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Design Review Board

Level 1: Minor alteration of an existing building/structure

8-H-18-DT

This proposal is for modifications to the renovation plans approved by the board in March 2018 (1-B-18-DT) and to address a condition of the approval to resubmit plans for board review of any doors into Krutch Park after City Council approves the doors opening into Krutch Park. The modifications are outlined below.

1) Krutch Park:
-- City Council approved an easement in Krutch Park to allow one door from the west stairwell to egress into the park and for the installation of a walkway to the alley. The door will enter the park at the natural grade.
-- The walkway will be constructed of pervious pavers.

2) Modifications to the Gay Street elevation (ground floor and mezzanine level):
-- At the main entrance, the storefront glass at the mezzanine level is proposed to have translucent window film applied to the inside of the glass to hide a kitchen for the mezzanine level restaurant.
-- The storefront window to the right of the main entrance has an interior wall that terminates behind the left storefront mullion. The end of the wall will be capped with extruded aluminum and will be centered on the storefront mullion.
-- The balcony over the Gay Street sidewalk was expanded 11" in depth and will now extend 9'-11" from the face of the building. The balcony will maintain a 5' clearance from the closest portion of the street lamp as previously required by the board. The balcony will have a clearance with the sidewalk of approximately 11'-6", which is the same as previously approved.

3) Union Avenue elevation (ground floor):
-- One of the two new ground floor storefront windows, located near the alley, is now proposed as a doorway for the ground floor tenant.
-- The doorway will have a similar design as the adjacent storefront windows. The door and sidelights will be approximately the same width as the other storefront window panes.

4) Alley (Strong Street) elevation (ground floor):
-- Two of the four new ground floor storefront windows that were proposed on the alley elevation in the approved plans have been removed from this proposal. The two new windows that remain are closest to the Union Ave. corner of the building.
-- The doorway to the "fire command" room has been moved closer to the center of this elevation from south corner of the building (near Krutch Park). This location will require a new cut into the wall panel. The door will be recessed so it does not swing out over the property line and into the alley.

5) Upper stories (floors 2 - 12):
-- Several vertical rows of windows on the upper stories will have translucent window film applied to the inside of the glass to hide interior walls that terminate behind the windows. There will be two rows of windows on the Gay Street elevation, three rows of windows on the Union Avenue elevation, and three rows of windows on the alley (Strong Street) elevation.
-- The 13 floor has condos units and will not have windows with the translucent film applied.
-- All upper story windows will be replaced with new that match the existing and will have clear glass.

Location
505 S Gay St
Applicant Request
This proposal is for modifications to the renovation plans approved by the board in March 2018 (1-B-18-DT) and to address a condition of the approval to resubmit plans for board review of any doors into Krutch Park after City Council approves the doors opening into Krutch Park. The modifications are outlined below.

1) Krutch Park:
-- City Council approved an easement in Krutch Park to allow one door from the west stairwell to egress into the park and for the installation of a walkway to the alley. The door will enter the park at the natural grade.
-- The walkway will be constructed of pervious pavers.

2) Modifications to the Gay Street elevation (ground floor and mezzanine level):
-- At the main entrance, the storefront glass at the mezzanine level is proposed to have translucent window film applied to the inside of the glass to hide a kitchen for the mezzanine level restaurant.
-- The storefront window to the right of the main entrance has an interior wall that terminates behind the left storefront mullion. The end of the wall will be capped with extruded aluminum and will be centered on the storefront mullion.
-- The balcony over the Gay Street sidewalk was expanded 11" in depth and will now extend 9'-11" from the face of the building. The balcony will maintain a 5' clearance from the closest portion of the street lamp as previously required by the board. The balcony will have a clearance with the sidewalk of approximately 11'-6", which is the same as previously approved.

3) Union Avenue elevation (ground floor):
-- One of the two new ground floor storefront windows, located near the alley, is now proposed as a doorway for the ground floor tenant.
-- The doorway will have a similar design as the adjacent storefront windows. The door and sidelights will be approximately the same width as the other storefront window panes.

4) Alley (Strong Street) elevation (ground floor):
-- Two of the four new ground floor storefront windows that were proposed on the alley elevation in the approved plans have been removed from this proposal. The two new windows that remain are closest to the Union Ave. corner of the building.
-- The doorway to the "fire command" room has been moved closer to the center of this elevation from south corner of the building (near Krutch Park). This location will require a new cut into the wall panel. The door will be recessed so it does not swing out over the property line and into the alley.

