Instead they look like cheaply made imitations of 2 story tenement houses in Dorchester MA. I think they are boxy and ugly. Though it's a bit unfair to criticize the eventual landscaping of the property. People do amazing things and even plant almost full grown trees. I like the skyline in the background and the feeling of elevation on the site. More breeze maybe? My brother-in-law lives on a small rise in S. Knoxville & he gets more of a breeze than I do down in the bottom of the city (N. Knoxville).

The wooden porches look terrible. The color of the wood doesn't blend in with the white exteriors. If only they had put some nice white turned wood porches on them, they'd look more Cape Cod-ish. Also where are the windows? Where are the windowboxes? Who ever heard of a Cape Cod house without windowboxes?

The way they only have that boxy-looking bay window on the lower floor creates an unbalanced design. At first glance you think someone forgot to include them, and those tiny slits wouldn't do it for me. They remind me of those awful "bunker style" windows back when architects thought every building should be built like a fort with windows only made big enough to accomodate a bow and arrow. Though they might be able to pass the lack of windows off as an energy saving device, I need a lot of light. Oh, and also air. I like to use the A/C as little as possible.

Notice the absolute lack of curved lines in these buildings. Curves create a homey feeling and harmony and a sense of variety. It's as if the architect had never heard of the word curve. Like this design was drawn with only a straight edge ruler. No exterior ornamentation whatsoever and no blending of colors. Stark white and black. At least in Dorchester the old tenement houses were built beautifully, had all kinds of thick wood embellishments, and were painted a variety of pastel colors, usually pale yellow or green, and sometimes soft pink.

Do you get the whole 2 story house (back to front) for that price? You said they were advertising condos and lofts. If they think they can get $250K for a one story condo like that, I imagine it will take quite awhile to fill them.

During Boston's boom, they built godzillion condos in Revere MA along the North Shore and glutted the market. Many of them didn't sell. The empty new buildings were often vandalized so the investors decided eventually to drop the prices drastically. This really disappointed the first people who bought them, but there was nothing they could do.

Then to make matters worse, and to insure a profit, the developers started renting the empty units out to Section 8 people. I have nothing against poor people. Most neighborhoods I've lived in and presently live in would be considered poor, but if I paid $350K like the people in Revere did, I'd be expecting my neighbors to be the kind fo people who could afford the condo next to me, not have it be subsidized.

Because most of the condos were built only a few blocks from the ocean with waterviews, they eventually did sell to private buyers, but only at bottom basement prices.

Usually, when a real estate boom hits, all the old timers in town guffaw and chortle. They assure anyone within earshot that no one will ever pay those kinds of prices.

Perhaps Knoxville's condo-minded developers downtown have had a little too much profit to drink? Once you overbuild the market, you kill the cash cow.

Maybe it's time investors, developers, and first-time home buyers start thinking away from downtown, past 4th and Gill and Historic North Knoxville into areas ike the Oakwood Lincoln Park and Edgewood/Whittle Springs area. Bargains abound there and there's even plenty of room for infill housing. Central Avenue has a plethora of commercial buildings just waiting to be condo-ized.

As for these condos--you couldn't give me one. And I mean that sincerely.

Ya'll know I'm fairly new here. Is it a town or a neighborhood? It looks close in, but it's hard to tell. What main arteries go there?

Yes, I wondered about the wooden porches, too. Maybe they just haven't been painted yet.

The units pictured here are single-family townhomes (up and down, front to back). There may be some condos planned, don't know. The reference to "condos and lofts" was the name of the advertising insert in the KNS.

I was surprised by the lack and size of windows, too. Also, photos in the paper and at their web site suggests two large windows on either side of a French door top and bottom. Looks like these units just have the French doors on top.

They are high up on the bluff overlooking the river (making access to the "community boat docks" a little suspicious, especially on this narrow part of the river).

The views on some of the lower units may turn out to be nicer, but the upper units are almost directly across from that huge factory (not sure what it is, but it looks like some kind of chemical plant). But as the Mrs. noted, maybe retirees from up North will be used to that?

