KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Emerald Youth Foundation said it hopes to build a new $20 million facility in East Knoxville that would focus on "whole child youth development." It said it responded to Knoxville's request for contractors to bid on a project to develop a parcel of vacant land.
"This is a great opportunity for these kids," said Yolanda Brown when she heard about the project, who lives in East Knoxville. "They really could use this."
The parcel of land is adjacent to Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center. The proposed facility would include new synthetic turf sports fields, outdoor basketball courts, outdoor pitching and hitting lanes, an outdoor pavilion and a 37,000-square-foot indoor facility. According to a release, the indoor facility would include either a community room or meeting room and offices, along with basketball courts, a college-style academic learning center, a fitness center and a health center.
The foundation said it created a proposal for the complex after forming a group of stakeholders named the East Area Community Engagement Committee. It said the committee was meant to start working with the East Knoxville community and learn about whether the community would want a facility similar to the foundation's current Haslam-Sansom Ministry Complex in Lonsdale.
"When I started, I was like, 'Man, it would be great to see something like this happening in East Knoxville as well,'" said Kaylin Chesney with Emerald Youth Foundation.
Chesney says the East Knoxville area "is very near and dear, I would say to my heart."
Cynthia Finch with New Directions Healthcare Solutions also said the center would house a health center to serve the community.
"It's an area that needs a lot of love right now," Finch said. "When we think about working and playing and keeping a healthy community, this is a great opportunity for our side of town."
The proposed facility would also feature a learning center, fitness center and spaces for kids. Rev. Harold Middlebrook serves as Chair of the East Area Community Engagement Committee, which said it met with over 500 members of the community to collect feedback about the project proposal.
"You can create stuff for folk, but if they're not involved and they don't feel that they are part of it, they don't support it long," Middlebrook said. "But if they feel like this is ours, we've created it, they stay with it."
"You've got to be able to reach back and pull up that next generation," Chesney said. "So we've got to focus on them."
Other members of the committee included Daniel Brown, a former Knoxville mayor, as well as Cicely Henderson, an Emerald Youth East Knoxville parent. Dennis Upton, a retired vice president of the Knoxville Utilities Board, as well as Elvynb Davidson, another parent and volunteer, joined as well.
Right now, the proposals have not been reviewed by the city. Finch said if this idea is selected, "I think we will have some happy campers in the Burlington and East Knoxville community."
"I just hope to see this project go forward," Brown said. "I hope it moves forward in a good direction, everything positive about it. The kids, they really could use this."
Currently, the Tennessee Valley Fair uses some of the vacant land for its operations. WBIR reached out to see if the fair would find an alternative if it's developed, but did not hear back by the time this story was published.
The foundation also said groups like the African American Equity Restoration Task Force, the Knoxville Area Urban League and the Burlington Business District Association endorsed the project.
“Any successful redevelopment proposal of the site must be focused on serving Knoxville and specifically east Knoxville families through educational enrichment, sports, housing and healthcare and must be complimentary to the history and culture of the community," Emerald Youth said in the release.
It said it is currently seeking funding for the project but has not yet secured donors "so as not to get out ahead of the community engagement and RFP (Request for Proposal) process."
If chosen by the city, the foundation said it would immediately start formal design work and continue engaging the community throughout the process.