Commercial corridor
Kingston Pike
Knoxville’s primary east–west commercial spine (US-11/US-70), running from downtown through Bearden and West Knoxville out to Farragut and Turkey Creek. The region’s deepest retail, office and restaurant frontage.
Typical uses along Kingston Pike
- Retail & restaurant
- Medical & dental office
- Professional office
- Mixed-use
High visibility and traffic; frontage ranges from urban Bearden storefronts to large-format West Knox retail and the Turkey Creek power center at the Farragut end.
Traffic counts along Kingston Pike
Annual average daily traffic (AADT) at TDOT's 6 active count stations on the corridor, 2025 counts. The busiest station reads 33,104 vehicles a day (Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70), mile 5.03).
| TDOT station | Road | Log mile | AADT | Trucks | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47000363 | Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70) | 1.70 | 23,613 | 4.9% | 2025 | map |
| 47000138 | Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70) | 5.03 | 33,104 | 2.5% | 2025 | map |
| 47000128 | Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70) | 8.46 | 20,704 | 4.9% | 2025 | map |
| 47000123 | Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70) | 12.22 | 26,252 | 1.9% | 2025 | map |
| 47000159 | Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70) | 15.06 | 19,295 | 4.9% | 2025 | map |
| 47000158 | Kingston Pike (SR-1 / US-11 / US-70) | 16.98 | 24,947 | 1.6% | 2025 | map |
Source: TDOT Traffic Points (Tennessee Department of Transportation open data, E-TRIMS), pulled 2026-09-08. Log mile is TDOT's distance along the route from its county origin; each station links to TDOT's count history for that spot. Trucks are FHWA classes 4–13 as a share of AADT.
Zoning along Kingston Pike
33 zoning districts touch the corridor within 200 ft of the road — about the first parcel's depth — under City of Knoxville and Knox County zoning; 16 of them are commercial or office districts. "Areas" is how many separately zoned areas of that district front the road, not acreage.
| District | Name | Jurisdiction · cite | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial & office | |||
| C-G-1 | General Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 42 |
| O | Office | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 31 |
| C-H-1 | Highway Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 17 |
| C-H-2 | Highway Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 17 |
| CA | General Business | Knox County · §5.31 | 17 |
| C-G-3 | General Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 14 |
| C-R-2 | Regional Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 9 |
| OB | Office, Medical, and Related Services | Knox County · §5.41 | 9 |
| C-G-2 | General Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 7 |
| CB | Business and Manufacturing | Knox County · §5.32 | 7 |
| OA | Office Park | Knox County · §5.40 | 7 |
| PC | Planned Commercial | Knox County · §5.33 | 7 |
| OP | Office Park | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 6 |
| C-N | Neighborhood Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 2 |
| C-R-1 | Regional Commercial | City of Knoxville · Article 5 | 1 |
| SC | Shopping Center | Knox County · §5.34 | 1 |
| Industrial | |||
| I-G | General Industrial | City of Knoxville · Article 6 | 4 |
| I-MU | Industrial Mixed-Use | City of Knoxville · Article 6 | 3 |
| Residential | |||
| RN-1 | Single-Family Residential Neighborhood | City of Knoxville · Article 4 | 34 |
| RN-2 | Single-Family Residential Neighborhood | City of Knoxville · Article 4 | 8 |
| RA | Low Density Residential | Knox County · §5.11 | 6 |
| RB | General Residential | Knox County · §5.12 | 6 |
| PR | Planned Residential | Knox County · §5.13 | 5 |
| RAE | Exclusive Residential | Knox County · §5.10 | 5 |
| RN-4 | General Residential Neighborhood | City of Knoxville · Article 4 | 4 |
| RN-5 | General Residential Neighborhood | City of Knoxville · Article 4 | 4 |
| RN-3 | General Residential Neighborhood | City of Knoxville · Article 4 | 2 |
| RN-6 | Multi-Family Residential Neighborhood | City of Knoxville · Article 4 | 2 |
| Special purpose | |||
| INST | Institutional | City of Knoxville · Article 8 | 7 |
| A | Agricultural | Knox County · §5.22 | 5 |
| OS | Parks and Open Space | City of Knoxville · Article 8 | 4 |
| NA | Natural Areas | City of Knoxville · Article 8 | 2 |
| F | Floodway | Knox County · §5.70 | 1 |
Source: Knoxville - Knox County Zoning (Knoxville-Knox County Planning open data), Planning's layer as edited 2026-09-03, pulled 2026-09-08 (Public Domain Dedication and License 1.0). District names are the ordinances' own — the City of Knoxville Zoning Code (by article) and the Knox County Zoning Ordinance, Appendix A (by section), each row linked. Zoning changes monthly by Council and Commission action — confirm a parcel on KGIS before you act on it. Part of this corridor's frontage is zoned by the Town of Farragut, whose districts are not in this layer and are not counted here.
