Multiple sources have informed me that WJBE Radio has received a 30-day notice requiring them to vacate their office space at the Five Points Shopping Center, located in the heart of East Knoxville.
The Five Points Shopping Center was originally developed with government assistance during the Mayor Ashe administration, as I recall. The project was anchored by Village Market Grocery Store, built by Smith & Woods, an independent grocer from Blount County. Over the years, the center housed several small businesses, including at one point a Knox County Government satellite office.
The grocery store operated for only a few years. The last vibrant landmark tenant was a satellite church of Eternal Harvest Church, led by the late Pastor James Davis. Today, that same space serves as a Knox County Election Commission early voting location.
With Emerald Youth unable to secure the Chilhowee Park property, attention has now shifted to the Five Points Shopping Center. The property sits directly across the street from Walter P. Taylor Homes. If Emerald Youth is successful in acquiring the site, the concern is that it would become a locked, restricted facility—another visible reminder to young people in East Knoxville that the space is not meant for them.
Additionally, a source has informed me that the Boys & Girls Club has been shut out of the Change Center, a facility often described as “multi-use,” despite functioning as anything but.
Returning to the Five Points Shopping Center, this raises a larger question: Why does a pattern continue where property is purchased, left vastly under-utilized for decades, and then eventually sold to a “nonprofit” for millions—only for that money to never meaningfully reinvest back into the Knoxville or Knox County economy?
Transparency is critical. This property should still fall under the oversight of the Industrial Development Board. Before any large-scale sale is approved—especially one that results in exclusive, members-only use—there must be open discussion, clear transparency, and genuine stakeholder engagement.
This issue deserves far more public attention and scrutiny.
