KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Scott West is known in Knoxville for revamping areas, including Market Square. Now, he's taken on a new challenge in the newly-named 'Asylum District'.
West owns 3.5 acres of property on the corner of Blackstock and Western Avenue. Formerly the International Building, LunaVerse boasted hundreds of people on their first two weekends open.
"I did not expect the excitement," West said. "Hundreds of people coming up to me saying 'this is exactly what Knoxville needed.' I was so optimistic about the future of downtown. And this is exceeding my expectations yet again. But even more so."
In February, the City Council voted to change the name of the district to 'Asylum' District. Some raised questions about the negative connotation of the word 'asylum'.
At one point, the Tennessee School for the Deaf, which at the time was called the Deaf and Dumb Asylum was in that area.
"The district is now the historic asylum district because of the connection to the historic reference," West said. "I would think asylum is a good thing, it means safe place. So in terms of a negative connotation, I don't know how there could be one."
West has many plans for the future of this property and says the club is one part of a ten-step plan. Including an entire entertainment district and ways to connect the University of Tennessee to the new downtown stadium.
"Outdoors will be the Extra-Terrestrial Contact Park. And then the rooftop will be the Moon Sphere. And then we'll have the Asylum which will be multiple floors of entertainment," West said.
West said the success of the first step, the club, will lead to the development of an outdoor space soon.
"Each few months we'll add another component," West said. "I think the next thing that you'll see happen will be we have an area we'll put we have all these Jetsons looking, 1950s-type aluminum trailers that we converted into bars, food, vending and merchandise stations."