MARYVILLE, Tenn. — After months of work connecting with the Maryville community, identifying areas where people wanted the city to improve and preparing a plan to manage the city's growth — the final version of the downtown Maryville master plan was unveiled at a Tuesday open house event.
To collect information about the plan, leaders held three steering committee meetings with eight group interviews with stakeholders. Those stakeholders included developers, property owners, commissioners, community organizations and residents. There was also a public meeting people could attend to provide feedback, according to Tuesday's presentation.
The final plan hoped to address six specific goals, listed below.
- Economic Investment: Attract new businesses and residents downtown to revitalize existing historic buildings and promote new development.
- Provide housing options to support downtown: Encourage downtown housing options that appeal to a wide range of needs and lifestyles to establish a consistent customer base that supports a healthy environment for downtown businesses and activates public amenities.
- Public Spaces: Create a connected and active system of public spaces in downtown that will serve a variety of people and facilitate a vibrant destination.
- Placemaking: Encourage placemaking through public art, landscaping, lighting, and signage.
- Connectivity and Accessibility: Enhance connectivity and accessibility throughout the downtown by improving walking and biking with quality transportation and urban design.
- Increase downtown's customer base: Elevate downtown’s unique culture and improve amenities to create an attractive destination that draws in visitors to expand the customer base, promoting economic growth of downtown.
The presentation noted ongoing developments were already in place on a Broadway Avenue hotel and a mixed-use facility, as well as work on the Mill House area near Sevierville Road, and at Greenway Village.
It identified opportunities to renovate buildings to create more storefronts and retail spaces in downtown Maryville. The plan also called for building new walking spaces on Sevierville Road, Ellis Avenue, East Church Avenue and in other areas of the city. The plan proposed building a new park and public space near the intersection of Church Avenue and Sevierville Road and improving East Harper Avenue.
It also called for preserving and rehabilitating downtown buildings.
"Downtown Maryville is unique due to its historical buildings and street grid. This creates a sense of place that can attract visitors to downtown," the presentation said.
The plan also called for updating zoning and design guidelines to attract more businesses and restaurants, while also improving the city's marketing to visitors of the Great Smoky Mountains. It suggested creating a revolving loan fund to support small businesses, and creating a "pitch sheet" and welcome packet for new businesses.
It suggested the city focus on promoting mixed-use projects, residency projects and hospitality projects in its Central Business District to help spur additional growth. Part of the plan called on city leaders to advocate and educate the community about the redevelopment plan.
The plan also said the Washington Street corridor in Maryville gives the city an opportunity to attract visitors as they travel to the Great Smoky Mountains. To improve the corridor, it suggested implementing the Wayfinding Master Plan and supporting mobility improvements along it.
The presentation noted that a central gathering place or town square was one of the most desired public elements in the city. The plan suggested updating Founder's Square as part of improvements on College Street, while also creating a central plaza at the intersection of Broadway Avenue and Cusick Street.
Then, the plan said city leaders should plan events and routine programming to activate the space.
During the public meeting on Tuesday, attendees were encouraged to flag points on a map indicating their favorite elements, guiding decisions by city leaders on how to execute the redevelopment plan.