It’s massive, it’s changed our skyline and it will hold many, many cars. Over a thousand of them. So far, there’s not much to disagree with. It’s all true. That’s where opinions diverge. I’ve made it clear before that I question whether we need so many parking garages and, more particularly, whether they all need to be in our precious, small, well-defined downtown. But it’s what commuters want – both shoppers and downtown workers.
The nine story (ten if you look at it from the western side) garage seems to be nearing the completion of its shell. There will be additional months of construction of details like elevators, lighting and so on, but it has clearly taken shape. The facade is built entirely of pre-fab concrete panels, some of which contain brick accents that mirror those on the Market Square Garage
In addition to the sheer, stunning size of the garage, the south-facing side has drawn a large amount of the attention recently for its complete blankness – which isn’t allowed by downtown design guidelines. So, that was a large part of my focus as I spoke to the various people involved.
I spoke to Bill Lyons, Deputy to the Mayor, who said the following: “I have followed the construction of the garage with great interest as I walk by it multiple times each day. I did notice very early in the construction of the South wall that it was out of compliance with what Downtown Design had approved and I immediately started the process to let that the developer know this was unacceptable to the City and must be dealt with. It will be addressed prior to the opening of the Garage.” He suggested that I speak to Anne Wallace, Project Director for the City of Knoxville and a member of the Downtown Design Review Board
In addition to the sheer, stunning size of the garage, the south-facing side has drawn a large amount of the attention recently for its complete blankness – which isn’t allowed by downtown design guidelines. So, that was a large part of my focus as I spoke to the various people involved.
