"After years of back-and-forth plans for the former TVA Credit Union on Gay Street, property owner Ilana Brodt has decided to turn the building into a high-end, energy-efficient hotel with boutique retail space that embraces downtown Knoxville's artsy appeal.
The building on the corner of Gay Street and Wall Avenue – which has been vacant since 2020 – is being developed into the Onyx Art Hotel by Brodt and her husband, Avi Zenatti. Her concept for the project is to create a larger arts district with a hotel, gallery spaces and high-end shops that spans from the historic theaters near the Gay Street Bridge through the 100 block and into Emory Place just north of downtown.
“We thought, if we do a hotel, it has to be with a different concept,” Brodt told Knox News. “I love Knoxville as it is, but different little layers can excite and make life better here.”
The idea for Onyx, she said, was inspired by “fancy hotels around the world," aligning with her efforts to expand creative and cultural experiences in the center of the city.
What is the Onyx Art Hotel? 'Gorgeous and very, very high-end''
The Onyx Art Hotel will feature 50 to 52 rooms, including eight to 10 large suites. Guest rooms will occupy the upper floors, while the ground level will be the new home of Brodt’s Lilienthal Gallery."
—Knoxville Sentinel