Mickey T's rear property line is next to Helen Ross McNabb on Springdale.

Purpose? An "always been problem spot" next to a mental health, addiction counseling, social services facility?

Post hoc ergo propter hoc: After this, therefore because of this.

There seems to be a common misconception that the availability of treatment causes there to be a need for treatment. This would be similar to thinking that the existence of an OB/GYN practice somewhere causes rampant pregnancy.

is it possible someone wants the building?

I don't think that the Oakwood neighborhood, which is already kind of sketchy, really needs this facility.

Ma'am, there are sketchy people in virtually every neighborhood in Knoxville, but as many of my Oakwood friends would argue, Oakwood itself is not sketchy, it is home. I understand what you mean, but I think it is unfair to characterize an entire area in that way. Oakwood is strong, and resilient, and the OLPNA neighborhood association is one of the strongest and most active neighborhood organizations I know of in Knoxville. It has its share of problems, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.

I'm helping Paul and Norma Kelley finish up their book on Oakwood and Lincoln Park. It will be out this fall, and I am fairly certain that folks are going to look at this area in a different light. There are certainly going to be some surprises in the book.

I do agree with you that too often, our older urban neighborhoods become the recipients of much that is unwanted in other parts of the county. And this "public safety center" needs to be called what it is--an intake center for the mentally ill. But before a project like this moves forward, Knoxville and Knox County need to develop a more fair process for siting public projects than they have currently. We actually have to pull west, north, south and east together into a community conversation about what projects like this should indeed be public, and publicly funded, and which should be supported independently by the faith community. The co-mingling of church projects into block grant and Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds (both federal monies) disproportionately directed toward homelessness, to the exclusion of other neighborhood improvement projects (like sidewalks, youth programs, weatherization and home repairs for seniors), has created a toxi environment pitting different sections of town against each other. And this won't stop until the larger issue of developing a fair siting process--with buy-in from all parts of town--is addressed.

We also need city and county government to put more emphasis on redeveloping Springdale and Cherry Street industrial parks. Adjacent to them are affordable neighborhoods where workers could walk or take the bus. What does it say about our community that the former Levi's facility off Cherry Street, which once employed hundreds of workers, now houses the Board of Probation and Parole? It says we're very shortsighted, and that we're not very good stewards.

check it out here

Also, I heard on WVLT last night that the owner is also facing drug charges in a separate case.

Yes Betty, the area of West Columbia, West Churchwell, Branner, Davanna...that's part of the 1923 Oak Grove Addition. Developed by Jones and Susong, marketed by W.C. Terry. CB Atkin's original Oakwood Addition was only 145 acres. There were other developers in the Oakwood area.

Oak Grove was developed after Oakwood was annexed into the City of Knoxville in 1917, but it was always a part of Oakwood.

That is not a residential neighborhood over there, and the nearest direct east/west connector between Broadway and Central is Woodland, which doesn't even touch OLP's borders.

Tell the people who live over there it is not a neighborhood. Are you saying they are not entitled to police protection? I really don't understand what you are saying. Now OLPNA years ago decided to draw the line of the neighborhood organization at Central, but that is an entirely different issue.

Folks should know there is a lot of residential West of Central. Suggest you drive north from Woodland north on Branner Street. There's about 8 blocks worth of houses, not counting all the side streets. After about 8 blocks, you'll run into the trucking company at Springdale. There are houses on both sides of Branner, and all the side streets, from Oak Hill all the way to the remnant of Warren Avenue (which was renamed Oglewood on the east side of Central back in the 1920s.) Some of these houses are turn of the century.

I actually have maps of all the Oakwood and Lincoln Park additions and subdivisions that Doctor Kelley got over the years from City Engineering and MPC. We've also talked to Oakwood residents who grew up on West Springdale, and have photos from their families.

We've also identified the location of the old Churchwell plantation. At its height before the Civil War, it was over 1000 acres, far greater than the 145 acres that the Churchwells sold to CB Atkin. We've planned some test archaelogical digs for this fall with Dr. Charlie Faulkner.

Folks on both sides of Central should be very proud of their neighborhood, and there is much to do to make the Springdale Industrial Park all it can be.

n/t