Knoxville's Community Development Corporation has scheduled a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20, on the proposed Fulton Bellows Redevelopment Area. The meeting is at the KCDC office building at 901 N. Broadway. The developers of the proposed University Commons project will discuss their plans for a retail center in the area south of Cumberland Avenue. A part of the presentation will relate to traffic impacts.

University Commons LLC has proposed redeveloping the old Fulton Bellows manufacturing and distribution site near the University of Tennessee campus into 200,000 square feet of retail space, which would be anchored by a Publix Super Market and a Walmart. The developers have asked for public participation in this project in the form of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to build new public infrastructure. For a project to be eligible for this type of financing, it must be located in a redevelopment area administered by KCDC.

In early January, the Knoxville City Council directed KCDC to review and make a recommendation on designating a redevelopment area at this location. As a part of that review process, KCDC is hosting this public meeting in which the developers will explain their project and its potential impact to the area. There will be another public meeting and an official public hearing in March.