These shady oak trees were initially slated for removal by the developers, but were left in the final plan after public outcry.

Market Square was completely redesigned 2002-2003, with the goal of attracting shoppers and diners.  A public input session was held at the end of June 2002 to assist designers.  The artists' original renderings of how the square would look are here.  Construction was mostly completed as of November 2003, and the contractors tied up various loose ends the first half of 2004, installing furniture, interactive fountains, and other accoutrements. 

Preliminary renderings of the master plan presented on August 5, 2002 called for the removal of all existing trees in Market Square, all the willow oaks along Market Street and the Market Square water features, to be replaced by two new colonnades of trees and grassy areas.  Controversy over the design plan focused on the wholesale destruction of all of the existing plants and trees that were already established in Market Square and Krutch Park, in order to plant new trees and plants with a more "open" feeling.  

Read the Knoxville News Sentinel's account of the August 5 meeting here.  A letter was sent to Mayor Ashe on August 9 with 430 signatures of people who asked that the design landscaping portion of this plan be revisited.  On August 13, an announcement was made on WATE-TV's 6:00 PM news broadcast that Kinsey Probasco & Associates (K-P) agreed to incorporate the six large oaks in Market Square into the landscaping plan.

The webmaster would like to thank Mayor Victor Ashe, the Knoxville Tree Board, and hundreds of citizens of our community for taking the time to review and comment on K-P's proposal that was presented on August 5. The fact that K-P incorporated the six oaks into the landscaping plan is a sign that this design team remained faithful to the public input process.  We hope that the Tree Board will continue to serve as a conduit of the public interest in the maintenance of our tree canopy downtown.

Please read the reprint from the Knoxville News-Sentinel's June 29 story where the preliminary plans were first revealed to the general public.

Expansive Market Square Foreseen

By: Scott Barker, News-Sentinel Staff Writer
June 29, 2002

		All the square's water features were taken out and replaced with interactive fountains similar to those at Volunteer Landing.

Market Square would become a more open and accessible space under a rough-draft plan that emerged Friday after an intensive two-day planning session.

A twin colonnade of oaks or maples would run the length of the plaza, terminating near Wall Avenue with a raised, open stage anchored by four columns.  Restaurants on either side would feature expanded outdoor seating and signs beckoning customers.

Those were among the elements of a preliminary plan the Kinsey Probasco & Associates design team cobbled together after meeting with property owners, city officials, stakeholders and the general public during a session spanning Thursday and Friday.

		The 10 large willow oaks shading the Market Street side of Krutch Park were removed, along with the iron fence. Six new smaller trees were planted to replace them.

The workshop focused on the public spaces in Kinsey Probasco's $41 million redevelopment plan.  City Council has approved $6.8 million for public improvements, including an expansion of Krutch Park.

Stroud Watson, an award-winning urban designer who runs the University of Tennessee Urban Design Studio in Chattanooga, led the planning session.  He said the ideas generated by the participants jelled more quickly than anticipated.

"It was so clear to us that we went ahead and developed the basic plan," Watson said.

The plan calls for the existing pavilion, watercourse and landscaping to be scrapped.  Lighting and signs for businesses in the square would mark the boundaries for outdoor cafe' seating.

People standing on Clinch Avenue at Market Street would be able to see all the way through to the stage at the north end of the square.  The stage itself would be raised off the ground, with steps descending to the floor of the plaza on all sides.

Architect Buzz Goss, a member of the design team, said he envisioned the columns at each corner of the stage to be more like pieces of sculpture than architectural elements.

The middle of the square would remain open.  Further south, a yet-to-be-designed lawn would replace the existing landscaping.  The twin lines of trees would continue south along Market Street to Clinch Avenue.

Krutch Park would extend to Gay Street as a tree-lined grassy area that architect Mike Fowler likened to a cove in the Smokies.

"Our idea for Krutch Park is to make it more a part of Market Square," Fowler said.

To encourage better traffic flow, the planners propose opening up Clinch and Union avenues and Market Street to two-way traffic.  The city would have to sign off on any traffic changes.

As compiled by the planners, the goal would be for Market Square and the surrounding area to be a "clearly defined, memorable, vibrant public place," UT architecture dean Marleen Davis said.

Emphasizing the tentative nature of the plan, Kinsey Probasco partner Jon Kinsey said, "We've done a lot in two days, but we haven't done everything."

Kinsey said he hopes to have a more concrete version ready in 45 days.  If construction begins this fall, he said, the public improvements could be completed sometime in the spring of 2003.