Built in 1963 as the Dogan-Gaither Motor Court, this motel adaptive reuse as supportive housing to parolees plays a redemptive role in an area with a rich African-American history. Today, Dogan-Gaither Flats provides counseling, work placement, and transitional skills training to formally incarcerated individuals in the 16 dual-occupancy one-bedroom units.  In serious disrepair prior to the renovation, the design team worked to uncover and utilize the original mid-century design elements while reactivating the space with light filled connections to the exterior landscape. Through strategic interventions, the original efficacy of the building remains while continuing to serve a greater social purpose.

Project History and Community Context

Dogan-Gaither Flats embodies an important part of the African American business history in Knoxville, Tennessee. The property, now located at 211 Jessamine Street, is the second location of the historic Dogan-Gaither Hotel after being forced to move from its original location at East Vine Avenue along with the “rest of the heart of the Negro business district” as part of the “Downtown Loop” urban renewal project that would become James White Parkway in the early 1960s. In 1959, the original Dogan-Gaither location was listed in a publication for “Negro travelers,” the Newark-based Nationwide Hotel Association Directory and Guide to Travelers; similar to publications such as the famous Green Book guide for traveling African Americans. The new location of the Dogan-Gaither Motel hosted patrons such as Ray Charles and Cab Calloway, and served as a haven for African American travelers across the region and country through desegregation. Around 1967, 4 years after opening its new location, The Dogan-Gaither Motel closed, and the property was purchased by a larger motel chain. The property alternated residential, office, and warehouse uses over time, as the surrounding area and community endured through the ongoing impacts of urban renewal as well as general disinvestment. In 2020, the 4^th Purpose Foundation aspirationally purchased the property and envisioned its adaptive reuse of the existing building and site as a mission driven community asset. This project, again, serves its residents and the community as a source of redemption and progression that it once was. Dogan-Gaither Flats addresses a need otherwise non-existent in many communities, providing supportive housing for formerly incarcerated individuals transitioning back to society as contributing members. A once thriving and socially equitable motel serving the marginalized now acts as catalyst of renewal and redemption for those seeking to better themselves and the community in which they reside.

Design Methodology

Access to safe, secure, and supportive housing is a fundamental right that can be elevated through innovative design especially for the disadvantaged. Dogan-Gaither Flats addresses a housing need otherwise non-existent in many communities, providing supportive housing for formerly incarcerated individuals transitioning back to society. But how can this type of residential program be one that allows for autonomy, introspection, and individual development, while also allowing for understanding of one’s place in the greater whole as a community member? Residences share dual occupancy single units, but each unit is fully furnished, has its own kitchen for grocery storage and meal preparation, and has private full bathrooms as well as a living room and office niche. All units have ample access to natural daylight and direct views of the outdoor setting of the planted interior courtyard and adjacent First Creek flowing nearby. The grounds also have an education/presentation room for group meetings and ongoing skills development, when these meetings aren’t held outside in the courtyard designed with integrated power and audio-visual systems. These simple design choices elevate dignity and overall experience for the residences. Furthermore, how can design allow for a residential program of this type to not be viewed as one of control but rather one of opportunity, redemption and renewal? Residences enjoy access to work/development programs in the surrounding areas of Knoxville via walking, biking, or public bus transportation proximity. Finally, the impactful/important history of the building’s original use/mission is presented through a history wall graphic display on the building’s grounds for residents to view and learn from. This conveyed history as well as the adaptive reuse of the existing building and site into the housing and program it is today reiterates this implicit quality of renewal and the aspirations of a second chance for residences.