5) Upper stories (floors 2 - 12):
-- Several vertical rows of windows on the upper stories will have translucent window film applied to the inside of the glass to hide interior walls that terminate behind the windows. There will be two rows of windows on the Gay Street elevation, three rows of windows on the Union Avenue elevation, and three rows of windows on the alley (Strong Street) elevation.
-- The 13 floor has condos units and will not have windows with the translucent film applied.
-- All upper story windows will be replaced with new that match the existing and will have clear glass.
Staff Comments
The applicant has requested that the mezzanine level windows, above the main entrance on Gay Street, be made opaque by placing a translucent window film on the back side of the glass.The kitchen for the mezzanine level restaurant will be located behind these windows. In addition, several verticl rows of windows will also have translucent film because of walls that end behind. The walls built behind all of these windows will be a minimum of 2" away from the glass. The design guidelines recommend that ground floor (pedestrian level) windows be clear and the D-1 (Downtown Design Overlay) district regulatoins requires that interior changes that would obscure windows and doors must be approved by the board. Since the windows are not at the pedestrian level, the guidelines do not explicitly recommend against making these windows opaque.

The storefront window to the north (right) of the Gay Street main entrance will have a wall terminate directly behind one of the window mullions. The end of the wall is wider than the mullion so it will be visible. The applicant proposes to cap the wall with extruded aluminum which will give it a look similar to the metal window mullion and make it less noticeable. The wall will not be part of the storefront window system so if it is removed in the future, the storefront will remain as is.

On the Krutch Park elevation there is one new egress door proposed on the west side of the elevation, near the alley. An easement has been approved by City Council to allow a doorway and walkway as shown. The doorway will open at the natural grade of the park and the walkway will have be made of pervious pavers.

Applicable guidelines:

Section 1.B.1 (BUILDING MASS, SCALE AND FORM)
Building form should be consistent with the character of downtown as an urban setting and should reinforce the pedestrian activity at the street level. Creating pedestrian-scale buildings, especially at street level, can reduce the perceived mass of buildings. Historically, building technology limited height and subsequently created pedestrian-scaled buildings typically less than 10 stories. Building technology no longer limits the height of buildings and there are no height limitations imposed by the zoning ordinance for downtown Knoxville. However, there is still a need for buildings that respond to pedestrians. The use of 'human-scale' design elements is necessary to accomplish this. Human-scale design elements are details and shapes that are sized to be proportional to the human body, such as, upper story setbacks, covered entries, and window size and placement.
GUIDELINES:
1a. Maintain a pedestrian-scaled environment from block to block.
1b. Foster air circulation and sunlight penetration around new buildings. Buildings may be designed with open space, as allowed under existing C-2 zoning; or buildings may be 'stepped back' on upper floors with lower floors meeting the sidewalk edge (see Area Regulations of the C-2 Zoning District).
1c. 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.
1d. Divide larger buildings into 'modules' that are similar in scale to traditional downtown buildings. Buildings should be designed with a recognizable base, middle, and top on all exposed elevations.
1e. Avoid blank walls along street-facing elevations.

Section 1.B.3. (BUILDING MATERIALS)
New building materials should relate to the scale, durability, color, and texture of the predominate building materials in the area.
GUIDELINES:
3a. Use complimentary materials and elements, especially next to historic buildings.

Section 1.B.4. (ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER)
Buildings should be visually interesting to invite exploration by pedestrians. A building should express human scale through materials and forms that were seen traditionally. This is important because buildings are experienced at close proximity by the pedestrian.
GUIDELINES:
4a. Encourage first floor uses that draw walk-in traffic; businesses that do not require pedestrian traffic should be located on other floors.
4b. Enhance pedestrian interest in commercial and office buildings by creating a largely transparent and consistent rhythm of entrances and windows.
4c. Scale first floor signs to pedestrians.
4d. Differentiate the architectural features of ground floors from upper floors with traditional considerations such as show-windows, transoms, friezes, and sign boards.
4e. Design top floors to enhance the skyline of the block through cornices and details that are harmonious with adjacent architecture.
4f. Encourage the use of 'green roofs' and other sustainable practices, while minimizing the visual impact from the street.

Section 1.B.5. (GROUND FLOOR DOORS AND WINDOWS)
Entrances and ground floor windows should foster pedestrian comfort, safety and orientation. Not every building in downtown needs to have the same window or entry designs; however, repeating the pattern of historic openings helps to reinforce the character of downtown, differentiating it from suburban areas.
GUIDELINES:
5a. Use consistent rhythm of openings, windows, doorways, and entries.
5b. Orient primary front entrances to the main street; secondary entrances should be clearly defined and oriented to streets or alleys, as appropriate.
5c. Design entrances according to the proportions of the building's height and width.
5d. Consider corner entrances at the ends of blocks.
5e. All windows at the pedestrian level should be clear.
5f. Recess ground floor window frames and doors from the exterior building face to provide depth to the facade.
Applicant

Kana Hotel Group

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