MHM’s 60th Anniversary Marks a New Era for a 100-Year-Old Industrial Icon

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

It’s no secret that the Sanitary Laundry Building has long been one of those “what if” projects, the kind that sparked imagination but never quite found the right champion. Anyone with half an imagination could see the potential of the unique industrial structure with a fascinating history and windows-to-die-for, but nobody wanted to touch it.

Until McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architecture (MHM) stepped up. Within the astonishingly short time span of a year (not counting a substantial amount of homework beforehand), the firm purchased, restored and moved its own office into the 30,000-sq.-ft. 1925 industrial building at 625 N. Broadway, transforming it from a deteriorating shell into a contemporary, light-filled workspace that still honors its history.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

When I met MHM Associate Principal Kathryn Greer and Design Manager/Senior Associate Haley Zimmerman for a tour last week, they half-joked that along with Principal Nathan Honeycutt they were “the only ones crazy enough to do the development.” And they did it on a self-imposed tight timetable.

December 2025 is a meaningful convergence: the building’s 100th anniversary and MHM’s 60th year in practice. “We really wanted to be in the building by December,” Kathryn explained. “It felt important to align those milestones.”

By the time MHM got their hands on it, the Sanitary Laundry Building was hanging on by a thread. The original business, a commercial dry-cleaner, closed in 1993 and the building sat vacant since. It was literally raining inside, the historic clerestory windows were busted out and boarded over, pigeons had taken up residence, and the concrete floors were riddled with penetrations from long-removed machinery.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

The City of Knoxville acquired the property through a tax foreclosure in 2014. IOK first wrote about it in 2016, when it appeared on Knox Heritage’s “Fragile Fifteen,” noting that the City had issued an RFP which did not result in redevelopment. Last year the property was turned over to KCDC, which serves as the City’s official redevelopment arm and was instrumental in shepherding the project through remediation and into redevelopment.

When MHM took the project on, it was not just as the architect of record but as owner and developer as well. “Typically, we draw and coordinate the work and a client handles financing and bids,” Kathryn said. “In this case, we were the client. We went through the full process, financing and all the back-end stuff we never have to do. It gave us a new appreciation for how challenging it can be to bring a project like this to life.”

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

For perspective on how far this building has come, and how quickly: Alan walked through the building in March of this year, as did I in September.

MHM praised The Christman Company as “an amazing partner” along with supporting governments and organizations including Knox Heritage, which aided in helping achieve National Historic Register status that allowed the property to qualify for Historic Tax Credits. The stick: it also required the building to be returned, as near as possible, to its original appearance and structure. Doing so was a painstaking process but today the effort shows in every tiny detail of the result down to the character of each individual brick.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

Haley helped secure funding to restore the clerestory, which may be the single-most defining feature of the space. Daylight wafts in from where the good lord intended it to – above – bathing the interior in a calm, diffuse light that gives the whole space a sense of openness and ease. But it was also one of the most tedious aspects to replicate. Each of the panels, and they were all different sizes, had to be hand-measured. MHM then worked with a fabricator to create replicas that meet contemporary performance standards while matching the original profiles.

“And they’re actually operable windows,” Haley says. “You can open them if you get a tall enough ladder. Part of the story of this building is that it was one of the first commercial laundry facilities that was really thinking about the quality of the space and sustainability for their employees. All of the natural light and ventilation was pretty ahead of its time in 1925.”

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

The original interior lobby windows were in good enough condition to be restored, with local stained-glass artist Laura Goff reglazing them while maintaining their wavy historic character. Elsewhere in the lobby, MHM stabilized and repaired the historic plaster rather than covering it, leaving sections of the old wall exposed alongside new work so visitors can see the building’s layers. It creates a beautiful sort of high-art-meets-everlasting-gobstopper effect.

The floors, once perforated by nearly 300 openings for equipment and utilities, were patched rather than replaced. The firm chose to keep the irregularities and subtle scars of use as part of the building’s story.

Internally, they described their approach as a “light touch.” New architectural elements, like conference rooms and small meeting spaces, are inserted into the large industrial volume as freestanding pieces, with new walls and ceilings pulled away from the historic shell wherever possible.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

“We didn’t want the new architecture to steal focus from the building, because the building itself is so amazing,” Haley said.

“This is more like, don’t screw up this cool building,” Kathryn said. “Don’t go crazy. Keep it really simple. Embrace it. It’s very wabi-sabi, which I love, where it’s like that old crumbly brick is beautiful. It’s okay for it to not be perfect. Let’s just let it be imperfect and beautiful.”

