Level III: 100 Depot
2-A-26-DT
Recommendations will be available 1 week prior to the meeting.
Applicant Request
Level III: New primary structure- SUMMARY: Proposed new seven-story mixed-use structure, measuring approximately 163' along the N Central Street frontage and 454'-4" along the W Depot Avenue frontage. The retail spaces on the N Central Street frontage are double-height, encompassing the first and second stories, with the residential units starting on the third floor. The finished floor elevations of the three retail spaces are tiered to provide an at-grade entrance to the public sidewalk, which rises 4-5 feet from the railroad tracks to the W Depot Avenue intersection. The corner retail space is 2 feet below the W Depot Avenue sidewalk; however, the storefront will maintain a typical height along that frontage due to the space's tall ceilings. The structure's first floor is fully recessed below the W Depot Avenue street grade, starting at the live-work units, west of the corner retail space.
- The first two stories are a rectangular podium with structured parking lined with retail, flexible live-work units, and the residential lobby. On the western portion of the W Depot Avenue elevation, approximately 170 feet of the parking structure's second story will be at-grade and visible from the public sidewalk. The building is setback further in this location to provide wider sidewalks, space for existing street trees, and a raised landscape bed at the base of the building to screen the garage. The top five stories accommodate the 270 residential units and include large open-air vertical voids facing the adjacent railroad tracks (rear of the structure), creating private courtyards with outdoor seating and a swimming pool as a residential amenity.
- ACCESS AND SITE LAYOUT: The N Central Street frontage provides pedestrian access to the retail spaces, and the W Depot Avenue frontage provides pedestrian access to the residential lobby and live-work units, and secondary access to the corner retail space. Two pedestrian access points are provided through the parking garage's cable barrier and landscape screening beds to meet the DK-W (Downtown Knoxville Warehouse Subdistrict) design standard of a maximum 50-ft separation between entries. The parking garage's lower level is accessed from N Central Street (southeast corner), and the upper level is accessed from W Depot Avenue (northwest corner). There is no internal circulation between the two parking levels. The building footprint encompasses almost the entirety of the site, leaving 20' along the southwestern edge for a sidewalk and landscape strip, and between 35'-10" and 41'-2" along the southeastern side, which includes a landscaped dog run, sidewalks, utility boxes, and trash pick-up area.
- DESIGN ELEMENTS: The flat-roofed, contemporary building features gray fiber-cement vertical siding and fiber-cement panels as the primary exterior material, with modular brick veneer and vertical fiber-cement siding in a reddish-brown (brick) tone as the secondary exterior material. However, the brick veneer is the primary material at the building's corners and the first two levels along the street-facing elevations. The upper-story windows are large and evenly arranged, with intermittent bays of Juliet balconies and prefabricated hanging balconies. Street-facing ground-floor facades feature an aluminum storefront system with metal louvers above and granite-faced bulkheads, and the exposed parking structure along W Depot Avenue is partially covered with horizontal metal screens. A panelized aluminum canopy is proposed over the residential entrance on W Depot Avenue. Murals will be installed on a wall facing the railway tracks, near N Central Street, and on two sides of the garage in the southwest corner of the structure.
Property Notes / Work to be Completed
- ZONING STANDARDS: The property is zoned DK-W (Downtown Knoxville Warehouse Subdistrict). The proposal meets the district dimensional standards (build-to zone/percentage and height), and design standards (entry separation, blank wall, and transparency). Compliance with other zoning and development standards will be confirmed during the permitting process. Still, the project appears to meet the standards or can accommodate the requirement, such as landscaping, without significant modifications.
- PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST SAFETY: The project will repair and improve the existing sidewalks along the two street frontages. The development team should work with City Engineering during permitting to prioritize pedestrian safety at the parking garage access points.
- PARKING FACILITIES: The board should discuss the proposed screening along the W Depot Avenue elevation.
- DOWNTOWN BEAUTIFICATION: The applicant is working with the City's Urban Forestry division regarding the street tree plan.
