Despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Knoxville Mayor Brian Hatch says that as 2021 begins, city affairs are strong, with completed projects and prospect of development on the VA campus.

“It’s a tough balance between the pandemic and things being shut down, we closed a lot of programs, adjusted things in the rec center. On the flip side of that, there’s a lot of excitement because there’s a lot of things going on. We’ve got projects completed, we’ve got new things happening, new businesses, just a lot of momentum in the community right now. It’s exciting to see that, we’re excited to continue to see that grow, and we hope the VA project allows that to continue to build upon itself out there as we grow.”