Metro Pulse/Insights/Preservationists

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by Joe Sullivan

Mayor Victor Ashe's moves to prevent demolition of the J. Allen Smith house, the Sprankle Building, and the 5th Avenue Motel are just the most visible signs of a widespread preservationist movement that's been gaining momentum over the past year.

From homeowners in several historic neighborhoods to downtown property owners, especially on Gay Street, a groundswell of interest has arisen in getting historic zoning protection for their locales. At the same time, Knox Heritage, which had been a volunteer organization, now has a full-time executive director, Kim Trent, and will soon be adding to its staff. Trent is currently concentrating on projects ranging from the preservation of South High School to the restoration of historic residences in Fort Sanders, Old North Knoxville, and Park Ridge. An effort to save the Tennessee Amphitheater at World's Fair Park is also underway.

All of this may be a local manifestation of a national phenomenon, but it is heartening to see the extent of community interest in preserving historic buildings and the heritage they embody. Moreover, beyond assuring future generations a tangible sense of Knoxville's past, historic zoning can also have economic along with aesthetic benefits.

"Preservation isn't just a feel-good thing; it's an important economic development issue," says developer Wayne Blasius, who is chairman of the Central Business Improvement District. He lists several ways in which restoration and adaptive reuse of downtown's distinctive building stock can contribute to desirable growth. For one, reclamation of some 300,000 square feet of vacant space in downtown's historic buildings can foster growth in an area where supportive infrastructure already exists. "It's much less expensive for the community to reuse vacant space than to continue growth through sprawl," Blasius asserts. At the same time, vibrant historic districts attract historic tourism, a rapidly growing phenomenon in its own right.

Homeowner organizations that are contemplating protective zoning for their neighborhoods also see economic benefits. "Preserving the character of a neighborhood through historic zoning can raise property values," says Jim Bletner, president of the Sequoyah Hills Neighborhood Association. A particular concern, which prompted the association's ongoing evaluation of the need for protections, has been the demolition of older homes on large lots and their subsequent subdivision into new homes on small lots.

There are two basic types of historic zoning in the city. One establishes Neighborhood Conservation districts (NC-1) in which demolition of historic structures is restricted, and any new building must adhere to architectural guidelines intended to assure compatibility with the older ones. The other is Historic Overlay (H-1) zoning which not only restricts demolition but also sets standards for any alteration of a building to assure that its distinctive features are preserved.

Either property owners or the city may apply for either type of zoning. Eligibility criteria begin with the provision that a building or a prevalent number of buildings in a district must be more than 50 years old. Once guidelines for the zone have been set and approved by City Council, the city's Historic Zoning Commission becomes the arbiter of adherence.

Starting with Mechanicsville in 1991, several neighborhoods obtained historic zoning well prior to the recent surge of interest. These include Fourth and Gill, Old North Knoxville, and Edgewood-Park City. In 2000, Fort Sanders gained NC-1 status after a lengthy battle with demolition-bent developers. And last year Market Square was added to the list of H-1 zones that also includes a number of landmark individual buildings.

Now, at least five other neighborhoods are in various stages of exploring or pursuing historic designations. In addition to Sequoyah Hills, these include Forest Heights, Holston Hills, and North Hills. (Emoriland-Fairmont is already on the verge of having its NC-1 designation approved by City Council.) Developing guidelines for each of these districts is anything but a cookie-cutter operation. The Metropolitan Planning Commission's overseer of preservation planning, Ann Bennett, reckons it may take several years to formulate customized plans for all of them. Sequoyah Hill is so diverse that a committee of its neighborhood association is working with Bennett on five distinct sets of guidelines for sectors ranging from Kingston Pike to the neighborhood once known as Talahi, a 1920s experiment in community planning.

Then, there's the fear of infringement on property rights to be overcome in some quarters. "There are a lot of misconceptions, and we're not going to proceed until we have a fairly large consensus," says Bletner. "But when we explain that NC-1, which we're contemplating for the most part, is less restrictive by far than H-1, the opposition has been minimal and most people see the value."

Where downtown is concerned, the CBID's Board of Directors in June requested an MPC study of making the entire central business district an NC-1 zone while also considering whether any sub-areas should be given an H-1 zoning overlay. The MPC staff has already recommended H-1 designation for the historic stretch of Gay Street from Jackson Avenue to Church Avenue, but a study of NC-1 for the entire downtown has yet to initiated. "We have a staff that's multiply overcommitted," says the MPC's executive director, Norm Whitaker, perhaps a bit defensively.

Meanwhile, Knox Heritage is bringing additional resources to the preservationist cause. With her background in banking as well as public relations, Trent can both formulate and advocate plans for saving historic buildings. In the case of South High School she's now working with prospective partners on plans for renovation and reuse of a building that the School Board was on the verge of tearing down. With $50,000 in Empowerment Zone funding to cover a staff addition and technical assistance, Knox Heritage will soon be undertaking the restoration of several historic but blighted residences in EZ neighborhoods. To cover financing of their acquisition and renovation for resale, Knox Heritage has obtained a $250,000 line of credit from the National Historic Trust and $100,000 from the East Tennessee Foundation.

For all its benefits, preservationism should not become so pervasive that every older building, wherever located, gets protected just because it's old. In the downtown area especially, veneration of its historic building stock needs to be balanced with allowance for new construction that optimizes the city's growth potential. Market Square and Gay Street clearly represent distinctive community assets that call for conservation in their redevelopment, and there are many other landmark buildings that ought to be preserved. But there also needs to be room within this compact district for new office buildings, new hotels, a new downtown library, and residential growth that could outstrip the space available in suitable older buildings.

Unless great care is taken in its crafting, an NC-1 zone covering the entire central business district could prove to be a straitjacket. Bennett and the Historic Zoning Commission try to exercise such care through selective designation of buildings within a zone whose architectural and/or historic value warrant their protection. But these values are in the eyes of the beholder, and once the Historic Zoning Commission's stipulations are in place they can only be appealed in court. Perhaps the urban design firm recently selected by Nine Counties/One Vision to formulate guidelines for downtown redevelopment can help shape criteria for resolving any conflicts.