Comment on this story 1801 Washington Avenue 3,200 sq. ft. 4 bdrm / 2&1/2 baths $157,000 Contact: Judy Margetts Coldwell Banker: 687-1111

by Matt Edens

Let’s be honest. The city of Knoxville is in a bind. Faced with as much as a $10 million budget shortfall, Mayor Haslam is in the unenviable position of kicking off his first year in office with either drastic cuts in services, a tax increase, or both. Then there’s the harsh reality that either step will only be a stopgap measure. Unless we boost the city’s tax base, almost inevitable increases in payroll, pension and insurance obligations mean that the budget bind will likely come around again.

So how do we boost it? Opportunities for growth, at least as it’s commonly viewed around here, are limited due to the scarcity of vacant land within the city limits (as an added difficulty, much of the available land is abandoned industrial property that often requires costly environmental remediation). But when it comes to the city’s tax base, obstacles to growth and new development are less than half the equation. The real problem isn’t a lack of opportunity for new development, it’s that so much of the fully developed, built-out land is woefully undervalued. Median home values in Knoxville’s inner-city census tracts can run as low as $50,000 to $30,000. From the perspective of the city’s tax base, Knoxville has more affordable housing than it can, well, afford.

Lucky for you the city’s loss is your gain. How else could you find a value like this just minutes from the Old City in the historic Parkridge neighborhood. At more than 3,000 square feet, this 1915 Arts and Crafts-influenced house is brick veneered on the first story, in great structural shape, and packed with historic character. From the front porch you enter a foyer with a gorgeous stairway to your right and the living room to your left with a massive Arts and Crafts hearth flanked by casement windows. Other details include coffered beams in the living room, two sets of pocket doors and a butler’s pantry with original built-in cupboards.

The house has hardwood floors throughout—oak downstairs, heart pine upstairs, and features oak woodwork downstairs with lots of original casement and double-hung windows. Upstairs, the master bath has the original clawfoot tub, and the old sleeping porch of the master bedroom has been transformed into a charming sunroom. Outside, the house sits on a fenced corner lot with off-street parking. There’s a one-car garage, a huge patio and tons of ornamental trees, most of which are currently in bloom: lilacs, dogwoods and redbuds (so many trees it was tough to get a picture). I simply dare you to find more house for under $50 per square foot.

So go ahead, buy this place. You’ll be doing yourself—and the city’s taxpayers—a favor.

April 22, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 17 © 2004 Metro Pulse