Design Review Board
Level 3: Construction of new building/structure
3-A-22-DT
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of Certificate 3-A-22-DT, subject to the following conditions:
1) Final site plan and parking garage to meet City Engineering standards;
2) Landscaping plan to be provided at permitting, meeting standards of City zoning code (12.2) and design guidelines;
3) Any mechanical equipment or service utilities incorporated in construction drawings should be placed in secondary elevations and receive screening as necessary;
4) Signage to return to Design Review Board as a separate application;
5) Receiving the necessary variances at the 4/19/2022 BZA meeting;
6) Final project to comply with PILOT and/or all other applicable redevelopment agreements with the City of Knoxville;
And providing for discussion among the Board related to the overall proposed building mass, scale, and architectural detail.
Location 305 W. Vine Ave.
Applicant Request
SUMMARY: Proposed new seven-story multi-family construction (five stories of residential apartments above two stories of garage parking). The new building is proposed for a site measuring approximately 495' wide along Vine Avenue, approximately 100' deep on the left (west) side, and approximately 85' wide on the right (east) side, with additional land extending to the north. The site is currently a surface parking lot which slopes dramatically downward to the north outside of the garage. Due to the site topography, the building will largely present as five stories on the Vine Avenue (south) elevation, with the parking garage exposed on the north elevation. A ground-level pool deck extends approximately 90' along the west end of the building, towards the left (west) property line.
SITE LAYOUT AND ACCESS: The building is accessed by Vine Avenue. One approximately 27' wide, two-way asphalt driveway extends northwest off the Vine Avenue, leading to the lower level of parking (P2) on the east elevation. A second access, measuring approximately 20' wide, extends northwest off Vine towards the middle of the building, leading to the first level of parking (P1). There is no internal circulation between P1 and P2.
There are two pedestrian accesses off Vine Avenue, one closer to the east accessing a private residential stairwell and one closer to the west, accessing a stair and the leasing office/club area.
DESIGN ELEMENTS: The flat-roof building rests on a two-story painted concrete garage with horizontal fenestrations along the north elevation. The design features alternating vertical bands of brick veneer; fiber cement panels of multiple colors; projecting metal balconies; and a faux-wood fiber cement siding. Windows are full-light storefront windows with full-light entry doors to the balconies. Towards the east elevation is an "urban light house," a flat-roof, illuminated interior space that extends approximately 7.5' above the roofline. The "urban light house" incorporates opaque glazing, backlit with multi-colored LED lighting. Flat-roof awnings are centered over the pedestrian entries.
The applicant has included a secondary color/material submittal with the same alternating vertical bands of brick veneer; fiber cement panels of multiple colors; and a faux-wood fiber cement siding.
On the south elevation (fronting Vine Avenue) and the east elevation (visible from Vine Avenue and Gay Street), the applicant proposes to screen the parking garage with a living wall (vertical bands of vegetation), illuminated with T5 LED lights.
At the southwest corner of the building, an approximately 20' by 20', hipped roof structure clad in fiber cement paneling serves as pool equipment storage.
Proposed landscaping includes the planting of 11-12 trees between the building and Vine Avenue, along with planters enclosing the pool area. The project also necessitates the installation of multiple retaining walls, including one along the north elevation of the building and one on the left side of the Vine Avenue elevation.
There is no exterior mechanical equipment depicted in the elevation drawings. Depicted lighting includes exterior sconces by pedestrian entry doors and under-soffit lighting along the roofline.
Staff Comments
1. The property occupies a unique site in the Downtown Grid subdistrict. The surrounding area is characterized by smaller-scale, historic development patterns to the northwest along Gay Street and Jackson Avenue, intermittent new or modern construction fronting Vine Avenue, and the historic Catholic church building. The site sits at the top of a steep hill which slopes down to Jackson Avenue.
2. The parking lot incorporates two separate access points to each parking level. City Engineering has provided comments on the parking layout and access points; these can be addressed in permitting. Final site plan and parking layout should meet City Engineering standards. From a DRB perspective, the proposed parking garage access points meet the intent of the design guidelines, as they will not create safety issues for pedestrians. Guidelines do encourage providing "for retail, residential, or office uses that line the garage," which may not be feasible on this property.
3. Guidelines note that new parking facilities should be designed to be "attractive, compatible additions to downtown" and incorporate fencing or screening where parking facilities abut public sidewalks. The applicant has incorporated a "living wall" to mitigate the two levels of painted concrete garage structure which will be significantly visible on the south and east elevations (Vine Avenue). The two levels of parking will be significantly visible from points north of the building. The Board should discuss the living wall detail and whether that sufficiently screens the parking garage and meets the intent of the guidelines.
4. The design incorporates alternating vertical bands of materials (stucco, patterned fiber cement panels, and brick veneer), projecting balconies, and recessed full-light windows. There is a sufficient amount of upper-level transparency on all elevations; the proposal avoids large swaths of siding with no windows. The guidelines recommend dividing large buildings into "'modules' that are similar in scale to traditional downtown buildings" with a "recognizable base, middle, and top on all exposed elevations." There is not a consistent building pattern along this block (compared to existing blocks of Gay Street, for example). The Board should discuss the overall mass and scale of the building, and the tactic of vertical bands to break up the massing.
5. Due to the overall design of five residential stories and two stories of parking, the proposed building does not include any commercial or retail uses on the first story. Many guidelines encourage incorporating first floor uses that are open to pedestrians and draw walk-in traffic. Related to that goal are additional guidelines to create a "largely transparent and consistent rhythm of entrances and windows" on the ground floor. This application does not meet those guidelines; pedestrians on Vine Avenue will experience painted concrete parking garage walls, two small private entrances to apartment stairwells, and a recessed, fenced pool deck.
6. 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 area does not demonstrate much continuity in materials. The applicant has provided two color schemes. In the opinion of staff, the "wood tone" fiber cement siding on the second color option does not complement the character of downtown Knoxville, as unfinished wood siding would not have been applied to multi-story downtown buildings.
7. Guidelines encourage maintaining sight lines to historic buildings that were originally located in an open setting. The application incorporates a pool deck area on the west end of the property (above the parking garage) to reduce visual intrusions to the historic church building.
8. The application only includes a few new street trees shown along Vine Avenue. A complete landscaping plan will be required for permitting; the plan should "use landscape elements to define the sidewalk edge" per the guidelines and meet City zoning standards.
9. The application does not include details on lighting or mechanical equipment and service utilities. Any exterior mechanical equipment or service utilities should be located on secondary elevations and receive screening as necessary to meet design guidelines. Lighting should meet City standards for exterior lighting (10.2).
10. The signs depicted on the elevation drawings do not contain sufficient information for the DRB's review at this time. Moreover, the proposed signs are large in size to be located on all elevations of a solely residential building. A separate signage application should be submitted to the DRB for further review.
11. The applicant is seeking several variances from the Board of Zoning Appeals at the April 19, 2022 meeting (4-A-22-VA): increasing the maximum permitted build-to-zone distance from 5 feet to 28'-5", reducing the minimum required ground floor transparency percentage from 30% to 22.98%; and increasing the maximum distance permitted between building entries from 50' to 148'.