What is being built along Kingston Pike
In the 3 years through 2026-02-24, the three permit offices issued 92 permits for new non-residential buildings within 820 ft of the road, $143,679,529 of declared construction cost, 12 non-residential demolitions, and 253 permits for new homes — the rooftops that feed a corridor.
| Issued | Project · use | Address | Declared cost | Permit · office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-24 | Business Commercial - New |
112 BROOKLAWN ST | $200,000 | BP-2025-962 · Town of Farragut | map |
| 2026-02-03 | No description on the permit | 8105 KINGSTON PIKE | $9,500 | IBC-NEW-26-0006 · City of Knoxville | map |
| 2025-12-29 | Utility and Miscellaneous Commercial - Accessory Structure |
13120 ROYAL PALM WAY, 100 | $100,000 | BP-2025-539 · Town of Farragut | map |
| 2025-12-22 | General Commercial Building | 8085 KINGSTON PIKE | $2,300,000 | IBC-NEW-25-0456 · City of Knoxville | map |
| 2025-12-15 | General Commercial Building | 200 MILLER MAIN CIR | $2,000,000 | IBC-NEW-24-0663 · City of Knoxville | map |
| 2025-12-02 | POPEYES | 10431 KINGSTON PIKE | $2,500 | 25-F0305 · Knox County | map |
| 2025-10-10 | General Commercial Building | 1107 N NORTHSHORE DR | $1,900,000 | IBC-NEW-24-0644 · City of Knoxville | map |
| 2025-09-16 | Business Commercial - New |
125 BIDDLE FARMS BLVD, EM | $580,000 | BP-2025-372 · Town of Farragut | map |
| 2025-09-10 | POPEYES RESTAURANT A-2 Assembly, nightclubs |
10431 KINGSTON PIKE | $402,252 | 25-B1343 · Knox County | map |
| 2025-08-21 | General Commercial Building | 8207 KINGSTON PIKE | $1,000 | IBC-ELE-25-0741 · City of Knoxville | map |
| 2025-08-21 | Permanent Sign(s)/Advertising Only | 8207 KINGSTON PIKE | $1,000 | IBC-NEW-25-0410 · City of Knoxville | map |
| 2025-07-23 | General Commercial Building Assembly, Group A-2 (Restaurants, Bars, Night Clubs) |
7355 KINGSTON PIKE | $600,000 | IBC-NEW-23-0731 · City of Knoxville | map |
The 12 most recent of 92 new non-residential permits in the window; the rest are in the same public record.
Source: Building permits (Knoxville-Knox County Planning open data), layer as edited 2026-03-18, pulled 2026-09-08 (Public Domain Dedication and License 1.0). Window: 2023-02-24 to 2026-02-24, the layer's latest permit. The layer tracks new construction and demolition from Knox County, the City of Knoxville and the Town of Farragut — not renovations or tenant fit-outs. Declared cost is the cost of work the applicant declared on the permit; it is not a price, and it is not a valuation.
Jobs along Kingston Pike
The Census Bureau counts 48,081 jobs located within 820 ft of the road in 2023, +7,346 (+18.0%) since 2018; 44% of them pay more than $3,333 a month.
- 11,684 pay $1,250 a month or less (24%)
- 15,242 pay $1,251 to $3,333 a month (32%)
- 21,155 pay more than $3,333 a month (44%)
| Sector | 2023 | 2018 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Trade · NAICS 44-45 | 10,977 | 11,672 | −695 |
| Accommodation and Food Services · NAICS 72 | 6,830 | 6,211 | +619 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · NAICS 62 | 6,368 | 5,001 | +1,367 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · NAICS 56 | 6,112 | 3,950 | +2,162 |
| Finance and Insurance · NAICS 52 | 3,119 | 2,466 | +653 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · NAICS 54 | 3,016 | 2,308 | +708 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · NAICS 81 | 2,628 | 2,642 | −14 |
| Construction · NAICS 23 | 1,582 | 907 | +675 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · NAICS 48-49 | 1,184 | 639 | +545 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · NAICS 55 | 1,145 | 998 | +147 |
| 10 other sectors | 5,120 | 3,941 | +1,179 |
Source: LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES), Workplace Area Characteristics, Tennessee (LODES 2023 vintage 20251202, 2018 vintage 20230321), summed over the 309 2020 Census blocks within 820 ft of the road line (228 of them with jobs in 2023), pulled 2026-09-08. LODES counts jobs by the block the workplace is in, from unemployment-insurance records with noise added to protect employers — an estimate, not a payroll census; federal and some self-employment is not covered. Sector names per the LODES technical document; explore the same data on OnTheMap.
Opportunity Zones along Kingston Pike
1 of the 20 census tracts within 820 ft of the road is designated Qualified Opportunity Zones — the 2018 designations under Internal Revenue Code §1400Z-1, still the ones in force. For the next round, 2 of the corridor's 21 2020-vintage tracts are on Treasury's list of tracts eligible for nomination as 2027 Opportunity Zones; the Governor nominates from that list, and Treasury designates.
