The AJ is almost identical to the Westin Poinsett in Greenville, SC. To sustain downtown, we've got to think beyond just "condorama." Many of the condo "owners" don't live in them, but rent them out. While we have hotel capacity, a historic hotel is its own draw. The Farragut Hotel could be converted too, but my money is on the AJ. Nashville, Chattanooga, Greeneville TN all have historic hotels. Knoxville, other than the St Oliver, a boutique hotel built in 1870, does not.

Next time you're in Atlanta, spend a night at the Georgian Terrace, across from the Fox Theatre. Incidentally, the AJ was originally called the Tennessee Terrace.

Nice idea, RS. I do find it odd that some of the biggest proponents of development use the tax revenue argument, yet many of them would have you believe taxes are bad. Bad to collect. Bad for government to spend. It's the job generators' and wage earners' money, right?

My question would be whether there is sufficient demand for a downtown hotel. The AJ would certainly be a nice fit and beautiful hotel, but the demand downtown seems to be for permanent living.

As for taxes, there is a difference between expanding the tax base (between a willing buyer and seller) and increasing the tax burden.

I'm in agreement with Rocket Squirrel; however, I have to wonder if the idea isn't a couple of years too late. Have the new Hampton and The Cumberland House delayed the need for additional hotel beds for decades?

I also agree with Rocket Squirrel. Bill may be correct, though.

We stayed in a wonderful, historic hotel in San Antonio, TX, The St. Anthony (Wyndham). It would be wonderful to have the AJ transformed. The location is good, near the waterfront and government offices, 3-4 blocks from the convention center, near the basketball hall of fame and coliseum, etc., etc.

Historic hotels do create some market for themselves. However, I don't believe that alone can keep the doors open.

I believe the Grove Park was purchased within the last few years and updated with increased marketing efforts. It depends heavily on convention business, which it can accomodate in-house. It also has a nice golf course, tennis facility, etc.

I understand the new Carnegie is struggling. It looks nice, but doesn't give the appearance of a historic hotel

The Hermitage in Nashville is a good example of a nice historic hotel in a city where there is a high demand for rooms. So is the Peabody in Memphis, which also now has the Madison.

Many of the cities you cite have demand for hotel rooms. I'm not sure that's true in Knoxville.

Maybe mixed use is the answer. Either way, it's a better use than the schools central office, despite the loss of the school lunch crowd.

I think CBT is right, the best use for the AJ would be residential. It's a little bit of a stretch, isn't it, to compare the AJ building's locale with the Grove Park Inn?

To say that the Westin Poinsett in Greenville, SC is a draw in and of itself is a stretch too. Greenville, SC, with the Bi-Lo Center for one, and many other art galleries, coffee shops, nice restaurants, plus the Reedy River Park, and a nice minor league baseball stadium, all conveniently located, is the draw itself.

To compare the two cities is a mistake. Greenville has a lot more going for it, and Knoxville would do well to copy it.

A different turn from the use of the AJ (and more to the point of today's story), where should the school's central office locate? Does Central Office staff need to be able to walk to the courthouse and Mayor's office?

>>well summed, metulj.

Ditto. It's becoming a fairly common practice to mix condos and boutique hotels in the same building. Some office might do okay, too, considering the proximity of the courthouse.

However, I still think the Farragut would be a better place for a boutique hotel/condo concept - much closer to where the energy is.

"low-cost pre-fab bldg on Middlebrook Pike corridor. or former strip shopping center like First Tennessee Bank and Nova operations centers have been doing very economically. How many square feet do they say they need? Let's find 'em something nice and inexpensive."

The quotes from school board members indicate there is a serious need for the central office to be close to the County Mayor's office. With telephone, email and the occasional car trip (and only monthly board meetings) I can't imagine that's really necessary. As I said, follow the money in this deal...closely.

I agree, strip center re-use or inexpensive pre-fab. And, keep the re-furb and decorating costs to a minimum. Actual schools get by on less.

Just a couple of thoughts:

*I thought that the Farragut was sold after a difficult contract (many, MANY owners if I recall correctly).

*As to the School Board's location, TVA would likely jump at the chance to lease a portion of the East Tower for an agreeable price...they can't sell the building so any payment would be better than their current situation and this would provide easy access to the C/C Bldg.

*As to someone in the city making recruitment phone calls, I couldn't agree more...but we must remember that there are only 3 ways to create competitive advantage: 1st to market; low price or a differentiated offering. I would like to see the city recruiting unique, eclectic businesses to the CBID even ones that might already reside in the area.

Bill

Master Plan? Do we have one?

I have to admit that I could be completely ignorant but given the various proposals over the last decade, I hope that I can be forgiven. Is there a true master plan for downtown? I would think that would be something that assesses all of the assets in place...be they buildings, businesses, etc. and basically as well as all of the liabilities, I-40 for example, in a meaningful way so that the correct pieces of the puzzle can be put in place to ensure a sustainable success.

I'm of the opinion that Knoxville has improved greatly and with particular emphasis on downtown. During the sad years of downtown (a.k.a. "The Victor Ashe era"), odd proposals continued to arise and of course, there was the ridiculous decision of attempting to use an unneeded convention center as the building block of a vibrant downtown...although common sense dictates that a successful convention center is the result of a vibrant downtown and not the catalyst for one.

Luckily, it was the "crazies", such as buZZ Goss, David Dewhirst, Cherie Piercy, Wayne Blasius, Leigh Burch and many others who had a vision that has become the cornerstone of success in spite of the incompetence of the Ashe administration. The current administration is doing much more to augment the efforts of the private sector rather than thwart them and for that, we are lucky.

There are certainly a variety of plans and I have attended many public input sessions (I40, Market Square, Cumberland Ave., Broadway/Fifth, Minvilla) but is there something that pulls all of this together? If one doesn't exist, shouldn't it?