On the landscaping, I agree. Every new development looks pretty awful until it's done. But, the photo in the paper an at their website shows hundred+ year old trees between units, gracefully shading the front porches adorned with U.S. flags.

That's my main gripe. That and the fact that this "article" and photos convinced the Mrs. to convince me to drive down there to take a look (we love nice river/waterfront communities). At least we had some great ice cream cones from the Tic Toc.

Loudon is on US11 SW of here, just on the other side of the Tennessee River/Watts Bar reservoir. If you head out Kinston Pike and go left at Dixie Lee Junction (stay on 11), you can't miss it. It's past Lenoir City, probably about 20 miles or so past Dixie Lee Junction.

If that is the Staley plant, the residents can count on a serious odor problem...

It appears the factory is indeed Staley, based on their address and a google map of the area.

The EPA has quite a dossier on them:

(link...)

Actually, some of those are produced locally. I know people who have done some. It all depends on the project and timing and a bunch of other stuff, but at least one of the editors who is responsible for advertorials is a complete flake.

Pam Strickland

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." ~Kurt Vonnegut

I know the developer, Rick Dover of Family Pride Corp., of Lakeside Village in Loudon quite well and although I haven't seen the KNS section you are referring to, I'll bet I know the picture you are talking about. It is probably the conceptual photo used for promotional purposes only. They needed something to give an idea of what the Village would look like upon completion. They are NOT the actual condos that are being built...because they aren't done yet.

If the KNS story made it sound like Family Pride is trying to cover up the fact the condos are across from the factories, then they didn't do their homework. Dover is very open about where these condos are located and addresses any concern a buyer might have himself. The Blair's Bend industrial park (across from the development) is at full capacity. So there won't be anything else going in there. The land from the factories to the water is owned by the railroad. It will also stay as is. Cities all over the United States deal with commercial, industrial, residential issues. Loudon is no different.

Dover is very active in bringing Loudon out of the mothballs, so to speak. So far he has restored two old hospitals, which are now assisted living facilities and two historical buildings, which are now a restaurant and coffeehouse. To date, his projects have provided about 100 jobs to the area, give or take. He recently purchased a downtown building, which will become retail space and loft condos. More jobs, more housing.

Dover is also very open about the "pockets of poverty" in Loudon. This is an old town that can trace its roots back to the late 1700s when it was known as Blair's Ferry. Like any small Tennessee town, it has seen its share of ups and downs.

Dover's efforts (and a newly aquired courthouse square improvement grant), have inspired others to follow suit in revitalizing the town of Loudon. But it is a slow methodical process with each element being addressed one by one including, but not limited to, poverty, housing, jobs, etc.

I have been historical researchon the town of Loudon for some time now in conjunction with the revilization projects. If you have any questions, drop me a note and I'll do my best to give you answers.

Thanks!

Kate C.

Kate, thanks for your response. As I mentioned in the original post, it looks like the developers have done some nice projects in the area that will help the town. And I have seen worse river-front developments than this, for sure. We recently went to a presentation on "smart develompent and growth", and this developer seems to be following most if not all the progressive guidelines, so he should get credit for that.

But as I said in the original post, my main beef was with the advertorial. But I also realize that's marketing and sales, especially in the real estate business. I realize not many folks would drive down there if the advertorial said "there's still lots of construction going on, the units don't look exactly like the ones in this rendering, landscaping hasn't been done so there's still a lot of dirt, there aren't many trees planted and there aren't many mature trees, so you will have to use your imagination to see that this will be a nice development some day."

All that aside, the proximity to the senior center next door and the developing town center ameneties seem to be big pluses for the development. I wish them good luck with it.

Oh yeah, I'm aware of the sickeningly sweet nature of advertorials. Unfortunately, that's what the marketing people get paid to do...lay it on with a trowel.

I'm anxious to see what happens in Loudon over the next couple of years. They have a lot of people stepping up to the plate and getting involved. There is a chance this little town will get a new lease on life if everyone works together toward a common goal. Too bad someone doesn't adopt all of these other dried up little old places around here and we could see a resurgence in "small town Americana" in East TN.

~Kate C.