Learning from Knoxville, Tennessee

[Metro Jacksonville]

Learning from Knoxville, Tennessee



Metropolitan Knoxville is half the size of Jacksonville, less dense, and has an image problem much larger than anything Jacksonville has had to deal with.   However, it appears that Knoxvillians have stumbled upon a successful strategy to bring vibrancy back to their city's core.

Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/615

[konstantconsumer]

maybe we should just move UNF downtown to La Villa.

[zoo]

Maybe FCCJ could hold some classes in the Snyder Memorial Church? The trolley line run right down Laura from FCCJ/Rosa Parks station several times/day, and it's right across the street from the Main Library and Hemming Plaza (seemingly great places to study while waiting for next class). That would create some connectivity with FCCJ students and downtown, as well as some vibrancy.

[thelakelander]

Great suggestion.  We need to find ways to take advantage of the thousands of people coming in and out of that campus.

[Jason]

How are community colleges funded?  By the city, state, private?

[JaxByDefault]

Knoxville did a most of its "turn around" in less than 5 years. We can honestly say that we had the same number of good restaurants, better public transit/bike lanes, and more to do in tiny Knoxville than we do here. Looking at the photos instantly made us miss a place we woefully under-appreciated when we lived there. (Remember the Simpson's episode where they briefly chose Knoxville for vacation...we quoted it often.)

Pedestrian-centered Market Square was fantastic--it seemed like there was always a public event there on a Friday or Saturday--and it had city-owned FREE parking. Absolutely everywhere downtown or on the Strip had outdoor seating, which was well-used even when patio heaters were necessary. The riverwalk connected downtown and the university, and was typically lovely for walking or biking (it also had some so-so restaurants along the way--like the Landing).

Note K'town's "trolley" stops: They are actually small, rather quiet buses (with trolley interiors; some are alt-fuel). Not at all like the noisy giants that roll in downtown JAX. They were always free, and connected the university with downtown and the transit center. Best of all the trolley lured the college set to the Old City while getting them to leave their cars behind -- the lines ran until bars closed on the weekends. Also, the trolleys re-routed/added stops on  game days to better serve tailgaters, parking lots, Neyland, Downtown businesses and restaurants, etc.

While Knoxville's downtown revitalization is stunning, the city has its share of empty store-fronts, unsold lofts, panhandlers, crippling traffic, unchecked suburban sprawl, and anti-progressive attitudes. Cycling had its challenges, even from the lovely downtown-adjacent historic neighborhoods of 4th and Gill and Old North.

However, the town did have a university that interacted with the community and pumped 100K football fans into downtown 6-8 weekends a year. Also notable: K'town had a [Republican, petroleum company-owning (seriously)]  mayor that generally cared about a successful downtown.

What not to emulate: World's Fair Park (except the park part). The fate of most of the adjacent buildings remain in the air, the SunSphere is an eyesore*, and the city is still wrestling with how to repurpose the space.

We never thought we'd miss K'town so much...<sigh> thanks, Jacksonville. Regardless, we're here for the long-haul now. 

*Fine, the wretched thing has been fixed so it stays. Thanks to the hip Metro Pulse for adapting and reusing the building. I'm sure they'd be happy to know I too-often refer to the Folio as the "Metro Pulse...Folio...Thingy."

[vicupstate]

Also notable: K'town had a [Republican, petroleum company-owning (seriously)]  mayor that generally cared about a successful downtown.

Well, Jax has two out of three on that score....

I guess you COULD say Jax has all three, if you consider the 'Downtown' to be Downtown Ponte Vedra.
 

[JaxByDefault]

Also notable: K'town had a [Republican, petroleum company-owning (seriously)]  mayor that generally cared about a successful downtown.

Well, Jax has two out of three on that score....

I guess you COULD say Jax has all three, if you consider the 'Downtown' to be Downtown Ponte Vedra.
 

Yes, one of the many amusing similarities (capped with a nauseating twist) between Knoxville and JAX. 

