Work to begin Pellissippi Place development announced in 2022

BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Construction is finally getting underway on the mixed-use residential development project in Pellissippi Place, announced two years ago.

The project is the first mixed-use development in the research and technology-based Pellissippi Place Park, located off of Old Knoxville Highway and Pellissippi Parkway in Alcoa. While the development was initially planned to be completed in early 2024, construction will just be getting started later this month.

Jeff Muir with Blount Partnership confirmed to 6 News that the project was delayed due to some issues with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and redesigns. He said the development is now anticipated to cost $100 million, and road construction into the 14.5-acre site is scheduled to begin at the end of August.

A website dedicated to the Pellissippi Place project says the development is expected to be four stories tall and will include residential space, retail shops and restaurants. It is unclear how many residential spaces will be created during the project.

When the project was first announced , Muir explained that the development was not necessarily about building residential areas for people moving to the region, rather, it was about about providing space to keep those that want to stay in the region.

“Our public school system graduates about 12 [to] 13 hundred students every year and so what we want to do is have places for them to live in the next two or three years after they go through college or go through technical school or even just go out into the workplace,” Muir said in 2022.

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