Pellissippi State Community College held a reception for Magnolia Avenue area businesses and community representatives Tuesday to discuss the impact of the Magnolia Streetscape Project.
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero called the project an investment to the community and that area.
"What we hope the end result of all of this will be is more neighborhood-serving businesses, more opportunities for people who live in this neighborhood to take advantage of all the great offerings that we have," Rogero said.
She said the city streetscape projects are to improve the look, pedestrian mobility, transit use, and safety of the roads.
The Magnolia Avenue Streetscape Project will move forward with construction set to begin this summer.
The Magnolia Avenue Campus Dean for Pellissippi State, Rosalyn Tillman, said the college has felt like the anchor for the growth happening in that area and in the community.
When the project was first introduced, there was some pushback from people in the area.
A group of people turned out to the Knoxville City Council meeting to voice their opposition to a makeover of Magnolia Avenue. They wanted officials to support existing businesses instead of changing the street landscape.
