Historic Zoning Commission
Ft. Sanders NC-1: Level IV
5-P-18-HZ
Staff Recommendation
MPC staff supports the expansion of the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center as a priority for the overall community; however, staff recommends the:
1) continued co-operation of Covenant Health with the documentation of this important site that was first supported in 2008 by Max Shell, a Covenant Health representative, and allow archaeological research (i.e. monitoring during removal of the houses from the property) and additional needed investigations as determined by a professional archaeologist, so that any important Civil War data discovered at the site can be scientifically recovered and preserved; and
2) protection and retention of the large tree at the front of property.
Applicant Request
Level IV. Demolition of contributing structure
Other: relocation or demolitionDemolish house to construct a parking garage expansion for Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. (FSRMC)
Site Info
Queen Anne cottage (1895)One-and-a-half-story cottage, bay window, cut-away corner windows with carved brackets (currently missing), dormer, pyramidal roof with lover cross-gables, transomed entry (currently boarded). Half-facade hipped roof porch engaged on east side. Original porch posts and all decorative elements missing or covered by aluminum siding.
1) The Fort Sanders Neighborhood Conservation Overlay (NC-1) was approved by City Council on September 13, 2000. The house located at 1804 Highland Avenue 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 district. The plan recommends low-medium residential density for the 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) The property was occupied at the time of the FSRMC purchase, but has since been vacant.
6) The window and door openings on the house are boarded, so it is not known if these are intact. Original porch posts, chimney stack, and all decorative elements are missing or covered by aluminum siding.
7) As of December 2013, the house did not qualify for the City's demolition-by-neglect process; however, it did exhibit minor violations according to City Public Services. The house is currently in poor condition.
