October 27, 2009 - The City of Knoxville will host a final public meeting on the Downtown North Streetscape project at 6 p.m., Thursday, November 5 in the banquet room of All Occasions Catering at 922 N. Central Street.

Parking is available in front of the facility and at the nearby Knox Central property at the corner of Baxter Avenue and N. Central.

During the meeting the City of Knoxville and its consultant, Hedstrom Design, will present the results of a four-month-long study aimed at producing a schematic design for potential changes to the major road corridors in Downtown North using the concepts identified in previous Metropolitan Planning Commission studies of the area.

The streets included in the study are Broadway, North Central Street, N. Gay Street and Fifth Avenue.

Hedstrom Design is leading a group of engineering and landscape architects developing a general plan of improvements aimed at spurring redevelopment of those key corridors that connect downtown Knoxville with the Downtown North area.

The project also seeks to prioritize any potential changes that might be made along those corridors in the future. The city seeks public input on the project. Residents, business and property owners, and others with an interest in Downtown North are encouraged to attend the meeting and comment – verbally or in writing – on the plans.

There was a previous meeting concerning the proposed streetscape design plan on September 24, at the St. John’s Lutheran Church. Like the upcoming November 5 meeting, it was part of a continuing series of meetings hosted by the city concerning different elements of the ongoing Downtown North Redevelopment effort.

The entire Downtown North Redevelopment area is generally defined by Depot Street on the south, I-275 to the west, Woodland Avenue to the north and Hall of Fame Drive on the east.

More information about the Downtown North Redevelopment effort is available at www.cityofknoxville.org/downtownnorth