Design Review Board
Level 3: Construction of new building/structure
7-C-23-DT
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of Certificate 7-C-23-DT, subject to the following conditions:
1) Final site plan and parking garage to meet City Engineering standards;
2) Final landscaping plan to meet standards of City zoning code (12.2) and design guidelines;
3) Any mechanical equipment or service utilities not shown on plans to be placed on secondary elevations and receive screening as necessary;
4) Signage to return to Design Review Board as a separate application;
5) Final project to comply with any applicable redevelopment agreements with the City of Knoxville;
6) Applicant to pursue necessary rezoning within DK subdistricts to allow for current program, or submit revised designs to Design Review Board.
Location 121 Union Ave.
OwnerMarble Alley Development LLC
Applicant Request
SUMMARY: Proposed new 6-story, mixed-use construction (five stories of residential apartments above a mixed-use ground-floor level, with two stories of structured parking to the rear (east). The building is proposed for a rectangular site at the intersection of Union Avenue and State Street, currently featuring a surface parking lot. The building features a two-story parking garage underneath the building. The building is S-shaped, featuring two amenity decks on the second floor, with one facing the west and one facing the east.
SITE LAYOUT AND ACCESS: The parking garage features two access points for the separate levels: one 24'-2" wide access drive on the basement level extending north off Union Ave, and one 24' wide on the ground floor, extending east off State Street. The building features multiple ground-level pedestrian access points, including off private stoops on the State Street elevation, and several entries to the retail tenant, private office spaces, and the apartment leasing office on the southwest corner of the building.
DESIGN ELEMENTS: The flat roof building rests on a foundation of cast-in-place concrete. The design features a primary exterior element of Nichiha fiber cement panels of grey architectural block, with recessed panels of wood-look fiber cement panels and ribbed black metal-look fiber cement panels on recessed vertical bands. Vertical bays extend upwards on the five residential stories, featuring single and paired single-light fiberglass windows, and full-light paired aluminum-clad wood entry doors with balconies. The ground level fronting State Street features dark gray brick and wood-look fiber cement panel accents, and with single door entries along State Street and multiple storefront systems on the southwest corner. A flat metal awning projects above recessed patio space on the southwest corner.
The application also includes information on the building's lighting program, with landscaping indicated on renderings. The waste management room is indicated on the northwest corner of the building, with waste pickup locations on the north end of the building fronting State Street.
Staff Comments
1. The building is proposed for a surface parking lot, surrounded by c.2015 multi-family residential to the north, a structured parking lot to the west, and the State Street parking garage to the south. To the east is a KUB substation and James White Parkway. Non-parking structures on this block are largely residential, including the Cal Johnson Building at 301 State Street, with the Marble Alley apartments as contemporary-style new construction. These blocks do not feature a consistent architectural context.
2. The application includes a two-level parking garage, with access to each level off Union Avenue and State Street. The Union Avenue parking access will replace an existing curb cut to the surface parking lot, so only one new curb cut will be created in the sidewalk. The curb cut on the north end will be close in proximity to an existing curb cut/garage access for the Marble Alley development. Overall, the access points meet the design guidelines as they will not create additional safety issues for pedestrians. The parking garage meets the guidelines as it's located under the structure, providing for retail, residential, and office uses that line the garage, with a commercial use at a corner location. The final site plan and garage should meet City Engineering standards.
3. Guidelines encourage maintaining a pedestrian-scaled environment from block to block; this building will reinforce the pedestrian environment along State Street, creating additional pedestrian traffic to residential and commercial uses within the building. The building has a distinct ground floor, separated from the upper-level residential floors, divided into a base and top. The building avoids blank walls along street facing elevations; the garage on the east side faces a KUB substation with minimal pedestrian traffic.
4. The design includes retail and office uses on the first story, meeting the guidelines which encourage incorporating first floor uses open to pedestrians. This area is downtown is mostly residential. Guidelines also encourage creating a "largely transparent and consistent rhythm of entrances and windows" on the ground floor. The building meets these guidelines, with entrances proportionate to the building's height and width, and primary front entrances oriented to the main street.
5. Guidelines recommend the use of building materials that "relate to the scale, durability, color, and texture of the predominate building materials in the area." The surrounding area is characterized by new infill construction and concrete parking garages, though historic masonry buildings are located further to the northwest, west, and south. Fiber cement siding does not demonstrate the same durability or detail as historic masonry. In the opinion of staff, the vertical "wood-look" fiber cement does not usually complement the character of downtown Knoxville, as unfinished wood siding would not have been applied to multi-story downtown buildings. In this instance, it is on recessed massings, which does contribute depth, and used as a secondary material.
6. The proposal meets the guidelines for residential buildings, with residential accesses elevated "so that pedestrians cannot look directly into the residence from the street level," and separating entrances to residential sections from pedestrian flow on the sidewalk via stoops.
7. Any exterior mechanical equipment or service utilities not indicated on plans should be located on secondary elevations and receive screening as necessary. Lighting should meet City standards for exterior lighting.
8. The signs depicted on the elevation drawings do not contain sufficient information for the DRB's review at this time. A separate signage application should be submitted to the DRB for further review.
9. As proposed, the design currently incorporates ground-floor residential uses in the DK-G subdistrict. The applicant intends to pursue a rezoning to a subdistrict of DK zoning which allows ground-floor residential uses. DRB approval would be contingent on the applicant receiving the rezoning. As currently proposed, the design meets the dimensional and design standards of the DK-B district.
