Downtown Kingsport Academic Village

Details:

  • City of Kingsport

  • Kingsport, TN

Highlights:

  • 2019 American Planning Association’s Small Town and Rural Planning Division – Vernon Deines Award for an Outstanding Small Town or Rural Plan for Downtown Kingsport Master Plan

  • Comprehensive downtown master plan
  • Included master plan update for Academic Village
  • Incorporated enrollment projections, space needs, and a physical master plan
  • Focus on relationship of campus with downtown and amenities such as restaurants, housing, and public spaces

Description:

The Downtown Kingsport Academic Village is a collaborative higher education campus anchored by East Tennessee State University and Northeast State Community College, as well as other institutional partners. TSW prepared the Downtown Kingsport Master Plan and worked with ETSU and NSCC to prepare a concurrent master plan update for the Academic Village.

TSW compiled a full range of data to ensure a robust foundation for the plan. This included enrollment data, faculty and staff counts, course schedules, a space inventory, and parking utilization numbers. TSW also conducted a student survey to learn about students’ experience on the downtown campus, their preferences for restaurants and other amenities, and their interest in downtown living.

TSW had previously prepared a master plan for this campus as part of the 2011 NSCC Master Plan. Enrollment has continued to grow, matched with new facilities, including the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing Academy, which opened for the Spring 2018 semester.

The 2018 Master Plan effort included updated needs for new facilities, but also looked holistically at the relationship of the campus to downtown, especially considering the large number of non-traditional students. TSW developed enrollment growth projections and associated facility needs, but also looked at needs for nearby amenities, including restaurants, loft housing, events, a proposed public park, bike lanes, and parking facilities.