Design Review Board approves 100 West Depot mixed-use tower after trimming red fiber-cement and adding masonry detail

The Knoxville Design Review Board voted to approve Quad Capital Partners’ 7‑story mixed‑use development at 100 West Depot Avenue on Feb. 18 after adding conditions addressing exterior materials and masonry detailing.

Quad Capital’s Christine Cobb and architect Adam Jekyll presented the proposal—a seven‑story building with two levels of structured parking, about 270 residential units and roughly 6,800 square feet of ground‑floor retail—emphasizing ground‑floor activation and pedestrian improvements along Central Street and Depot Avenue. Staff noted the project would alter about 200 feet of an existing rail shed that is a contributing element in the Southern Terminal Depot National Register historic district but said the board lacks authority to prevent partial removal (staff recommended approval with three standard conditions).

Board members’ primary concern centered on the extent and location of fiber‑cement (Hardie) panels. Several members said they had seen similar large‑scale fiber‑cement applications age poorly and urged more durable materials on prominent facades. "The fiber cement generally isn't a durable material and the finish is certainly not durable," a board member said, echoing multiple comments about long‑term patina and maintenance.

Quad Capital said it had refined the scheme since an earlier review, increased retail activation to more than 7,000 square feet at the corner and deepened planting zones to screen the open garage. "We're providing a granite water table around the entire retail," Christine Cobb said, and the team described a layered planting strategy with evergreen screening and cable‑barrier metal screening at garage openings.

After discussion, the board amended the staff recommendation: the red fiber‑cement panels adjacent to the main residential entrance on Depot Avenue must be replaced with matching brick masonry, and the parapet/top of the masonry must be articulated with differentiated coursing (examples discussed included a dog‑tooth or similar coursing). Staff will review the masonry details as part of the building permit process.

The board also pressed the applicant on pedestrian‑scale detailing—storefront materials, balcony finishes and rooftop equipment set back at least 10 feet from the parapet so small condensers will not be visible from the street. The applicant said condensers will be roughly 3x3x3 feet and set back inboard of the parapet and that balconies will be prefabricated metal with a painted finish.

The board voted to approve the project per staff recommendations with the additional material and parapet conditions. The motion carried on a voice vote; no individual roll‑call tally was recorded in the minutes. The project will return to staff for permit‑level consistency checks and to provide the masonry details required by the board.