Knox Heritage - Restore America

Restore America

This November Knox Heritage is wrapping up the largest housing initiative in its history. In partnership with HGTV’s Restore America and the National Trust for Historic Preservation we have transformed two blighted houses in the Parkridge neighborhood and new owners will celebrate the holidays in the completely restored George Barber designed homes.

The Restore America houses, built circa 1890 and 1905, were designed by Knoxville’s most famous Victorian-era architect, George Barber. Barber, who gained renown for establishing one of the top mail-order architectural firms in the country, designed the two single-family homes in the styles popular at the turn of the 20th century. Homes designed by Barber were built throughout the country and the two homes on Washington Avenue represent the architect’s early and late work, respectively.

In the two years since the initial grant application was submitted, the Restore America project has required an unprecedented commitment by the KH staff and Board of Directors, 32 corporate and philanthropic partners, the City of Knoxville and Knox County. We have forged new relationships and seen what we are capable of accomplishing. At the same time, we have raised the visibility of Knox Heritage, the Historic Parkridge Neighborhood and historic preservation in general by working with our media partners, the Knoxville News Sentinel and WBIR’s Style.

When we first considered the houses at 1618 and 1620 Washington Avenue they had been condemned and boarded up since 1999. However, they had been a problem for the neighborhood for much longer. The houses, which stand side by side at the northwest entrance to the neighborhood, held fifteen one-room rental units that were sub-standard and housed criminal activity that negatively impacted the surrounding neighborhood. They offered both a restoration challenge and a financial challenge. The architecture was badly butchered and the structural issues were daunting. We knew they could not be restored without a substantial subsidy. Simply put – it would cost more to restore them than the amount for which they could be sold.

We also understood the impact their restoration would have on the neighborhood if it could be woven into a media, advertising and special events campaign that would engage the Knoxville region in the restoration process. We worked with our partners and neighbors to plan 12 months of activities, advertising and media coverage. Both the Knoxville News Sentinel and WBIR’s Style followed the project from beginning to end – sharing both the excitement and the challenges with their readers and viewers. The coverage culminated in a live, one hour broadcast of Style from the houses on November 14 – exactly one year from the day we purchased the houses from the City of Knoxville.

We could not have accomplished this task without the generous support of many people and organizations. Design and construction professionals guided us throughout the process. Expertise was provided by Perry Childress of the East Tennessee Community Design Center; Susan Ballard, ASID and Robert Marlino of Smee+Busby Architects; Randall De Ford of C. Randall De Ford Architecture; Dwane Dishner, Allied Member of ASID and President of Dwane Dishner Designs; kitchen designer Ester Golightly, ASID; and Margaret Ann Jeffries, PhD, Department Head of Engineering & Media Technologies at Pellissippi State Community College. The contractor for the project was High Oaks Construction, led by John Wampler.

In the end, we managed to span the financial chasm and bring the project in on schedule. Nearly $550,000 has been invested in the project, which resulted in the transformation of two vacant and blighted eyesores into owner-occupied homes adding to the vitality and diversity of the Parkridge neighborhood. Knox Heritage received $50,000 from HGTV in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation toward the complete rehabilitation and restoration of the Barber houses. In addition, cash and in-kind donations totaling over $250,000 were contributed toward the transformation of these historic structures. Our corporate and foundation sponsors and private donors made all of this possible. Please thank all of our partners and let them know you appreciate their support of Knox Heritage.