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The Ghosts of Turkey Creek
Visiting with its past, present and future
Round about 1995, with the nation in the midst of perhaps the longest period of sustained economic growth in recent memory, a handful of developers calling themselves Turkey Creek Land Partners snapped up a $7 million, 400-plus acre swath of largely unsullied real estate between Lovell Road and Kingston Pike. They had a plan, to create an epic new shopping destination in the westernmost portion of Knox County, miles from traditional Bearden-area hotspots along Kingston Pike. More than $400 million later, their vision would come to fruition in the form of the Turkey Creek Development, the largest such commercial venture in Knox County history.
But it didn’t come easy. Beset with jurisdictional frictions, cries of “Sprawl!”, and environmentalists’ concerns for a 22-acre wetland area that fell squarely in the middle of a planned extension of Parkside Drive (the chief access road), progress was slow. Anchor stores like a Super Wal-Mart (February 2001) didn’t open until after the turn of the millenium. The bulk of the new tenants didn’t begin opening until 2003.
“Turkey Creek had a number of difficulties,” says Knox Area Chamber Partnership president Mike Edwards. “The city, the county, Farragut, the state and the feds all governed some parts of it. It finally overcame the hurdles, but it took eight years.”
With Christmas upon us, and in the tradition of a certain Dickens classic, we took a look at the ghosts—past, present and future—of this burgeoning but still-controversial development, which in 2004 and beyond promises to be one of the hottest seasonal shopping destinations in the state.
• The Island of Turkey Creek
A rare wetland habitat feels the impact of development
• Capital-Letter BIG
Turkey Creek’s regional economic impact is huge
• An Arresting Development
The future of Turkey Creek holds enormous possibility
December 2, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 49
© 2004 Metro Pulse
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