Beyond meeting code and historic requirements, MHM is pursuing an ambitious sustainability framework. A solar array on the upper roof will help offset the building’s energy use. The team is monitoring performance to understand how close they can get to net-zero for their own office and shared amenity spaces. The building is on track to seek LEED Gold certification, focused on environmental performance, and WELL Gold certification, focused on human health and well-being in the built environment. If successful, this will be the first dual LEED Gold / WELL Gold project in East Tennessee and a rarity in the broader region.

“We’re already like, wow, we all feel better in this space,” Kathryn says. “Already, the natural light, the air, the materials … it changes how it feels to be at work.”

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

The heart of the upper level is a long, central spine that Haley coined “the boulevard.” When they first toured the building, only the rear windows remained, but even in their rusted state they suggested the potential for a generous, daylit volume. The boulevard concept grew from this first impression. Live ficus trees wreathed in pathos, which will eventually spill down the planters, line the path. Shared workstations, meeting rooms and collaboration spaces branch off from this central circulation zone.

Several design decisions support MHM’s studio culture, including process on display and a true all-hands space. A large gathering space near the front of the studio finally gives the 44-person firm a place to meet as a whole. The team envisions using it not only for internal meetings, but also for First Friday events, design forums and public presentations, positioning the building as a small hub for the broader design community.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025
MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

A deep black-green wall color (Sherwin-Williams “Jasper”) and subtle accents draw from historic paint layers discovered on the brick, tying new design decisions back to the original fabric. The light fixture in the front conference room (above) references commercial laundry folds. The meetings rooms are named after local neighborhoods and landmarks. Every detail feels considered and intimate.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025
MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

The downstairs includes two future tenant suites; a shared model shop and workroom for MHM, where the firm plans to reintroduce hands-on model-making using tools like a 3D printer and laser cutter; and building amenities including a fitness room, showers and support spaces. Here, the sustainability story continues. Even fitness room weights are made from recycled Nike shoe material, one small example of how the firm wove environmental considerations into material choices.

Walking through, it’s easy to forget that the site’s industrial past meant the project qualified as a brownfield. Laundry operations left behind chemicals that required careful mitigation. In 2016, the EPA awarded the City a Brownfield Grant for the remediation of the Sanitary Laundry and McClung Warehouses sites. Today, downstairs, a robust vapor mitigation system functions like an enhanced radon system. Negative pressure is maintained beneath the slab so vapors are collected, treated and safely vented at the roof.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

Also downstairs, recognizing that future tenants may not want to disturb new floors, MHM chose to install key infrastructure up front, such as shared break room and restroom facilities, so subsequent build-outs can focus on layout and finishes rather than heavy remedial work.

There’s also this amazing original lift, to be reimagined as furniture:

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

More images from downstairs:

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025
MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

For MHM, a raised glass, a hug or hearty slap on the back, and a sigh of relief is in order. If you’ve made it this far in the article, your hard-won Easter egg is that MHM is hosting a ribbon-cutting today at 4:45 p.m. after which you can see the interior yourself. RSVPs are appreciated; contact MHM Marketing Coordinator Sarah Combs at scombs@mhminc.com.

What’s next? There’s still work to be done. Behind the main building sits a smaller structure/former Sanitary Laundry boiler room facility many know as the beach bar fever dream formerly known as Bar Marley. Early site plans showed it demolished to make room for parking, but in the end, both the math and public sentiment argued otherwise.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

It is currently being stabilized and upgraded, and the space between it, the main Sanitary Laundry Building and the parking area will become a shared courtyard. The vision includes outdoor events, spillover space for a future Bar Marley tenant, and a more inviting arrival sequence than a simple lot.

As I noted in a recent story, this area – are we coining it Downtown North? – is on the rise. We are so thankful for those who’ve chosen to invest in the area, and I am honored/excited to help share these stories of its next chapter.

Personal note: I just about cried about five times during my tour of the building, my default emotional response when I encounter extraordinary art — and I consider architecture and design as much of an art form as a piano concerto or a painting on the wall, especially in this context of an endangered building that truly could have gone either way. Afterwards I spent about half an hour roaming around, just touching the walls and staring at them like a psycho from about six inches away. They hold so much history in their colors and textures.

They just don’t make lead paint the way they used to, amiright? Just kidding. MHM took care of that, just like they took care of everything else. Cheers to everyone who played a role on a job well done.

MHM, Sanitary Laundry Building, 625 N. Broadway, Knoxville, December 2025

MHM’s 60th Anniversary Marks a New Era for a 100-Year-Old Industrial Icon

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