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The Tapoco hydroelectric project on the Little Tennessee River came first. Then work on the aluminum smelter began in North Maryville.

Then in 1920, ALCOA opened the first fabrication operations five miles to the west -- on acreage the Tennessee General Assembly had decreed to be part of the new city of Alcoa.

Over the years, as more and more uses were found for this versatile metal, products streamed from the West Plant -- siding, pots and pans, pie plates, metal for patio furniture. As a promotional gimmick, an aluminum bikini was made to show the attractiveness of this malleable material.

As the Tennessee Operations product line was reduced to one -- canned sheet -- the need for the West Plant evaporated. In 1989, The plant was shut. Rumors of the property’s destiny ranged from a golf course to subdivisions to ball fields.

A real vision of the site’s future emerged in May 2008 with word of an agreement between the Chattanooga firm of Kinsey, Probasco, Hays (KPH) to buy the former West Plant property and to develop it into an urban center that would give Alcoa a downtown almost a century after it was chartered by a private act of the legislature.

By July, ink was put to the plan. KPH and International Risk Group (IRG) finalized the purchase. The $500 million development on 350 acres was taking shape. Anticipated uses included residential, office, hotel and medical development.

Potential for the site -- bounded primarily by Hall Road, Alcoa Highway, Hunt Road, Mills Street and Faraday Street -- had been apparent for some time.
It lies near the intersection of two major roads, U.S. 129 (Alcoa Highway) and I-140 (Pellissippi Parkway). McGhee Tyson Airport is close. The Maryville-Alcoa Greenway is accessible. Much of the property has views of the Great Smokies. The land is on the conceptual route of a proposed light-rail system from Atlanta to the airport and Knoxville.

More pieces of the project fell into place last week. Two medical office buildings will be the first businesses. Realty Trust Group is the health care real estate developer. The Lewis Group is the architect.

First up: a three-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office building. Second: more medical offices in a two-story structure inclosing 40,000 square feet.
Location: the east side of Faraday Street extended at the intersection with Hall Road.

The prospects are promising. Alcoa officials talk of creating an urban environment for this central sector of the city. Linear development along major transportation corridors. Emergence of a town center.

The city staff has worked toward this goal since the late 1990s. We congratulate the city of Alcoa and ALCOA Inc. on their persistence and cooperation. We encourage the city and its new partners -- KPH, IRG, Realty Trust Group, The Lewis Group — to follow through.

The future of the property looks as bright as the gleaming aluminum once produced on these gentle slopes tilted toward the mountains.