Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of Certificate 4-A-26-DT, subject to the following conditions.1) Meeting all applicable standards of the Zoning Ordinance on the final plan set.2) Meeting all applicable requirements of the Department of Engineering and the City's Urban Forestry Division.3) Submitting the signage package for consideration of approval by the Board under a separate application.4) Submitting the landscape package for consideration of approval by the Board under a separate application.
Applicant Request
Level III: New primary structureNew primary structure
- Four-story, multi-dwelling structure with a basement-level parking structure and surface parking lot. The 120'-wide building is located approximately 67' from the western lot line of this 495' wide lot, at the crest of the W Vine Avenue frontage. The first floor is approximately at-grade with W Vine Avenue, with three additional floors above. The parking lot and structured parking are on the same grade, with a continuous drive aisle connecting them. There are two access points, on either end of the site. The yard between the building and the public sidewalk will feature a shallow swale to direct stormwater around the building, but will be relatively flat. The finished grade drops significantly to the parking lot level at the building's corners, similar to the existing condition.
- The building's primary exterior material is brick, with two colors that are used on different wall planes, creating an alternating pattern along the façade. The secondary materials include fiber cement siding and panels with metal reglets, and metal storefronts, doors, windows, guardrails, and decorative light fixtures. The exterior materials remain consistent to the side and rear elevations, with additional fiber-cement on the rear corners of the building, where large balconies are also incorporated.
Property Notes / Work to be Completed
- Background: The property was rezoned from DK-G (Downtown Knoxville Grid Subdistrict) to DK-B (Downtown Knoxville Boulevard Subdistrict) in November 2025. This change allows the development to be a multi-dwelling structure with no restrictions on ground-floor residential uses, and allows greater front setback.
- Public Realm: Appropriate, with the recommended City Engineering approval condition. This proposal increases the number of curb cuts, but given the length of the property's frontage and the spacing between them, this should have minimal impact on pedestrian safety. The western access is moved farther from the Walnut Street intersection, but it is close enough that drivers may try to drive the wrong way on W Vine Avenue to enter the parking lot, rather than going around the block. City Engineering could restrict access during permitting to discourage this maneuver.
- Parking Facilities: Appropriate, with the recommended landscape and City Engineering approval conditions. This development has both surface and structured (tuck-under) parking. The small surface parking lot to the west of the building has a pervious paver surface, while the larger parking lot to the east uses the existing asphalt surface with minor modifications. The tuck-under parking is accessed directly from the surface parking lot. The applicant proposed to provide a landscape plan as a separate application. There is sufficient space to accommodate the required landscape screening for the parking lot. The guidelines recommend pedestrian height lighting in parking lots (10-15 ft tall); however, because this parking lot is recessed from the public road, staff is not recommending a reduction from the maximum 20' tall light fixtures allowed by the City zoning code in nonresidential zones.
- Downtown Beautification: Appropriate, with the recommended landscape condition.
- Building Mass, Scale and Form: Appropriate.
- Building Location: Appropriate. The design guidelines recommend maintaining sight lines when the new building is "next" to a historic building. Immaculate Conception Church is across the street, rather than adjacent to the new building. Partial views of the church will be maintained from the north, and its visibility along the W Vine Avenue streetscape will remain unchanged.
- Building Materials: Appropriate.
- Ground Floor Doors and Windows: Appropriate.
- Residential Buildings: Appropriate. The first-floor dwelling units are not elevated, but the building setback provides the privacy the guidelines recommend.
- Mechanical Equipment and Service Utilities: Appropriate.
- Boulevard District: Appropriate, with the recommended landscape condition.
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.
- 3e. Distribute shade trees within surface parking lots at a ratio of 1 tree per 8 parking spaces. Trees may be planted in wells between spaces.
- 3f. Provide pedestrian-scale lighting (10-15 feet in height) that uniformly illuminates the lot.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2c. Maintain sight lines to historic buildings that were originally located in an open setting, providing setbacks for new buildings next to historic structures in order to preserve views.
- 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.
- 6d. Provide yard space for apartment buildings in the Boulevard District.
- 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.
- Section 2: The Districts
- A. THE BOULEVARD DISTRICT
- A.1 Yards/Setbacks
- Create yards that compliment the green space of adjacent buildings.
- 1a. Separate new buildings from the sidewalk with lawn or other landscaped area.
- 1b. Plant native or naturalized trees and other landscape materials inthe open spaces.
- 1c. Compliment the architecture and landscaping of adjoining property.
- 1d. Allow for plazas or similar quasi-public spaces in a portion of these private open spaces.
- A.2 Building Considerations
- Enhance the architectural harmony of all buildings along the street.
- 2a. Design building entrances to be clearly oriented to the street.
- 2b. Encourage building forms that are complimentary to the mass of adjacent buildings.
Meeting Date
April 15, 2026
Capitol Lofts
305 W. Vine Ave. 37902
DK-B (Downtown Knoxville, Boulevard Subdistrict)
