Design Review Board
Level 2: Major alteration of an existing building/structure
5-C-15-DT
Staff Recommendation
APPROVE Certificate 5-C-15-DT subject to the following conditions: 1) The awning (canopy) can be scaled smaller as necessary to meet the requirements of City Engineering, and any other necessary approval, subject to review by the Downtown Design Review Board staff to determine consistency with the approved plans; and 2) Any change to the method of structurally supporting the awning (canopy) that is external to the awning framing, such as tie rods attached to the building, must be reviewed by the board.
Location 416 S Gay St
JCPenney building
Applicant Request
Revision to the Certificate of Appropriateness (File #: 12-A-13-DT), approved by the board on December 18, 2013. If approved, this proposal only revises the storefront below the upper storefront transom (with the Prismatic glass panels) on the middle building, as shown on the attached plans. The original approval is attached for reference.
BUILDING FAÇADE (STOREFRONT ONLY):
The storefront was originally approved with two tenant entrances, one on the left and right sides of the storefront (see the attached sheet for reference). The restaurant Babalu will be a single tenant occupying the ground floor of the commercial space and will not require two entrances. The proposed main entrance will be on the right (south) side of the storefront, with an entrance to the proposed sidewalk patio immediately to the left. The remaining storefront will primarily be constructed of bi-fold and tri-fold doors. The middle two storefront bays will be recessed two feet to visually break up the line of the storefront. There will be permanent angled storefront to transition from the storefront (or operable doors) along the sidewalk and recessed storefront. The lower transom (below the awning) will have clear glass. The upper transom will be built as originally proposed by the building Owner with "zinc glazed textured glass" (Prismatic glass). The storefront system will be trimmed in wood.
CANVAS CANOPY (AWNING):
The awning covered canopy projects 10 feet from the existing building face. The canvas roof of the canopy will be operable so the roof may be opened electrically in four sections (see the attached example). The canopy valance will have an 8-foot clearance with the sidewalk.
The low-slope canopy will be supported by five "I" beam columns on the perimeter. The columns will be supported on metal (aluminum or steel) plates sitting on the existing sidewalk. The canopy frame and supports will be structurally rigid with the use of bolted connections between the members.
The perimeter of the three open sides of the patio area (excluding main entrance area) will have electric roll-down screens at each opening between the "I" beam columns. These bug and clear screens will be mounted on a metal tubing (aluminum or steel) behind the canopy's canvas valance. Screen rolls which have internal mechanisms will not be visible from the sidewalk area. The screen guides will be tucked into the recess of the "I" beam columns.
RAILINGS:
The steel railing system will have a series of planters suspended from the outside of the railing. For safety, the railings will have a single bolt through the top rail into the columns supporting the canopy. The railing upright main supports will rest on the same pads supporting the canopy columns and smaller plates between the columns.
The planters will sit in metal rings suspended on the outside the patio railing and will have flowering and evergreen plants. Planters will be anchored to the rings and the rings will be anchored around the top rail of the railing.
LIGHTING:
There will be four 48" gooseneck arm lights mounted above the canopy with the light directed down on the canopy (see the attached example fixture). The lights will be attached the building above the upper transom and evenly spaced across the width of the canopy.
EXTERIOR SIGNAGE:
There are three different types of signs proposed:
a) 1 projecting sign (12' tall by 5' wide)
i) Projects 6'-6" from the building
b) 1 wall sign above main entrance, below the awning:
i) Metal sign with skeleton neon (5-6" x 2'-4" or ~12.5 sqft)
ii) Door is 8' tall so the sign will have a minimum clearance of 8'.
c) 5 awning signs:
i) Front valance:
(1) letters are 8" tall
(2) "Babalu" is 3'-4" long (2x)
(3) "tacos & tapas" is 6' long
ii) Sides:
(1) Letters are 8" tall
(2) "tacos & tapas" is 5'-4" long
Staff Comments
The JCPenney building is located in the Gay Street Commercial (National Register) Historic District and the approved, ongoing renovations will restore the building similarly to its historic appearance. The building is, however, a non-contributing structure because of its previous alterations.
Several elements of the proposed sidewalk patio and canopy (awning) structure have received comments by city staff that could ultimately affect the final design. These are not all specifically related to the Downtown Knoxville Design Guidelines and may not need to be addressed by the board. These comments are as follows:
1) City staff expressed the preference to only allow the patio to extend 8 feet into the sidewalk space, which is consistent with the adjacent seating area at Downtown Grind. While the proposed canopy structure maintains the minimum 5-foot sidewalk clearance around obstacles like street lamps, the walking path shifts toward the curb line in front of the patio and limits the installation of other common sidewalk amenities such as bike racks and planters. The 'Downtown Streetscape Plan' (1988) from which the existing sidewalks where developed recommends a minimum sidewalk clear width of 6 feet and 10-15 feet along designated pedestrian streets, which includes Gay Street.
2) The structural supports of the awning (canopy) and equipment being supported by the sidewalk needs approval by Engineering and City Council, which is more than the typical sidewalk patio that requires only a 'Sidewalk Use Agreement'. Alternatively, the awning could be supported by the building. NOTE: The awning at Nama was originally proposed with columns supported by the sidewalk but was changed at the request of Engineering to be supported by the building.
3) To meet the requirements of the 'Fire District' the patio area is required to be sprinkled and the enclosures will need to be fire retardant.
4) The design guidelines do not specifically address enclosures such as bug and clear wind screens, however, for all buildings it state the following:
Use building materials, cornice lines, signs, and awnings of a human scale in order to reduce the mass of buildings as experienced at the street level.
Though this building is a non-contributing structure within the national register historic district, the guidelines also recommend the following:
Awnings are allowed on historic buildings when they are appropriate to the building and are designed with traditional shapes, forms, and materials. If awnings are used, their overall size, shape, and projection from the building must be in proper proportion and scale to the building and contained within the window or door they shelter, and not cover adjacent wall surfaces.
5) As shown in the attachments, the proposed patio is larger than others on the same block of Gay Street. Similar to other sidewalk patios, the awning (canopy) structure will require pedestrians to shift their walking path away from the buildings and toward the street. However, in this case the 5-foot clear path includes area under the awning around the street light in front the Babalu main entrance.
