Minvilla Manor officially opened on November 12, 2010 and provides 57 apartment units for permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals.  These units are rent-subsidized by the local housing authority and all tenants must have some verifiable income.

Minvilla Manor is on the historic registers in the City ofKnoxville, the State ofTennessee, and the National Historic Register.  Minvilla Manor has won numerous awards including the 2011 Metropolitan Planning Commission Award for Historic Rehabilitation and the National Trust/Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation, the highest award anyKnoxvilleproject has ever earned.

History of Minvilla Manor

Designed by a local architectural firm, Bauman Brothers, Minvilla Manor was built in 1913 by Brimer England Brothers Construction. Developer H. Clay Bondurant (1846-1918) was a businessman who hired Bauman Brothers and Brimer England Brothers to design and construct the original buildings.  It was originally two buildings containing thirteen row houses.  Classical Revival elements and the historic appearance of the façade is distinguished with canted bays, multi-light windows and single story porches.

In 1962 with a one story addition to the front facades, the porticos were enclosed to create more room in the interior as the building became the “Fifth Avenue Motel” and spent the next forty years as multi-family housing.  After years of abusive alterations and neglect, the Fifth Avenue Motel was condemned by the City of Knoxville and abandoned in 2002.  In 2006 the building was purchased by Volunteer Ministry Center to create permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless men and women.  The porches along the front façade were opened up and restored through the construction process.  Now named Minvilla Manor, this facility offers 57 units for formerly homeless men and women.  The project is a certified historic rehab and all 57 units were ENERGY STAR certified.

The historic rehabilitation of Minvilla followed the Secretary of Interior’s Standards.  Work included removal of incompatible additions from the 1960s that enclosed the front porches, repair and reconstruction of the porches (including brick columns, bead board ceilings, and an elaborate cornice with dentil work), structural reinforcement, painting of the exterior brick walls, and restoration of several dozen original windows supplemented as required with new custom wood windows.  An elevator lobby was constructed between the two buildings to meet code and provide access to all floors.  Interior wood moldings and window trims were restored and reused wherever possible.  Much of the original wood framing was retained and sistered with new studs for structural reinforcement.  A double loaded corridor through the middle of the building (not original) was reconstructed.  Openings through the original demising walls were articulated to reflect the original construction.  The first few treads and risers from the original stairs were preserved to help tell the history of the building’s original architecture.  At the basement level, rock and concrete slabs were removed to lower the floor level and attain minimum ceiling height requirements.