- BUILDING MASS, SCALE, AND FORM: The board should discuss whether the building meets the intent of the guideline recommendation of dividing larger buildings into 'modules' that are similar in scale to traditional downtown buildings, and designed with a recognizable base, middle, and top.
- BUILDING LOCATION: The proposal meets these recommendations.
- BUILDING MATERIALS: The board should discuss whether the proposed exterior materials relate to the scale, durability, color, and texture of the predominant building materials in the area.
- ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER: The board should discuss whether the architectural features on the ground floor are distinct from those on the upper floors.
- GROUND FLOOR DOORS AND WINDOWS: The proposal meets these recommendations.
- RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS: This proposal meets these recommendations.
- MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT AND SERVICE UTILITIES: This proposal meets these recommendations.
- RECOMMENDED SIGNS: The signage package will be submitted in a separate application.
Applicable Guidelines
Downtown Design Guidelines
See Guidelines- Section 1:
- A. PUBLIC REALM
- The public realm is composed of streets, sidewalks, and public open spaces. Public space is defined by development and supports a diversity of uses. It promotes transit use and pedestrian activity. It can be considered the "outdoor room" created by surrounding buildings.
- 1. Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
- Consider pedestrians first, then transit, then the automobile in designing and developing downtown places.
- 1a. Prioritize pedestrian safety and comfort through public amenities, such as pedestrian-scale lighting, benches, and trash receptacles.
- 1g. Consolidate curb-cuts and locate driveways near mid-block, when necessary; alley access should be provided for service and parking, if feasible.
- 3. Parking Facilities
- It is important to ensure that parking facilities (both public and private) are safe, accessible, and clearly marked. New parking facilities should be designed to be attractive, compatible additions to downtown. In general, new parking facilities should remain subordinate to the street scene.
- 3a. Create parking garages that do not contain blank walls. Allow for future commercial uses that may not be feasible at the time of construction.
- 3b. Locate parking garages under structures, or provide for retail, residential, or office uses that line
- the garage. Corner locations are preferable for commercial uses.
- 3d. Screen surface lots, where they abut a public sidewalk, with decorative walls, fencing and landscaping.
- 4. Downtown Beautification
- Beautifying downtown can occur through many different elements including architecture, landscape architecture, horticulture, art, and performing art.
- 4a. Foster downtown beautification with landscaping and plantings, public art, and public open space.
- 4c. Plant street trees where possible. Choose tree planting locations that will not significantly alter the setting of or harm the materials of historic buildings.
- B. PRIVATE REALM
- The private realm is composed of the buildings, structures, and private or quasi-public open spaces. The private realm is commonly defined by building envelopes.
- 1. Building Mass, Scale and Form
- Building form should be consistent with the character of downtown as an urban setting and should reinforce the pedestrian activity at the street level. Creating pedestrian-scale buildings, especially at street level, can reduce the perceived mass of buildings. Human-scale design elements are details and shapes that are sized to be proportional to the human body, such as, upper story setbacks, covered entries, and window size and placement.
- 1a. Maintain a pedestrian-scaled environment from block to block.
- 1b. Foster air circulation and sunlight penetration around new buildings. Buildings may be designed with open space, as allowed under existing DK zoning; or buildings may be 'stepped back' on upper floors with lower floors meeting the sidewalk edge.
- 1c. Use building materials, cornice lines, signs, and awnings of a human scale in order to reduce the mass of buildings as experienced at the street level.
- 1d. Divide larger buildings into 'modules' that are similar in scale to traditional downtown buildings. Buildings should be designed with a recognizable base, middle, and top on all exposed elevations.
- 1e. Avoid blank walls along street-facing elevations.
- 2. Building Location
- It is important to establish a strong relationship among buildings, sidewalks, and streets. This is typically accomplished through consistent setbacks that locate buildings on the same line.
- 2a. Set buildings back five feet in order to provide wider sidewalk space when new construction in non-historic areas is to be more than half the length of the block.
- 2b. Consider using landscape elements to define the sidewalk edge where a building is to be set back from the sidewalk.
