KNOXVILLE, TN – Upon considering numerous Opportunity Zone projects throughout the country for GlobeSt.com's 2019 ADAPT awards, we are pleased to honor Kern's Bakery Redevelopment in Knoxville, TN as the winner for the best Opportunity Zone redevelopment project. We will be recognizing the project at our awards ceremony in Baltimore on September 16th. Kern's Bakery has been a beloved aspect of life in Knoxville, TN since the early 20th century. Built by German immigrant and Knoxville Mayor Peter Kern, it was a major employer and a regional icon—generations grew up to the smell of baking bread. The bakery closed in 2012 and the empty building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Now Mallory & Evans Partners will reinvigorate the area as a mixed-use redevelopment. The developer will preserve the historic building as a retail, restaurant, office and entertainment destination with 160 boutique-style apartments just steps away. A name-brand hotel is also planned for a later stage of development. The 16-acre development will be unlike anything else in the area and will be designed to be both an attractive gathering spot and a great place to live. The plan to have residences, access to public transit and a location near one of the most extensive natural urban environments on the East Coast is intended to cement the legacy of Kern's Bakery as a functional and popular destination. Ozone Capital Management LLC, which specializes in Opportunity Zone investments, is an equity partner for the multifamily component. The team will redevelop the bakery building into a 75,000-square-foot retail and restaurant destination with stores, kiosks, pop-up shops and open seating areas for socializing and listening to live music.
➤➤ Join your colleagues at the GlobeSt.com ADAPT: Opportunity Zones awards September 16th in Baltimore, MD, where we put a spotlight on the achievements of those who have had a hand in locating adaptive reuse solutions across the country. At the same time it is also focusing on Opportunity Zones and the potential they offer - for both adaptive reuse and new construction. Click here to register and view the agenda.
The developers hope to add local establishments to preserve the unique flavor of the area. They will keep as much of the history of Kern's as possible. The entire front will remain as required by the historic preservation guidelines. They will add natural lighting and possibly a rooftop patio. The old loading docks will become an event lawn. They'll keep the original sign illustrating a loaf of bread whose slices are slowly falling. The innovative apartment community represents a new type of housing with amenities designed to appeal to millennials and Generation Z including young professionals, graduate students, medical students and upperclassmen. The fully-furnished one- and two-bedroom apartments will have the latest smart-home technology. The two-bedrooms will have roommate floor plans (a private bath for each bedroom) and if needed, a roommate matching service. Construction will begin in July and be complete by August 2020. The apartments begin pre-leasing this fall. The construction timeline for the hotel will be announced at a later date. "We worked with community and government groups to make clear we are very sensitive to the nature of this historic site and feel the redevelopment fits perfectly into the long-term strategy of the South Waterfront Vision Plan," says the developer. "The redevelopment is going to be another strong investment in the ongoing revitalization of South Knoxville."