The Rehab Tax Credit at Work: Knoxville's Historic Tennessee Theatre
Project Goal: Conversion of a former movie theatre into a performing arts center.
Total Development Cost: $29,300,000
Tax Credit Equity Investment: $6,800,000 (Federal Rehab and New Markets Credits)
Construction Jobs Created: 285
Permanent Jobs Created: 16
When the Tennessee Theatre opened in downtown Knoxville in 1928, it was lauded as the state's premiere "movie palace." Its lavish Spanish-Moorish interior earned it status as the city's premier entertainment destination. However, by the late 1970's, demographic changes sapped the downtown of its vitality and demolition threatened the theatre. In 1997, it was donated to Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation, a non-profit with a vision to transform the theater into a state-of-the-art performing arts facility.
Following an eighteen-month, $30 million rehabilitation, the grand space is once again the toast of Tennessee. It retained its classic ticket booth, elegant foyer and grand lobby, elliptical auditorium, and a classic Wurlitzer organ. The rehabilitation included repair of broken and uncomfortable seating, expansion of the stage, and new lighting and sound equipment. The worn interior was also spruced up in an historically accurate fashion by repainting/plastering interior surfaces and replacing furnishings.
The 1,631-seat theater, which re-opened in mid-January 2005, serves as an anchor for the revitalization of downtown, bringing 150,000 residents and visitors to the city center for its concerts, plays, operas, and special events annually. This economic stimulus comes with a relatively modest price tag, considering the historic and aesthetic value of the theatre and the cost of comparable new construction. This theatre is located within a designated Federal Empowerment Zone and a SBA HUBZone. Its rehabilitation has stimulated the creation of adjacent loft residences and the preservation of a row of historic storefronts.
(Photos Courtesy of Nels Akerlund; Jim Thompson, the McClung Historical Collection)
