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Knox redevelopment commission to seek public input, renderings for 18 South Main Street
Summary
The commission agreed to begin public engagement on 18 South Main Street with an online survey and conceptual renderings from local firms; members discussed courtyard and pop-up retail concepts and asked the mayor to obtain quotes for designs to bring back to the RDC.
The City of Knox Redevelopment Commission agreed Thursday to pursue public input and preliminary renderings for redevelopment of 18 South Main Street, favoring an initial online survey to gather community priorities before holding an in-person meeting.
Chair (speaker 1) opened the discussion and said he would start with an online survey to “winnow down what people are thinking” and then offer an in-person meeting for those who want to comment. The mayor (speaker 3) told commissioners the RDC should lead outreach and suggested WKBI and the city website as distribution channels.
Commissioners and the mayor emphasized providing visual options for residents, including a small courtyard with seasonal pop-up retail, flexible shell units that could be used as short-term kiosks or later converted to permanent storefronts or housing, and programming such as weekend bands or seasonal markets. “You can put images on the city website…to get people to start thinking,” the mayor said.
Members discussed contacting local architecture/engineering firms — the mayor named AberMarch and JPR as possibilities — to produce conceptual renderings. Chair asked the mayor to request quotes and return to the commission with cost estimates so the RDC can consider appropriating funds for preliminary designs at a later meeting.
No formal motion was taken on design selection; commissioners agreed on a next step: the mayor will obtain quotes for conceptual renderings and the commission will review them before committing funds.
The commission’s discussion also covered outreach logistics, with several members preferring an online survey as the initial outreach method and the option of a follow-up public meeting to allow in-person feedback.
