KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After more than 12 years of vacancy, Knoxville Center Mall development’s most significant eye sore has a new owner and new life.
OneLife Church, one of Knoxville’s newest churches with two campuses in Powell and Halls, purchased the former Just For Feet building, closing on the sale today. Positioned at the entrance to the development and directly across from the mall, the property’s two acres and 19,000-square-foot facility will undergo immediate renovations in hopes of opening in time for Christmas festivities.
For OneLife’s pastor, it’s about so much more than just a new home for the church.
“The last thing Knoxville needs is another empty big box store,” said OneLife Church founding and Lead Pastor Rodney Arnold. “As we’ve looked for facilities for our church, rather than taking the traditional route of buying land and erecting a building, we wanted to partner with the community to bring new life to blighted properties so that we bring improvement to a community, along with a new church.”
This strategy makes Knoxville Center a natural fit. According to WP Glimcher’s 2015 Annual Report, Knoxville Center Mall has nearly 300,000-square-feet of vacant space, not including another 115,000-square-feet of vacant space in the former Dillard’s that closed in 2008. Additionally, 2016 began with five of the 11 outparcel buildings being empty, if not abandoned. But in recent months, momentum has shifted with the opening of a 45,000-square-foot furniture store in the unoccupied Toys ‘R Us building in June, and culminating in reports last week of a new mall owner’s plan to redevelop the shopping center.
The community’s overwhelmingly positive response to the prospect of a new owner is just another example that OneLife’s purchase can play a role in the revitalization of one of Knoxville’s largest community centers, Arnold said. A meeting last week between OneLife’s pastor and the reported new owners of the mall confirmed Arnold’s optimism is more than wishful thinking.
“If the new owners are able to accomplish all the goals they shared with me to redevelop the mall as a mixed use property, the entire city of Knoxville will benefit as a result,” Arnold said. “But what excites me most is their understanding of how important it is to include the community and listen to what is truly best for the city and those who call Knoxville their home. We look forward to partnering with the mall to revitalize this part of the city, and believe the increased traffic and exposure we bring to the center will make us the perfect neighbor.”
Neighboring businesses are anticipating the additional traffic that will come to a property that has generated none for more than 12 years. Wendy’s, located next door to OneLife’s new home, is looking forward to the increase in business.
“It’s going to bring a lot of business in for us, and I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for the community in general,” said Wendy’s General Manager Courtney Russell. “I think it’s going to bring a lot of regulars in, and hopefully they’ll be able to spread by word of mouth that this is a great Wendy’s to come by.”
OneLife becomes the second church to locate in the Knoxville Center development, joining City on a Hill Church, which leases space inside the mall itself. OneLife’s renovation to the building it purchased will immediately improve the aesthetics of the development with a complete overhaul to the property’s parking lot, landscaping, façade, storefront glass, and signage. The modern design on the exterior will be matched by a state-of-the-art, 400-seat auditorium on the interior that is designed to double as a performing arts theater, as well as offices, meeting rooms, and extensive space for children.
The church hopes the building will be used for more than just Sunday morning services. In fact, OneLife’s desire is for the building to be a resource for the community to use. Recreation leagues, community theater groups, and local schools have all used other properties the church renovated and occupies in other retail developments. In April 2014 OneLife moved it’s Powell campus into a vacated Food City shopping center, while its Halls Campus opened in a renovated storefront that its owner was considering razing due to its long tenure of vacancy in the North Place Shopping Center. This campus in Halls has outgrown the space and will be relocating to the Knoxville Center location, while another church will move into OneLife’s former space, ensuring that the property remains occupied.
Only hours after becoming the newest owners in the Knoxville Center development, OneLife Church hosted its first prayer service in the building. The church anticipates work to get underway immediately to begin the renovation with an anticipated grand opening in December.
OneLife Church is one of the fastest growing churches in Knoxville, opening with just 12 members when it started in the pastor’s home in 2009 to nearly 1,000 in weekly attendance today between its two locations. The church has also helped start three other autonomous churches in Knoxville and hosts the Ignite Church Network, a group of more than 70 new churches all over the United States. The church has become known for its partnership with community organizations and local schools through its annual Love Week in February and Serve the City projects every July.
For more information including architectural renderings, photos, videos, b-roll, and interviews, visit http://media.onelifeknox.com.