Downtown North Blossoms with Help From Enterprising Citizens

When Duane Grieve moved his architectural firm, Grieve Associates Architects, into 10 Emory Place in 1982, he was considered 
an urban pioneer.

He had purchased 8, 10 and 12 Emory Place, gutted the buildings, replaced the electrical wiring, installed a modern sprinkler system and replaced the broken windows. He then obtained a block grant from the city and built a small park in the center of Emory Place, converting it from a large slab parking lot.

“We did it a little differently,” says Grieve, “in that we went ahead and made the investment into our buildings, got the neighborhood group together and then went to the city and said, ‘This is what we’ve done, we invested our funds into it, now how can you help us?’ A lot of people go into an area and ask the city, ‘What can you do to help me?’ before they even do anything. We had already made the financial commitment into here and that helped us a lot.”

At the time, there was one other architectural firm and an auto parts store in the square. All the other buildings were boarded up 
warehouses that had either been abandoned or fire-damaged. But in 1982, people were getting excited about Fourth & Gill, Old North Knoxville was starting to take off, and Grieve saw potential in an area overlooked by most.

Emory Place looks different now, and Grieve is no longer its only occupant.  The “Happy Hollow” area is also procuring a revitalization, attracting hip and conceptual businesses like Central Chic antique store, MagPies bakery and The Parlor, a collaborative business venture of four partners who want to help redefine the neighborhood as a bohemian district. These entrepreneurs are realizing that vision one property at a time.

Grieve is one such visionary. He moved Grieve Associates Architects to 8 Emory Place in December 2007, and the law offices of James A.H. Bell moved into the 10 spot. In October 2006, North-South Productions, an independent producer of television programming, purchased 18 Emory Place, a 
former hosiery factory.

Marsha Ballard, director of North-South Productions, says, “This is just a great location. It’s very close to downtown and we can easily walk. The building needed some improvements, but we could see it had a lot of 
character and potential.”

Ballard renovated the inside of the building and applied for a façade grant from the city to renovate the exterior. AVS Design Firm is now housed there, and the upper level of the building is being finished for Shelton Communications, an advertising agency, slated for a late 
April move-in.

The once-desolate area now bustles with life. Grieve estimates Emory Place will house 60 employees once all the businesses have moved into the building.

What Emory Place probably won’t have are restaurants or bars. “There’s a nice quiet park and green space here,” says Grieve. “I’ve always felt very strongly that it be mostly just businesses in here. It can be the business place between the entertainment area of the Old City and downtown and the neighborhoods.”

Just around the corner from Emory Place are three, stately brick buildings. Two, Sterchi Oaks and Lucerne, face West Fifth Avenue, and another, Patterson Cottage, faces King Street.

The buildings are rental properties now, but the history of their original uses is obscure. Tim Wesley, president of Gatlinburg-based Matisse Capital, purchased them in early 2007 and says they were likely built in the mid-1900s as hotels. The company’s Johan Larsen, who lives in the Lucerne building, says Matisse has plans for owner-occupied condos on the properties after they’re thoroughly rehabilitated.

“I was walking down the street the other night and realized these are some of the most beautiful buildings around,” he says. “I want them restored, and I’m really proud to be a part of that.”

Wesley echoes Larsen’s desires to preserve the historical properties. “This is part of downtown, but you can have grass, trees and parking. This is a really unique property,” he says, “and we want to keep the architecture and character of these buildings, but 
provide modern comforts.”