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Design Review Board

Level 1: Minor alteration of an existing building/structure

12-D-09-DT

This proposal is a revision to the approved Certificate 5-B-08-DT. The applicant is requesting a change to the design of the porte cochere and a change the required tree planting requirement.

The original request and approval for this project was to enclose porte cochere while retaining the existing arches. This request is to remove the arches to allow the porte corchere opening to be squared off and infilled with a storefront design similar to the original request. The storefront will have a bronze metal framing and will have clear glass. The infill around the storefront will be a random design of hardi panel with thin joints separating the panels. The face of the porte cochere will be stucco.

The original approval required that there be two trees in the surface parking lot area. The applicant is requesting that this requirement be removed from this approval because of constraints on the site which were unforeseen.

Location
555 W Jackson Ave
Applicant Request
This proposal is a revision to the approved Certificate 5-B-08-DT. The applicant is requesting a change to the design of the porte cochere and a change the required tree planting requirement.

The original request and approval for this project was to enclose porte cochere while retaining the existing arches. This request is to remove the arches to allow the porte corchere opening to be squared off and infilled with a storefront design similar to the original request. The storefront will have a bronze metal framing and will have clear glass. The infill around the storefront will be a random design of hardi panel with thin joints separating the panels. The face of the porte cochere will be stucco.

The original approval required that there be two trees in the surface parking lot area. The applicant is requesting that this requirement be removed from this approval because of constraints on the site which were unforeseen.
Staff Comments
This project is within the Southern Terminal and Warehouse Historic District. In the Historic Resources section of the guidelines the following principles should be considered: Section 1.C.2a, Section 1.C.3 and Section 1.C.10. These sections cover storefronts, entrances and how new construction should reflect architectural and historic qualities. While this infill storefront is not in a new building, it creates indoor space where the space has been utilized as outdoor space for a majority of the buildings life. The design is very much different from the original building and the previous designs for the space. This design creates a recessed storefront area that is the same height at the storefronts in the original building which provides a visual consistency. The glass area of the new storefront will be the height of the storefront in the original building, minus the transoms. The reduced height of the storefront is to provide space for a lower ceiling height and for energy consideration with respect to solar heat gain. The storefronts facing Broadway and Jackson Avenue are exactly the same except the Broadway storefront does not have an entrance. The small building face at the corner of Broadway and Jackson will have a thin window with a similar random infill pattern of Hardi board as the Jackson/Broadway storefronts.

There is some concern by staff that the glass area of the storefront does not come close enough to the corner of Jackson and Broadway to give pedestrians coming around a corner a safe feeling. The Board should consider the impacts of the storefront design in relation to the pedestrian experience near this intersection.

The Guidelines require that one shade tree be planted within surface parking lot at a ratio of 1 tree per 8 parking spaces (Section 1.A.3e).
Applicant

Sanders / Sanders Pace Architecture, LLC.

Planning Staff
Mike Reynolds
Phone: 865-215-3827
Email: mike.reynolds@knoxplanning.org
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