At its April 21, 2020 meeting, City Council voted to approve $642,752 in Historic Preservation Grant awards to support property improvements for four projects.

The historic Tennessee and Bijou theaters and two multi-family residential buildings – Lintz Lofts and Shanklin Flats – were selected for funding; a total of seven applications were received. A committee scored the proposals on the basis of eligibility, cost feasibility, project readiness and community benefit.

These four projects were approved for funding from the City’s 2019-2020 budget:


• Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay Street, $210,000

The Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation has embarked on a proposed $6 million project to add additional restrooms and expanded space for rehearsals and educational events by expanding into the upper floors of Mechanics Bank and Trust Company building two doors south at 612 S. Gay Street. The extension will connect the buildings in the back. The City funding will be used for masonry repair, tuckpointing, and window replacement of the historic theater, which first opened as a grand movie palace in 1928.

 
• Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street, $32,752

One of the city’s oldest buildings – the Lamar House, constructed in 1817 and home to the Bijou Theatre since 1908 – is receiving repair work on its Cumberland Avenue side. The City grant will cover repairs to the masonry, electrical work and canopies as part of a project estimated at a total of $50,387.


• Shanklin Flats, 101-103 E. Fourth Avenue, $200,000

Property owner Robert Aaron Monday is pursuing a $1.5-million project to restore the 12-unit apartment building to its original configuration of six, two-bedroom apartments with front porches. The grant will also go toward replacing the doors and repairing the brickwork.
 

• Lintz Lofts, 428 E. Scott Avenue, $200,000

The development team of Laurence Eaton and Logan Higgins will create 12 new rental units through a $1 million-plus renovation project of this commercial building built in 1927. The Historic Preservation funds will support replacement of doors, windows and transoms facing Scott Avenue, as well as new windows on the sides and rear of the building and renovation of the brickwork.

For additional information about the history of the Historic Preservation Grant and projects supported by it, as well as other programs operated and supported by the Housing and Neighborhood Development department (formerly Community Development), visit KnoxvilleTN.gov/Development.