The recent recipient of a state planning award for outstanding green community wouldn't have been if developers had stuck with the orginal design for the Oak Ridge subdivision.
The drawings featured homes arranged side-by-side to fit the most homes possible on the 110-acre hillside property, said Walter Wise, a Knoxville developer and partner in Groves Park Commons.
"I said, 'Who would want to live in this jammed place?' We said, when you come out of your front door, every home has to feel special. When you come in you want a sense of arrival," he says.
In fact, Wise talks a lot less about the technical aspects of the green development than he does the quality of life he hopes to encourage with walking trails, open spaces, a pavilion and eventual retail shops. A video promoting the community shows tree-lined streets, river rock and lots of people outdoors.
"It's not designed around automobiles," Wise says. "It's designed for people."
Greater Knoxville Business Journal
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GPC Knoxville Business Journal January 2009
www.knoxvillebiz.com
GPC Knoxville Business Journal January 2009