Knoxville did a credible job studying Atlanta and Nashville and learning what worked, what didn't, and what could be scaled-down to fit Knoxville's infrastructure and (sometimes shaky) regional economy. But when they got in over their heads, they weren't afraid to employ a slew of real (and even out-of-town) urban planners. The result was a cohesive, though not perfect, plan that was executable in several stages. The first move was to keep more of their historic infrastructure from coming down. Like JAX, the city did rip down a staggering share of its treasures between 1950-1990. Now, a few of their residential historic zoning overlays make Springfield look positively promiscuous with its renovation guidelines.

Building the cinema downtown was a huge throwdown--originally it was going to level a city block, preserve no facades, and provide no free parking.  I remember thinking "how dumb can this city be to do Market Square and then allow this cinema project?"  Thankfully, the project later incorporated facades (though not to the degree I would have liked) and provided validated parking. Hope it works for downtown . . . but doesn't kill the open-air fall movies in Market Square.

Knoxville also allows limited busking downtown and in Market Square, which adds a cool element and keeps people lingering on restaurant patios or opting for that 2nd coffee.

If you would have told me when I moved to K'Town, that someone in the not-too-distant future would be doing a "Learning from Knoxville" story, I would looked at the largely vacant and crumbling downtown and gasped in disbelieving horror. I have to give the town full credit for doing so much in a limited amount of time.

[thelakelander]

Regarding the SunSphere, it looks like a new use has been found.

25 years after the Fair, the Level 4 (Fair Observation Level) was reopened July 5th, 2007 to give visitors a view of Knoxville. Level 5 (Private Dining Room & Kitchen) will now become a new cafe with sandwich and drinks service and an early evening drinks service. Level 6 (Main Restaurant Level) will be an open space leased out for functions. Both Levels 5 and 6 are being managed by Southern Graces Catering and Events. Level 7 (Upper Restaurant level) & Level 8 (Mountain View Observation Level) will become the offices for the Knoxville magazine Metro Pulse. The observation deck can hold 86 people. On August 31st, 2007 a local couple, Wayne & Laura Freeman were married on the observation deck. They were joined by a handful of family members, as well as the local news.

Deck reopens on Knoxville's '82 World's Fair Sunsphere tower

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) â€" Bart Simpson would be happy. Not only is the Sunsphere still standing, but its fourth-floor observation deck has reopened to the public.
A small crowd gathered July 5 as the deck opened for the first time since 1999 inside the great golden globe atop a 266-foot tower symbolizing the energy-themed 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville.

"This deck provides a 360-degree view of the city and the surrounding countryside and we think it's something people will really enjoy," Mayor Bill Haslam said.

In a classic "Simpsons" episode, Bart and his friends arrive for the World's Fair 14 years too late because of an outdated guidebook. Told the Sunsphere is closed and filled with wigs, Bart's friend Nelson throws a rock at it. The tower topples over and crushes their car.

In the real world, Knoxville spent $281,300 refurbishing the observation deck to mark the fair's 25th anniversary. New lights, heat and air conditioning and fire suppression systems were added as part of a general redevelopment of the World's Fair site.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: KNOXVILLE | World's Fair | Bart Simpson | Sunsphere
The deck is now open daily from 9 a.m. until 10 p.m., free of charge.

The deck is expected to draw nearly 80,000 visitors a year.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-07-23-knoxville-sunsphere-tower_N.htm?csp=34

[NJ to JAX WHAT DID I DO?]

The photos make Knoxville seem more urban than Jacksonville.  I turned down a job in Knoxville before I moved here to Strip Mall Paradise, well, because it was Knoxville.  Coming from the northeast, Knoxville was too much of a culture shock for me.  Each day, as I go through the culture shock I am experiencing here in Jacksonville, I say thank God I didn't go to Knoxville because it would have been much worse. But, Knoxville does seem to be a little more progressive, a little more foresighted than the Sprawl Fest we live in here.  Can someone turn off that twilight zone music?

[thelakelander]

knoxville is a sprawling mess.  The sprawl along I-75 South is much worse then anything on our I-95 or JTB.  However, downtown seems to have made considerable progress because the developments that have happened are close in relation to one another.