New Life For An Entire Block Of Downtown Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Oct. 28, 2019 - PRLog -- Work began today on one of the biggest private projects in the history of downtown Knoxville.

The old State Supreme Court site along Henley Street between Cumberland and Church has been vacant for years. Now it will be the site of 237-unit Class A apartment community. The existing, but abandoned, court building and adjacent office building will be converted into a hotel.

The joint project by Dover Signature Properties and Bristol Development Group represents an investment of more than $76 million.

"We're making such a large investment because we believe in downtown Knoxville. It's exciting and growing mix of places to live, work, and play make this a highly desirable downtown," said Bristol Development CEO Charles Carlisle. Carlisle is a UT grad who started his career here. Bristol is based in Nashville.

"If there is anything our company likes to do it's take wonderful old buildings and give them new life" said Dover Signature Properties President Rick Dover. "We are looking forward to doing another in the heart of downtown."

Both Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs participated in today's groundbreaking as well as members of both City Council and County Commission.

"This entire block has been underutilized for many decades, and the buildings have been completely vacant for about 15 years," Mayor Rogero said. "It will be very exciting to watch as Dover Signature Properties and Bristol Development Group invest $76 million to breathe new life into these 2 acres adjacent to the convention center. This is an important step forward for downtown, and it's been a long time coming."

"We're excited about this mix of redeveloping old buildings and constructing new," said Mayor Jacobs. "It's what we want downtown and all across Knox County."

The City of Knoxville purchased the property from the state for $2.5 million and then issued an RFP for redevelopment. The Bristol/Dover proposal was not only deemed most responsive overall, it won each category on which submissions were judged. The proposal and a PILOT to aid the project were both unanimously approved by the Knoxville City Council. The PILOT was also unanimously approved by the Knox County Commission. Bristol and Dover paid the city $2.6 million for the land.

The apartment community will feature amenities such as a combined co-working / coffee shop, an outdoor dog park with pet spa, 24-hour package receiving and sending, , gift-wrapping and packaging room, a wellness studio for meditation and yoga, a fitness studio, pool, outdoor kitchens, and a media center.