- 2d. Limit grade separations above or below the sidewalk, generally no more than 3 feet. Allow for clear sightlines into and out of buildings and plazas.
- 3. Building Materials
- New building materials should relate to the scale, durability, color, and texture of the predominate building materials in the area.
- 3a. Use complementary materials and elements, especially next to historic buildings.
- 4. Architectural Character
- Buildings should be visually interesting to invite exploration by pedestrians. A building should express human scale through materials and forms that were seen traditionally. This is important because buildings are experienced at close proximity by the pedestrian.
- 4a. Encourage first floor uses that draw walk-in traffic; businesses that do not require pedestrian traffic should be located on other floors.
- 4b. Enhance pedestrian interest in commercial and office buildings by creating a largely transparent and consistent rhythm of entrances and windows.
- 4c. Scale first floor signs to pedestrians.
- 4d. Differentiate the architectural features of ground floors from upper floors with traditional considerations such as show-windows, transoms, friezes, and sign boards.
- 4e. Design top floors to enhance the skyline of the block through cornices and details that are harmonious with adjacent architecture.
- 5. Ground Floor Doors and Windows
- Entrances and ground floor windows should foster pedestrian comfort, safety and orientation.
- 5a. Use consistent rhythm of openings, windows, doorways, and entries.
- 5b. Orient primary front entrances to the main street; secondary entrances should be clearly defined and oriented to streets or alleys, as appropriate.
- 5c. Design entrances according to the proportions of the building's height and width.
- 5e. All windows at the pedestrian level should be clear.
- 5f. Recess ground floor window frames and doors from the exterior building face to provide depth to the façade.
- 6. Residential Buildings
- Solely residential buildings, such as townhouses and apartment buildings, are rare in downtown Knoxville. Privacy and safety are concerns with residential units that meet the sidewalk. Mixed use buildings, with apartments above shops or offices, can avoid these challenges and add to downtown vitality.
- 6a. Elevate the first floor of townhouses and apartment buildings so that pedestrians cannot look directly into the residence from the sidewalk level.
- 6b. Design entrances to residential buildings so that access is separated from pedestrian flow on the sidewalk.
- 6c. Encourage the development of mixed-use buildings with apartments over lower story commercial uses.
- 7. Mechanical Equipment and Service Utilities
- Adequate space for these utilities should be planned in a project from the outset and they should be designed such that their visual and noise impacts are minimized.
- 7a. Minimize the visual impact of mechanical equipment through screens or recessed/ low-profile equipment.
- 7b. Do not locate units on a primary façade.
- 7c. Screen rooftop vents, heating/ cooling units and related utilities with parapet walls or other screens. Consider sound-buffering of the units as part of the design.
- 7d. Locate utility connections and service boxes on secondary walls.
- 7e. Reduce the visual impacts of trash storage and service areas by locating them at the rear of a building or off an alley, when possible.
- 7f. Screen dumpsters from view.
- C. HISTORIC RESOURCES
- New Construction Within or Adjacent to a Historic District or Building
- Infill construction should be designed to reflect architectural and historic qualities. Designs should not duplicate current buildings. Issues of concern will be the siting, size, shape, proportion, materials, and the relationship of all of those to the prevalent character of the historic district.
- 10a. Maintain the setback of adjacent historic buildings. The height of the lower stories should be similar to adjacent historic buildings. Upper floors may be 'stepped back' behind the front façade.
- 10b. Duplicate the horizontal floor divisions of existing buildings.
- 10c. Design windows to be of similar proportions to the adjacent historic building windows.
- 10d. Use ornamental stone, brick work, and trim appropriate to the style of the infill building.
- 10e. Recognize the belt courses, strong courses, cornices, and other elements of adjacent buildings.
- 10f. Incorporate storefronts that complement the openness, bulkheads, and transoms of historic buildings.
Meeting Date
February 18, 2026
100 Depot
100 W. Depot Ave. 37917
Southwest quadrant of the N Central Street and W Depot Avenue intersection
DK-W (Downtown Knoxville, Warehouse Subdistrict)
