Aug. 07–Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to provide an accurate investment figure.
A student-housing firm from Georgia is part of the team that’s in the driver’s seat to redevelop a prominent site on Henley Street.
Earlier this year, the city sought proposals to redevelop the former Supreme Court site, which is located across Henley from the Knoxville Convention Center.
Five groups submitted proposals, and a city evaluation committee has given top marks to the proposal from Gateway Knoxville, LLC, whose team includes Georgia-based student housing firm Academic Privatization LLC and Chicago-based Harrison Street Real Estate Capital.
To see a map of the site and renderings for the proposals, click here.
Gateway’s proposal calls for a hotel with 75 suites and 95 executive guest rooms; 201 condo units; a restaurant in the renovated former courthouse; retail and a cafe fronting on Locust Street; and a bridge connecting the site with the convention center.
The total investment is pegged at more than $84 million with Gateway offering more than $2.6 million to acquire the site.
In recent months, Knoxville has seen a slew of ambitious residential projects announced, but they have largely focused on apartment units rather than condominiums.
One of the major challenges for any such project is financing. Gateway’s proposal said Harrison Street — a real estate investment management firm — would arrange the financing to place the project in its portfolio, and that Gateway would secure construction financing.
The next step in the process is an Aug. 12 meeting of the city’s Industrial Development Board, which will consider the recommendation and consider whether to move forward on negotiations with Gateway.
Gateway’s team also includes Collegiate Ventures LLC, an entity linked to developer Gary Spillers.
The second-ranked proposal came from BNA Associates, a firm led by developers Philip Welker and Ethan Orley, who previously redeveloped the Kern Building on Market Square.
BNA proposed a $30 million project called The Henley that would include 15,000 square feet of retail space, 228 apartments and a 376-car parking garage.
BNA offered $2.47 million for the site, which is the appraised value according to the city’s request for proposals.
The RFP said priority would be given to proposals with a mixed-use development plan that enhanced downtown Knoxville, including the Convention Center, World’s Fair Park, and the Henley Street corridor.
Members of the evaluation committee were Christi Branscom and Bob Whetsel, of the City of Knoxville; King Purnell of the city IDB; Greg McWhorter of the Knox County IDB; and Charles V. Griffin.
In 2008, developer Nick Cazana announced plans for a project on the Supreme Court site called Metropolitan Plaza, which would have included a 15-floor tower with a boutique hotel and condos; a separate office tower that would be seven or eight stories tall; a parking garage; and a pedestrian bridge over Henley Street that would connect to the convention center. That project never came to fruition.
Cazana offered a proposal in the latest RFP process, but his new idea — including condos, office and retail space and a parking facility — was ranked fourth by the committee.
The other proposers were Campus Crest Development and Old Court LLC.
Plans for new downtown development have been plentiful in recent months.
An Atlanta developer is planning a 120-room Residence Inn by Marriott at State Street and Church Avenue, and earlier this year Cazana announced a deal to redevelop a state office building across Clinch Avenue from the Convention Center, which would become a 120-room hotel.
Apartment proposals have also been a hot commodity. A Georgia firm has announced plans for up to 350 apartment units, a 150-room hotel, and another 225 units of student housing on the former Baptist Hospital site, while the Medical Arts Building at 603 Main St. is being renovated into 49 apartments.
