Knoxville City Council voted November 25, 2025, to increase the current fiscal year’s budget by $6.6 million – pulling the funds from reserves plus $570,000 from United Way for affordable housing. The budget amendment requires a second vote on Dec. 9, 2025.
The Urban Wilderness Gateway Park got a $162,560 contract amendment to finalize work.
Wes Soward
Wes Soward is the Urban Wilderness coordinator. The Urban Wilderness encompasses 1,000 forested acres in South Knoxville, just across the river from downtown. It contains 50 miles of trails and greenways. The network connects natural areas, historic sites, city parks and recreational spots along the south waterfront of downtown Knoxville.
The new Gateway Park will include a 23,000-square-foot pavilion and plaza with four restrooms, shade structures, picnic tables and play structures that will be built into the slopes, amid natural boulders and landscaping. The park is expected to open in early 2026.
Funding for Sam E. Hill Park in Lonsdale
Also, at the Nov. 25 meeting, Mayor Indya Kincannon and Knoxville City Council took significant steps to complete a number of important projects that started early in their tenure.
“Knoxville residents, including Lonsdale and Burlington families, need to know: The city stands by our commitments,” Kincannon said. “We do what we say.”
The projects were hindered by rising building costs, but Kincannon called them “critically important investments.”
The Sam E. Hill Park, Lonsdale, will get $1.25 million to move into Phase 2, which includes construction of a pavilion and restrooms.
Burlington Streetscapes
The Burlington commercial corridor will get $4.2 million more. The streetscapes project will replace the crumbling sidewalks on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue between Kirkwood and Shelby streets (and along Prosser Road from MLK to Holston Drive) with wide, smooth, ADA-compliant and tree-lined sidewalks. The project includes new traffic signals and streetlights, with overhead utility lines being relocated.
Many decades ago, Burlington boasted a robust commercial district. The revitalized streetscape will encourage private reinvestment in Burlington and along the Magnolia Avenue corridor. The city’s investment totals roughly $17 million, anchored by a new Knoxville Fire Department station being built in Burlington.
In other action, the council
- Appropriated $200,000 to collect data and evaluate ways to save energy and money by reducing energy use at city facilities
- OK’d $50,000 to the Knoxville Area Urban League to support the nonprofit’s housing, economic development and workforce development training.
- Accepted $570,000 in private funding from United Way of Greater Knoxville, going to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and used to support the 10-unit Parkview Project and the 15-unit Edgewood Apartments Project.
- Approved an additional $163,112 for more street resurfacing, raising the Phase II contract for 19 miles of streets in four city council districts to $5.16 million. The new funding covers traffic-calming projects and repairs to Cecil Avenue.
Urban Wilderness timeline
Carol Evans of Legacy Parks Foundation started working with abandoned Civil War sites like Fort Dickerson.
The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club (AMBC) started building mountain bike trails on city-owned property.
And former Mayor Madeline Rogero applied political muscle to halt construction of the proposed James White Parkway extension into Sevier County as a Chapman Highway bypass, freeing up land to add to the Wilderness.
Former Gov. Bill Haslam and his Department of Transportation deeded the state property to the city for public use.
In her April 27, 2018, State of the City Address, Rogero proposed a $10 million investment to create a gateway park and entrance to South Knoxville and the Urban Wilderness at the southern end of the James White Parkway.
Much remains to be done with the Urban Wilderness, but it is a destination attraction. Think how many other cities would love to have a 1,000-acre park within a stone’s throw of their courthouse.
For comparison, Chilhowee Park has 81 acres with a 3-acre lake; Victor Ashe Park has 128 acres with a dog park; and Lakeshore Park has 185 acres with Tennessee River shoreline.
Notes from the council meeting
Final meeting: Although a date has not been set, newly elected council members typically are sworn in during December following the election. The five new members attended Tuesday night’s 4-hour meeting (5 hours if you count the beer board). Wonder if any are having second thoughts yet?
Andrew Robero, council member, announced that the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has requested funding for a Knoxville-based mental health facility. “It’s not in the budget yet,” Roberto warned, but said the department is requesting $12 million in non-recurring funds (for the building) and $8,541,000 in recurring funds (staff and operations). “It will provide for more than 24-hour service,” he said.
Tommy Smith, council member, reminded everyone of the Monday, December 8, 5-7 p.m. meeting at Kerbela Temple to discuss the master plan for “Down River” South Knox Waterfront – the area west of Chapman Highway along Blount Avenue.
Eric Vreeland, city communications deputy director, contributed information and quotes for this report. The opinions are mine alone.
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Absolutely, Cliff. I was going from memory on that timeline and it needs more research. I’m going to update it for the record.
I really wish they would fix the Gay Street Bridge to allow cars on it. It is such a useful roadway for the flow of traffic.
I agree, Greg. TDOT is spending so much on Alcoa Highway, literally moving mountains, that it may be awhile before we see funding for much else. Although the intersection improvements at Emory Road and I-75 have begun.
I’d add to the timeline the Wood family’s donation of 100 acres to create Baker Creek. There have been other land donations, but that one was significant.