Designated (2018 round)
- Census tract 35, Knox County · 47093003500
Eligible for nomination (2027 round)
- Census tract 9.02, Knox County · 47093000902 · eligible, not yet designated
- Census tract 26, Knox County · 47093002600 · eligible, not yet designated
Source: Opportunity Zones (HUD official content — the tracts designated under IRC §1400Z-1), edited 2026-06-02, checked against the CDFI Fund's designated-QOZ list; Opportunity Zones 2 (HUD official content — 2020 tracts eligible for nomination as 2027 QOZs), edited 2026-08-21, per Treasury's Opportunity Zone data page. Tracts within 820 ft of the road line from the Census Bureau's TIGERweb, pulled 2026-09-08. A designation attaches to the tract, not to a parcel's fitness for any deal; what an investor may do with it is the IRS's to say, and a tax adviser's — not this page's.
Flood zones along Kingston Pike
FEMA maps 182 flood-hazard areas within 820 ft of the road; 83 of them are in a Special Flood Hazard Area — the 1% annual chance floodplain, 12 of those in the regulatory floodway. "Areas" counts FEMA's mapped polygons that touch the band, not acreage — a floodplain runs for miles past any corridor. The 19 Flood Insurance Rate Map panels under the band are effective 2007-01-17 to 2013-08-05.
| FEMA class | Zones | Areas |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Floodway · Special Flood Hazard Area | Zone AE | 12 |
| 1% Annual Chance Flood Hazard · Special Flood Hazard Area | Zone A, Zone AE | 71 |
| 0.2% Annual Chance Flood Hazard | Zone X | 83 |
| Area of Minimal Flood Hazard | Zone X | 16 |
Source: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (NFHL), the effective flood maps as FEMA publishes them, classed by FEMA's own legend, pulled 2026-09-08. Look a parcel up by address on FEMA's Map Service Center. Whether a parcel needs flood insurance is a lender's flood determination on that parcel, not a corridor page's.
Water service along Kingston Pike
3 community water systems' mapped service areas touch the corridor within 820 ft of the road:
- KNOXVILLE UTILITIES BOARD-KUB · TN0000366 · serves about 242,383 people · surface water · TDEC record
- FIRST UTIL DIST OF KNOX COUNTY · TN0000369 · serves about 95,628 people · surface water · TDEC record
- LENOIR CITY UTILITY BOARD · TN0000396 · serves about 33,675 people · surface water · TDEC record
Source: Tennessee public water system service areas (TDEC, with Vanderbilt's Drinking Water Justice Lab), edited 2026-02-09, pulled 2026-09-08. TDEC's own caveat: "These data should not be used as an endpoint for decision making at local scales for water system infrastructure. These datasets are generated at a coarse scale not intended to be interpreted at local scales." — confirm a parcel's water and sewer with the utility. Electric, natural gas, wastewater and fibre are not shown: no public service-area map of them holds at corridor scale, and the providers publish no boundary feed — confirm with the provider.
Corridor profile
Kingston Pike is the old Dixie Lee Highway — the historic main road west out of Knoxville — and a century of commerce has made it the region’s deepest commercial spine. Its character changes district by district: walkable storefronts and restaurant row through Bearden, the West Town Mall retail concentration and big-format centers through West Knoxville, then Farragut’s landscaped, code-managed frontage out to the Turkey Creek district at the county line.
For an operator, that variety is the point. Second-generation restaurant space, endcaps, medical suites, professional office and redevelopment sites all trade along the same road, at price points that step down as you move away from the interchanges. Traffic is heavy for the market throughout — TDOT publishes station-by-station counts along the corridor — and nearly every West Knoxville and Farragut rooftop feeds it daily.
Note for site selection: the corridor crosses two jurisdictions. City of Knoxville zoning applies through Bearden and West Knoxville; the Town of Farragut applies its own zoning, landscaping and sign standards west of the town line — plan signage and site design accordingly.
Landmarks & anchors
- West Town Mall retail district
- Bearden Village / “Restaurant Row”
- Papermill Drive interchange retail
- Farragut town frontage into Turkey Creek
Official local sources — Kingston Pike
Public, official links so you can research the facts yourself — we point at the sources rather than editorializing the data.
- Tennessee DOT — official traffic counts (AADT) and road projects
- KGIS Maps (Knoxville–Knox County GIS) — parcels, zoning, flood layers, aerials for any site
- Knoxville–Knox County Planning — zoning codes, land-use plans, development review
- Town of Farragut — Community Development — town zoning, sign standards and development process
- KUB (Knoxville Utilities Board) — electric, water, gas, wastewater and fiber service
- Knoxville Chamber — regional economic development and market data
More commercial space around Kingston Pike
The listings above come from the East Tennessee REALTORS® MLS, which carries only part of the commercial market — searched across Knox County, because the feed cannot search by road. Lakeway-area (LAAR) listings will join when that feed is connected. For more, browse Crexi and LoopNet — or ask Shawn what is actually available here, including space that never reaches a portal: tell him what you need.