KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Knoxville’s soon-to-be multi-use stadium will now feature a 233-unit apartment complex, to be named after Knoxville’s first Black attorney William Francis Yardley.
The complex, called Yardley Flats, is being developed by Third Base Residential and will consist of two high-rise buildings connected by a sky bridge. The complex will rent studio, one bedroom and two bedroom units, with parking included.
Yardley lived from 1844 to 1924 and was also Tennessee first Black gubernatorial candidate. He’s also credited with being the first Black attorney to argue a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court, while also publishing “The Examiner,” a newspaper that promoted Black rights.
“Famous orator Frederick Douglass described Mr. Yardley as ‘one of the most remarkable men that I have met’ and we think it is appropriate to name this stunning residential development after him,” said Joseph A. Fielden Jr., a local developer and president of Third Base Residential. “It will be located in the heart of Knoxville’s rich African American cultural heritage district.”
