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 (ETSU) and Northeast State Community College (NSCC), along with other institutional partners. TSW prepared the Downtown Kingsport Master Plan and collaborated with ETSU and NSCC to update the master plan for the Academic Village, focusing on Town and Gown relationships to strengthen connections between the campus and the downtown community.

To ensure a solid foundation for the plan, TSW compiled comprehensive data, including enrollment figures, faculty and staff counts, course schedules, space inventories, and parking utilization. A student survey was conducted to gather insights on their downtown campus experience, preferences for dining and other amenities, and interest in living downtown.

TSW had previously developed a master plan for the campus as part of the 2011 NSCC Master Plan. Since then, enrollment has continued to grow, and new facilities have been added, such as the Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing Academy, which opened for the Spring 2018 semester.

The 2018 Master Plan update not only addressed new facility needs but also took a holistic view of the campus’s relationship with downtown, with particular attention to the needs of non-traditional students. TSW developed enrollment growth projections and corresponding facility requirements, while also addressing the demand for nearby amenities such as restaurants, loft housing, events, a proposed public park, bike lanes, and parking facilities to enhance the Town and Gown dynamic.