Knoxville

Knoxville City Council Overturns Kerbela 55+ Plan 5-4 in First Level III Appeal

Knoxville City Council voted 5-4 on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, to uphold an appeal and overturn Planning Commission approval of CR Endeavors’ 55-and-older community on the former Kerbela Shriners property in South Knoxville, the first Level III appeal ever to reach council.

Tracy King

14 Oct 2026 • 5 min read

Knoxville City Council overturned approval of a 55-and-older plan for the Kerbela Shriners site on Oct. 13, 2026. Illustrative photo.

Knoxville City Council voted 5-4 at its Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, meeting to uphold an appeal and overturn approval for the proposed redevelopment of the former Kerbela Shriners property in South Knoxville, WVLT reported. The vote reverses the Planning Commission’s 7-6 approval in August of developer CR Endeavors’ plan for a 55-and-older residential community on the site.

City Council Attorney Rob Frost said it was the first Level III appeal ever to come before council. WVLT reported that the council’s vote stops that version of the project from moving into design.

For South Knoxville owners, the decision is about more than one property. It is the first time council has tested how strictly the South Waterfront rules will be applied when a developer asks for exceptions on a hard site.

What council decided

The plan required a Level III Alternative Compliance Review. According to WVLT, the developer requested seven exceptions to rules under the South Waterfront Redevelopment and Vision Plan, adopted in 2006.

Inside of Knoxville reported that the debate centered on whether those seven deviations from the South Waterfront Form-Based Code could be justified by the challenging hillside site, or whether they would undermine the connected, walkable neighborhood the code was created to guide.

District 1 Councilmember Karyn Adams argued that only one request, the setback along Sevier Avenue, met the hardship criteria, according to Inside of Knoxville. The others involved block and lot size, building footprint, ground-floor transparency and the buildings’ relationship to the street.

“This is what deviations are for, not because the form-based code is inconvenient for a particular project,” Adams said.

Who brought the appeal

WVLT identified the appellant as the South Waterfront Advisory and Advocacy Group, which argued the project did not fit the South Waterfront Vision Plan and form-based code for the district. Inside of Knoxville printed the group’s name as the South Waterfront Advocacy and Advisory Group.

After the vote, the group said, “We appreciate Council members for supporting the SWF Vision Plan and associated code, as well as the community effort that produced them.”

The Kerbela case at a glance

Item	Detail	Source
Site	Former Kerbela Shriners property, South Knoxville	WVLT
Developer	CR Endeavors	WVLT
Proposal	55-and-older residential community	WVLT
Review type	Level III Alternative Compliance Review	WVLT
Exceptions requested	Seven, under the South Waterfront Redevelopment and Vision Plan (2006)	WVLT
Planning Commission	Approved 7-6 in August	WVLT
City Council, Oct. 13, 2026	Upheld the appeal 5-4, overturning approval	WVLT; Inside of Knoxville
Architect	Michael Graves Architecture	Inside of Knoxville

What the developer offered

CR Endeavors revised its plan after four stakeholder meetings, WVLT reported. The changes added a public plaza at Dawson Street and Sevier Avenue with landscaping, lighting and space for food trucks, plus an east-west public walkway. The developer also planned to donate a portion of the land to the City of Knoxville.

After the vote, the company said, “We respect the City Council’s role in this process and will consider its input as we evaluate next steps and develop a path forward.”

WVLT also reported that the Kerbela Shriners sold the property because funding from the transaction is required to support the fraternal organization’s active operations and local charitable mission. That leaves an open question for the site: whether CR Endeavors returns with a new plan or another buyer steps in.

Our August report, Kerbela 55+ Plan Passes 7-6; 15-Day Appeal Clock Is Running, covered the Planning Commission vote and the appeal window that followed.

Housing nearby on Sevier Avenue

The Kerbela fight played out as new housing keeps coming to the corridor. Inside of Knoxville reported that Suttree Condominiums is taking shape at Sevier Avenue and Dixie Street, with ground-floor restaurant or retail space and condos upstairs.

The same report said the floor plans show six one-bedroom units of roughly 730 to 760 square feet and six two-bedroom units of about 1,340 to 1,360 square feet. Listings include the one-bedroom units at $496,500 and two-bedroom units at $728,500 and $734,500. The project is marketed alongside a sister development, Hawthorne, at 464 W. Blount Avenue.

Those prices give South Knoxville sellers a new reference point for the high end of the waterfront market. For more on earlier projects along the river, read Knoxville Home Prices and the Approved South Waterfront Project.

Businesses keep betting on the corridor

Commercial demand along Sevier Avenue is part of what draws buyers to the area. Inside of Knoxville reported that Buffleheads, a bar planned for the former Everything Mushrooms space at 1004 Sevier Ave., has submitted plans and is targeting a grand opening on March 1, 2027. The music venue The 808 opened earlier this month at 808 Sevier Ave., the same report said.

Roadwork is the trade-off for now. Owners along the corridor have dealt with orange barrels and roundabout construction this fall, and the report noted that businesses are taking the long view. For homeowners, finished streets, sidewalks and new places to eat tend to show up later in buyer interest and in the comps.

What it means for South Knoxville homeowners

Council’s vote tells buyers and sellers that the South Waterfront code is the rulebook, not a starting point. Adams framed it around how buildings meet the street, saying the architecture and form “will remain” even as uses change over decades.

That matters for value in a few ways:

Predictability. Owners near Sevier Avenue can expect future projects to be measured against the same form-based standards, including street frontage and ground-floor windows.
Timing. A large site that stays in limbo can slow the build-out of nearby blocks. Buyers may ask what happens next on the Kerbela land. The honest answer today is that no new plan has been filed in the reports.
Precedent. Frost said this was the first Level III appeal to reach council, so other developers will study the outcome before asking for deviations.

If you own in South Knoxville and plan to sell, lead with what is built and approved around you, not with what may or may not come to the Kerbela site.

South Knoxville dates to know

Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, 6 p.m. — Tour de Frights Halloween costume bike ride starts at Suttree Landing.
Oct. 21–25, 2026 — Free Spirit Theatre’s five-night run of John at Borderland Playhouse.
Oct. 23, 2026, 5–7:30 p.m. — South Knoxville Elementary’s Spooky Streets closes Sevier Avenue from Davenport to Dixie.
Oct. 25, 2026, 2–5 p.m. — Hallowings aviation trunk-or-treat at Island Home Airport.

Own a home in South Knoxville? Get a free home valuation, or ask for a cash offer if you want a firm number before the next round of waterfront plans.

What did Knoxville City Council decide about the Kerbela Shriners site?

On Oct. 13, 2026, council voted 5-4 to uphold an appeal and overturn Planning Commission approval of CR Endeavors’ 55-and-older community on the former Kerbela Shriners property, WVLT reported.

Why was this appeal unusual?

City Council Attorney Rob Frost said it was the first Level III appeal ever to come before council, according to WVLT.

How many exceptions did the developer request?

WVLT reported the developer requested seven exceptions to rules under the South Waterfront Redevelopment and Vision Plan, adopted in 2006.

What did the Planning Commission do earlier?

The Planning Commission approved the plan 7-6 in August, a vote that council’s decision reverses, WVLT reported.

What is next for the Kerbela property?

CR Endeavors said it will consider council’s input as it evaluates next steps and develops a path forward. WVLT reported the vote stops that version of the project from moving into design.