In 1826, when the institution purchased the Hill, a building plan was prepared that called for a central college building and three dormitories. In 1871 the trustees employed E. Dean Dow, a New York artist, to prepare plans for the enlargement of the institution with additional buildings and for the general improvement of the grounds. Because of lack of funds, the trustees paid little attention to Dow’s proposals.
In July 1879 the trustees employed Joseph F. Baumann to prepare a sketch showing front views of buildings proposed for immediate use and had Professor S. H. Lockett of the Engineering Department prepare a map of the grounds showing the locations of existing buildings and also of proposed buildings required to accommodate five hundred students. The proposals included filling the space between Old, East, and West Colleges ($5,000); constructing a new dormitory ($8,000) and enlarging the Janney building by attaching a structure similar to “the present laboratory building”($5,000). Also recommended were a gymnasium, a workshop, and a nursery or propagating house. A stone fence along Kingston Pike encircling the grounds was also proposed.
In 1918 a plan for the Hill devised by President Ayres was considered by the board. This plan provided for a main Arts and Sciences Building, an auditorium (that would seat two thousand people), and an Administration Building that would form three sides of a quadrangle, with the Hill lowered to the floor level of Jefferson Hall. The board of trustees modified this plan, replacing the auditorium with a main building on the agriculture campus and enlarging the power plant. The Main Building would replace Old, East, and West Colleges, and the Administration Building would replace South College.
In 1921 Miller, Fullenwider & Dowling (architects of Ayres Hall, one partner of which [Grant C. Miller] had designed the Carnegie Library—now Austin Peay) was commissioned to provide a master plan at a cost of $1,000. That plan set the locations for Hoskins Library and the Jessie Harris Building.
In 1925 the trustees, knowing that the campus must expand, determined to do so to the west and adopted a policy that the university would purchase nearby property to the west whenever such property became available. The institution soon acquired properties on the north side of Cumberland Avenue through a Knox County bond issue and purchased additional parcels along Temple Avenue (now Volunteer Boulevard) from Weston M. Fulton. In 1944 President Hoskins announced postwar expansion plans, including academic buildings on the Hill for Liberal Arts (now Arts and Sciences), Business Administration, and the Sciences and expansion toward Temple Avenue (now Volunteer Boulevard.)
Following the 1963 agreement with the Knoxville Housing Authority to develop the Yale Avenue Urban Renewal Area for expansion land for UT, University Architect Malcolm Rice and Henry Morse, director of campus planning, devised the plan for the land from the west side of Volunteer Boulevard to the railroad tracks to the west. Problems with the “suburban” concept of the plan were identified, but it was eventually approved as presented by the board of trustees, upon the recommendation of Vice President Edward J. Boling.
In the early 1990s, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, in light of the many changes in the capital outlay lists submitted annually by all Tennessee higher education institutions, decided that all institutions should have a master plan for space and facilities and capital outlay requests should follow the approved plans. Eli Fly, then vice president for business and finance, required that UT Knoxville prepare a “request for proposals” for assistance from architecture and infrastructure firms to develop a comprehensive master plan for UT facilities in Knoxville—UT Knoxville, UT Institute of Agriculture, and the UT Medical Center were to be included. The proposal and supporting documentation was developed by UT Knoxville’s Office of Space and Facilities, led by Associate Vice Chancellor Betsey Creekmore, and proposals were sought. The successful proposal was that of Bullock, Smith & Partners, assisted by Sasaki Associates Inc.; Wilbur Smith Associates; Campbell & Associates Inc.; Vreeland Engineers Inc.; and Law Engineering. The Master Plan for UT Facilities in Knoxville was issued in 1994, after broad involvement and consultation with all constituencies of the campus. by UTK’d of Trustees, upon recommendation
In 2001 the master plan was updated under the leadership of Architecture Dean Marleen Davis and Vice President for Knoxville Operations Philip Scheurer. The planning group was assisted by Bullock, Smith & Partners, Ayers/Saint/Gross, and Wilbur Smith & Associates. That plan proposed, as President Wade Gilley envisioned, development of a “Cherokee Campus” that would include housing for graduate students, intramural fields, and intercollegiate athletic facilities as well as university buildings, following relocation of the dairy farm. That plan related only to UT Knoxville and UTIA entities in Knoxville. The medical units had become an independent, affiliated entity.
In 2009 work was begun on a new, comprehensive Master Plan for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville at the request of Chancellor Crabtree, since the 2001 plan, especially the Cherokee Campus component, had become obsolete. Work on the plan began under the leadership of Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Denise Barlow. The plan was revisioned and completed in 2011 under the leadership of Chancellor Cheek, involving a broadly-based steering committee coordinated by Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Chris Cimino. Its development was assisted by Bullock, Smith, & Partners and Wilbur Smith & Associates.
The 2011 plan sought to respond to the foreseeable needs of the academic disciplines and student-life requirements and to maximize building sites available to the institution. Importantly, the plan sought to make the campus more pedestrian friendly, add bicycle paths, and preserve the architectural character of the Hill. The immediate need for additional instructional and research laboratory facilities and the need for renovation of existing facilities were emphasized.
Of particular note was the repurposing of the block containing Stokely Athletics Center and Bill Gibbs Hall into academic space and a parking garage. The draft plan moved the theatre complex to that location, but in response to objections from community members, Vice Chancellor Cimino modified the draft plan to show renovation and expansion of theatre facilities on their existing and expanded site and construction of academic classroom/office facilities and a parking garage on the Stokely site. The plan also proposed a major science facility replacing Sophronia Strong Hall and enlarged the science facility between Hoskins Library and Jessie Harris first proposed in the 1994 plan. In 2013 the chancellor and athletics director announced the reversion of part of the Stokely site to athletics for a third outdoor football practice field. The field, a parking garage, and a new dormitory for both men and women would complete the structures on the site following the razing of Stokely and Gibbs.