Historic Zoning Commission

Ft. Sanders NC-1: Level IV

5-N-18-HZ

Applicant Request

Level IV. Demolition of contributing structure

Demolish store building to construct a new parking garage expansion for Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

Site Info

Two-story brick commercial building (former IGA Market) with low-pitched hipped roof with open soffit exposing rafters ends. Full-façade transomed storefront opening with recessed entry at north end (boarded). Tiled bulkheads and trim. NC-1 Overlay 2000 survey mentions brick-arched windows (boarded). (Contributing)

1) The Fort Sanders Neighborhood Conservation Overlay was approved by City Council on September 13, 2000. The store building located at 307 Eighteenth Street is a contributing structure within both the Fort Sanders Neighborhood Conservation Overlay and the Fort Sanders National Register District designated in 1980.

2) The Fort Sanders Neighborhood Plan, unanimously adopted by City Council in May 2002, includes a Land Use and Development Plan, a map that delineates appropriate types of development for each block of the neighborhood. The plan also contains a "Core Area Conservation Plan," including a proposed map of the currently adopted Neighborhood Conservation Overlay (NC-1) district. The plan recommends low-medium residential density for the subject parcel.

3) A report on research begun in 2008 by professional archaeologist Dr. Charles H. Faulkner and his wife, Terry, on Civil War Fort Sanders was submitted to MPC staff in 2016. This report indicates there are significant Civil War archaeological remains located on the property at Highland Avenue and Eighteenth Street and that the property contains the only documented unmodified land surface that exists in the area of the 1863 Battle of Fort Sanders site. The report was submitted to MPC as reference material for staff to consider when making recommendations for the property in the future. (Tennessee State Archaeological Site Number, 40KN333).

4) Based on the Knox County Property Assessor's Ownership records, the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (FSRMC) has owned the property since February 15, 2008.

5) IGA (grocers) rented the property beginning in 1993 and continued to rent from FSRMC after their purchase in 2008 until a fire in 2010 necessitated vacating the property.

6) The building's window, storefront and door openings are boarded, so it is not known if any of these are intact.

7) As of December 2013, the building did not qualify for the City's demolition-by-neglect process; however, it did exhibit minor violations of graffiti, a failing awning, and a deteriorated rear addition according to City Public Services. The building is currently in poor condition.