The University of Tennessee at Knoxville has plans to welcome a combination hotel and conference center south of the Tennessee River as part of its trio of innovation districts, and will soon receive an award recognizing the area's growth.
The Peninsula Innovation District, located within the University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm, is set to receive the 2026 Emerging Community of Innovation award on Oct. 2 as university leaders continue their push to open more facilities at the site in the next four years.
The award, given by the nonprofit Association of University Research Parks, recognizes how the UT district has grown with new research facilities, startups and industry partners on site, including Volkswagen, OrthoTennessee,
TreisD and the Center for Precision Health.
The Cherokee Farm Development Corporation, led by President and CEO Brett Malone, is planning for the district's next 20 years of growth with a new master plan expected to be unveiled in 2027.
The addition of a hotel and conference center, Malone said, will provide "an important amenity" for visiting researchers and families seeking to stay near UT Medical Center.
"We're waiting on announcing all the rest of the details, but we're excited about having a partnership with the developer that will help us bring a name brand to the Peninsula," Malone told Knox News. "We're working on the details of that now."
The project will join three major facilities the university announced for the district in March: the Quantum Foundry and BioSciences and Engineering Buildings, comprised of two 140,000-square-foot facilities, and the 65,000-square-foot UT Medical Center Cancer Center.
These projects, along with the hotel, are expected to open in 2030.
"The district is open for business right now, and we would love to have commercial industry tenants," Malone said. "We want it to be a magnet for people to come look and locate their additional capabilities there."
As for the award, Malone said, "I'm just proud that our region is getting recognized."
"There's also a lot of pride in the sense that this is what can happen when you get a lot of really smart, good people together who just want to do something beyond their own boundaries," he said.
Other University of Tennessee innovation districts gain momentum
The Peninsula project is one of three innovation districts UT Chancellor Donde Plowman announced last year. The others are the Oak Ridge Innovation Corridor and the Maplehurst Innovation District, which will bridge downtown and parts of campus east of Neyland Stadium with a blend of commercial, research and residential developments.
Each innovation district, Malone said, has "its own unique sort of recipe" as live-work-play environments.
"I think the key message for both (the Maplehurst and Peninsula districts) ... is that they're open and accessible. These are not closed off, exclusive places," he said. "We'd love to have everyone share in what we're building."
Located on Hill Avenue, the Maplehurst district will have a focus on artificial intelligence, computing and data sciences. Property records show The University Financing Foundation purchased eight properties in the area for a combined $44 million in 2025.
One of the first projects for the Maplehurst district is a 90,000-square-foot Next Gen Computing Building scheduled to open in 2029, while the Oak Ridge district will be anchored by the 60,000-square-foot National Security Prototype Center scheduled to be completed next year.
The security center is being developed by a private company and will operate in partnership with the Y-12 National Security Complex. Under the agreement, Y-12 will provide UT with $20 million annually to support research at the facility and cover the cost of its lease.
Keenan Thomas is the higher education reporter for Knox News. Email: keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com.
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks at subscribe.knoxnews.com.
Get The T: All the news for you about UT in one spot every week
Learn about the latest from the state’s flagship campus. Our weekly email newsletter is tailored for alums, UT staffers, students, parents and community members.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Hotel near UT Medical Center part of university's innovation district plans
