KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Neighbors are reacting to the old St. Mary's Hospital possibly being rezoned. It's a historic building that has sat unused and vandalized for years. The proposal would change the 3.25-acre parcel from an institutional zone to a multi-family residential area.
After the hospital closed in 2018, the city council asked Knoxville's Community Development Corporation to come up with a plan. It proposed the rezoning.
Debbie Smith has lived across the street from St. Mary's with her spouse for almost 20 years. Their quiet street has gotten busier, but the biggest change has been the hospital, she said.
She wants local politicians to consider the neighborhood before making any decisions.
“I kind of get the feeling that decisions are made before they speak with the public," she said. "I want people to have a place to live, but I want the politicians and the people that run this place to go about it in a different way, and respect the ideas of the people that live here.”
Since the hospital stopped being used in 2018, Smith said she's endured loud construction, excess noise at all hours of the night and large amounts of dirt and dust on her property. She's concerned that new zoning would crowd the neighborhood too much and affect traffic, safety and their way of life.
“It's just come to be a little bit much now with [hundreds of possible units]. I can't even wrap my head around it," she said.
A neighbor 10 blocks from the site also has decades of history with it. Jack Vaughan was born at St. Mary's Hospital but supports the development.
“Working families and young people are being priced out of neighborhoods, especially up here in North Knoxville," he said. "Rents are through the roof and it's largely because of a lack of housing supply.”
He thinks rezoning the site is a smart move, and said the city should try to build housing where it can.
“Here in the city, we can grow too," he said. "We can embrace that kind of smart growth to drive down rents and increase housing options.”
Smith hopes the city will reconsider, she said.
“I hope that they reconsider and make this, whatever they're gonna make it, something that's good for the neighborhood and not so crowded," she said.
The planning commission meets Thursday, Nov. 14 to hear the rezoning.