Metro Pulse/Urban Renewal

Comment
on this story

1640 Jefferson Avenue

The Homemaker List

Contact: Mike Dunthorn, City of Knoxville
215-2120

by Matt Edens

Downtown revitalization is all about filling holes. Sometimes, in the case of a cavernous old loft building on Gay Street, the void comes ready made, waiting to be built out with apartments and condos. Sometimes, whether it's the gutted shell of an old Victorian in Fourth and Gill or a semi-collapsed semi-ruin on Market Square, a certain amount of amputation is necessary; you've got to rip out the crumbling plaster and rotten wood until only the bones remain, waiting to be fleshed out again.

It's amazing, at times, the tons of stuff we "preservationists" throw away. Sometimes there isn't anything left to throw away. Or, rather, it was thrown away long ago. Most of the vacant land scattered around the center city wasn't vacant 50 years ago. Instead they're the giant divots left behind when whatever once stood—be it a house, a school, or a textile mill that once employed thousands—was bulldozed into oblivion.

Add it all up—the empty buildings, hollowed-out houses and fallow fields—and you've got the husk of a city, drained of commerce, energy and life. An exaggeration? Perhaps. But consider this: in 1950 Knoxville was home to 124,000 people.

What's the big deal? you ask. There's 170,000 Knoxvillians now. Knoxville's a bigger city.

True enough. But that's as much a matter of real estate as numbers. The number of people isn't the only way Knoxville's a bigger city. The city limits have expanded considerably as well (and no, all that annexation isn't Victor's—in 1950 both Bearden and Fountain City were outside the city). Today the area enclosed by the circa-1950 city limits is home to a few hundred shy of 70,000 people—call it a 56 percent occupancy rate. No wonder downtown's been dormant for over a decade.

So where are all the vacancies? Well, you'll find a fair number of them at http://cityofknoxville.org/development/homemaker/—the quarterly list of vacant and abandoned properties the city puts out to bid.

Looking for a vacant lot for a hundred bucks? Or a Victorian fixer-upper for a couple grand? Or as little as a dollar? Then the Homemaker list might just be what you're looking for. The bids are competitive, but price is only one factor. Intended reuse, feasibility, and the bankability and track record of the submitter are all consider as well; the primary object is to get the property back on the tax rolls.

Be forewarned though: If a house winds up here it's going to need way more than a little paint and wallpaper (refer to paragraph one, the bit about ripping out crumbling plaster and rotten wood). Doesn't mean it can't be done, though. Just imagine this rambling, rundown George Barber designed Victorian at 1640 Jefferson Ave. restored to its former glory as either a single family home or as apartments (it's listed on the National Register, so preservation tax credits could help finance the rehab). It's one of five houses in Parkridge on the current list. There's also one at 1300 Kenyon in Old North (it might be the pick of the whole litter). Or you can start from scratch: there are 11 vacant lots in Mechanicsville to chose from, many of them within the H-1 Historic Overlay district.

So go ahead. Find a hole. And fill it.