Kingsport receives Municipal League award for Excellence in Economic Development and Revitalization
Officials with the city of Kingsport are living up to the community’s nickname as the “Model City” by enhancing economic development efforts through a variety of means that have both paid dividends locally and earned the city national recognition.
In recognition of the concerted efforts made by Kingsport officials to focus on the development and redevelopment of local assets to better the community’s economic future, the Tennessee Municipal League (TML) is pleased to present Kingsport with an award for Excellence in Economic Development and Revitalization. The award will be presented Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at the TML 83rd Annual Conference held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
The city began with the establishment of a full-time economic development office and created a database of existing and available properties. This, in turn, allowed officials to better work with developers, brokers, property owners, and business owners on a variety of both commercial and residential projects to benefit the city.
These efforts have been rewarded with three new stores opening at the Kingsport Pavilion, and the expansion of one retailer in the city. Hull Properties also invested more than $5 million into the Fort Henry Mall with renovations and additions that would add square footage to the property and improve outparcels on the lot.
Outreach efforts from the economic development office included a business park roundtable, creation of the retail center database, and building relationships with developers that have led to renovations on three major properties: Pappy’s, the Kingsport Grocery Building, and the Citizens Supply Building. Three large parcels and a smaller lot are already under contract along Airport Parkway.
Kingsport has particularly gained attention for the redevelopment of the Kingsport Press – also known as the Quebecor Press Building – as part of a major $9 million redevelopment of Sullivan Street. The anchor project kicked off with a community brick-breaking, allowing residents to take part in demolition. The façade of the building was removed and the interior gutted to be rebuilt into a modern commercial and medical center. Connected to the offices of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce and Kingsport School Board, the Press Building was once home to the city’s second largest employer.
The Press Building serves as the anchor for a larger redevelopment project including the Dobyns-Taylor Warehouse, Food City Shopping Center, Kingsport Farmers Market, Kingsport Carousel, and nearby Town Park Lofts. At full build-out, the project will represent a $24 million reinvestment in downtown Kingsport. Increased walkability, sustainability, and equity have all been major focuses of redevelopment. The project even earned Kingsport the Innovation in Economic Development category from the American Planning Association’s Economic Development Division.
One upshot of the city’s commercial development is an increase in residential development. Home construction is at an all-time high in the city and of the 246 units spread across more than 30 mixed use centers in the city, approximately 91% are occupied. Developers of the new townhomes at Centennial Row near the redevelopment of the city’s Brickyard Park have also decided to increase the number of units they are building from 386 to 442.