mountains—a feature shared in the upper-floor units.

Out on the Square last Thursday, it seemed hard to believe that just three years ago contemplating an idea like Sundown seemed pie in the sky, much less a project like the Sterchi. And yet, as I walked to my car that night, there it was, lit up by construction lights (nor is it alone—there's scaffolding up and down Gay Street). Downtown Knoxville, believe it or not, is waking up. And for less than $600 a month, you can get in on the ground floor. Literally. Better move fast though—several units are already pre-leased, including several of the prime top-floor spaces.