With some non students in their, the whole area could be developed into a commerce coorridor much like the Pike.

Wonderful. Maybe we can squeeze in another strip mall or two while more buildings sit vacant on Kingston Pike.

(sarcasm)

Brian A.
I'd rather be cycling.

With some non students in their, the whole area could be developed into a commerce coorridor much like the Pike.

For pete's sake.
Look around Sutherland in those few blocks -- there is a vital, thriving commercial area composed of locally-owned businesses, many of which have a foreign flavor. The Holy Land Deli has delicious, handmade food, and the Oriental Market has stuff you can't get anywhere else in town. This area does well, for now -- in fact, a lot better than the corresponding stretch of KP, but that will all be ruined by this change that UT plans.

look for one of the developer types sitting on the board of trustees to seriously assess what goes where

are you thinking of bob talbott?

the discussion about the sutherland apartments took place several years ago when it was thought the sale of the apartments would negatively impact foreign students. the decision to sell the property was reversed.

the tale of deferred maintenance is also a familiar one. maybe the entire 'blighted' area will become a redevelopment zone, qualifying for TIF.

Not that I care what you do with your time, but you must wait by your computer for me to post so that you can pounce. But, whatever amuses you...

was the neighborhood different when you moved there?

It depends, Tess, on when he moved in. The homeless shelters and the gentrification of 4&G/ONK have - ironically - sort of grown up together. Circa 1989, when I went on my first Old North Xmas tour, there was a single shelter at 5th and Broadway - KARM's original location. By the mid nineties, the Salvation Army arrived, building their current campus. Sometime after 2000, KARM moved into its new, expanded facility). Since then, VMC arrived, taking over KARM's location (and helping them out of a bind by taking the otherwise unmarketable property off their hands). Now VMC is likewise looking to expand. Oh, and then there's the less publicized expansions of the Helen Ross McNabb Center as well as the myriad other non-profits and "ministries" who swim alongside the main providers like so many pilot fish. The fact that they grew up together may suggest that some of the concerns on the part of 4&G residents are overblown, but there is the matter of scale and saturation. At what point do things reach tipping point? Does the area become gentrified, or is it written off and conceded to the homeless? Frankly, I think both sides instinctively sense that's where things stand, one reason why the shelters are digging in and the neighborhood rhetoric is heating up.

The elephant in the room in all this discussion is that that mid-late eighties to the current day trajectory coincides with the transformation of Lakeshore from what was, to a large extent, housing for much the same population the Ten-Year plan seeks to serve to a really, really nice park. And, sure, we can blame Reagan or whatever, or say that there just weren't the resources to maintain lakeshore or whatnot, but I've always found it interesting that the Knoxville community - through no great "conspiracy," just dozens, hundreds of seemingly reasonable, well-intentioned decisions falling into place - has found the funds to both replicate/relocate lakeshore in someplace less desirable and redevelop the property in such a way that enhances its more desirable surroundings.

Of course, the fact that some other folks decided the surroundings actually were desirable kind of complicates things.

?

Submitted by Tess on Sat, 2009/02/21 - 8:41pm.

CitizenX was the neighborhood different when you moved there? I mean did you move there and then suddenly homeless people swarmed into the area?
Or did you move in knowing that they were there?
(Answer: Yes, they were there and have been there for years.)
So, now that you are there, you don't like your neighbors. I am not sure how that is anybody's fault in West Knoxville.

I've thought about this incredibly condescending post over the weekend, and it still pisses me off as much as the first time I read it. Evidently you never got to this part of town over the last 20 years or so. Do you think the homeless are indigenous to North Knoxville?

I'm not as hard core about this issue as many of my neighbors. I do not see another use on the horizon for the Minvilla, although I think the pricetag is horrendous. Perhaps this is because I live a bit farther north down Broadway than most of them do, but I, too think that we've had way more than our fair share foisted on us -- and I suppose, by your standard, I am entitled to say this because I've lived here since 1982, which is long before the plan to shoo them out of downtown and create a Mission District.

(still chewing the inside of my lower lip over your snotty damn post)

In answer to your question: "CitizenX, was the neighborhood different when you moved there?"
Answer: Yes, it was quite different. I actually moved into the neighborhood nearly 70 years ago. I have seen the neighborhoods of North Knoxville and East Knoxville at their best and at their worst as the years have passed. I get the impression that you have very little knowledge regarding the noble history of this area of our city. You seem to be laboring under the false impression that large numbers of homeless shelters have always been part of this neighborhood....nothing could be farther from the truth. Some of the finest homes in our city can be found in North Knoxville and these homes still stand today. Most of these homes have been restored to their former glory and, once again, they provide shelter for a new generation of young families who have discovered the beauty and excellent craftsmanship these houses provide. These young pioneers decided to purchase homes in North Knoxville for the same reasons my parents and I decided to purchase our homes here....they knew good property when they saw it!
You went on to say;
"So, now that you are there, you don't like your neighbors. I am not sure how that is anybody's fault in West Knoxville."

I don't know why you felt that I had launched an attack on West Knoxville and that I somehow blamed West Knoxville for the problems we face in our neighborhood. I am not assigning blame...just suggesting that West Knoxville has not shared the burden of providing shelter for the homeless. Am I wrong? Please tell me where the homeless shelters are located in West Knoxville so I can drive by and take a look at them.

The problem of the homeless in our city should be shared by everyone. Don't you agree? Most of the chronically homeless, particularly the ones who suffer from mental illness, were once housed on Lyons View Pike....at the site of the old Eastern State Mental Hospital...but Lamar Alexander turned all of them out onto the streets when he was Governor. Naturally, they had to go somewhere and guess where they landed? So, it seems to me that North Knoxville inherited West Knoxville's problem in the first place. You folks closed the door on the mentally ill and homeless a long time ago and have kept it closed ever since. That is why I suggested the Golf Range apartment complex on Sutherland Avenue as the perfect place for a new homeless shelter. According to the guidelines of the Ten Year Plan it is time for West Knoxville to step up to the plate and accept their fair share of the homeless population.

I'm elderly and new at blogging and it certainly was not my intention to offend anyone....just wanted to state the facts. As citizens of this great city I feel we should all work together to solve the problems which we face. May I suggest that you take some time to drive around our neighborhoods and see all that we have accomplished in the face of terrific obstacles. We are proud of our neighborhoods and the wonderful, generous and open minded neighbors who struggle every day to reclaim the serenity and stability of North Knoxville. Our neighborhoods and our homes are as important to us as yours are to you. I think its high time that some of the homeless find a new zip code, don't you?

North Knoxville offers home tours from time to time. I hope you will take advantage of these tours to become familiar with this area of the city. I think you will be surprised to learn that some of Knoxville's most prominent families once resided in North Knoxville...many with names you would quickly recognize. We still have that same quality of people living here. So please don't look down on us and say things like;

"CitizenX was the neighborhood different when you moved there? I mean did you move there and then suddenly homeless people swarmed into the area?

Or did you move in knowing that they were there?

(Answer: Yes, they were there and have been there for years.)" I strongly disagree with those statements.

We saw the beauty of the neighborhood, accepted the challenges of "spot zoning" and decaying real estate and turned this area around. We didn't run from the homeless and we still don't. We are, and have always been, willing to accept our share of the homeless....can you say the same?

and if the task force is meeting every other week, why isn't the schedule available on the web site?

They haven't been named yet, Rachel. I don't think we will have to start without them. We should have them in place before March 12. I'll post here as that list is updated.

Robert Finley
Ten-Year Plan
215-3071
(link...)