KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — New housing is coming to the city of Knoxville, with leaders breaking ground on Monday. The new housing is meant to preserve South Knoxville’s historic Giffin Elementary School and create more than 70 affordable residential units.
In 2025, the city council approved a more than $1 million investment from the affordable rental development fund and $300,000 from the historic preservation program. Giffin School was built in 1928 and remained open until 1995.
The Knoxville City Council unanimously approved a resolution to spend up to $1,059,400 to subsidize 36 units of affordable housing in what is currently the historic Giffin Elementary School in March 2025…