Maryville

Alcoa is a small city situated south of Knoxville, with the Great Smoky Mountains to the southwest. The area is a former industrial town where neighbors worked alongside one another at the local aluminum smelting plant and is now home to roughly 11,000 residents. While the original homes built for plant workers still stand today, there has been a significant uptick in housing developments alongside a bustling commercial area to the south. For both education and recreation, locals head to the center of the neighborhood, where the four Alcoa schools lie right next to the expansive Springbrook Park, which is often full of locals looking to relax or exercise. Even with so much all around the area, Alcoa works to provide small-town living among big cities and national landmarks. The houses in Alcoa reflect the origin and growth of the neighborhood, with many homes built around the 1950s and the newer homes popping up in the early 2000s. Houses can range in price from $190,000 for a two- to three-bedroom ranch-style home to $690,000 for a modern traditional brick home. Homes are typically on medium-sized lots, and many ranch-style homes are set closer to the street, allowing for sizable backyards shaded by local Hackberry and Maple trees. Students in Alcoa can attend Alcoa Elementary for prekindergarten through second grade before entering Alcoa Intermediate School for third through fifth grade. Students then move on to Alcoa Middle until eighth grade. The elementary, intermediate and middle schools all receive an A rating on Niche. Students can go on to graduate from the A-minus rated Alcoa High, home to the Alcoa Tornadoes football team, a 21-time state football champion that has won eight consecutive titles since 2015. In 2020, a documentary crew filmed "4th and Forever: Alcoa," an Amazon Prime series about the team's success. Springbrook Park is the jewel in the neighborhood's center. It is commonly split between the upper and lower fields, with the upper field for open spaces and relaxation and the lower field for more excitement and fun. The park is conveniently located right next to the high school and Alcoa Duck Pond. It offers various amenities, such as a pool with a waterslide, a famous community center, multiple playsets, a lighted softball field and tennis courts. There are also over 1.4 miles of walking trails for locals to exercise on. “It is like the Central Park in New York City for Alcoa; the city is built around it,” says Joe Huff, the Maryville-Alcoa-Blunt County Parks and Recreation executive director for almost 24 years. Alcoa provides abundant shopping options for residents, ranging from large stores like the Walmart Supercenter and Lowes by the Hamilton Crossing Centre, to local eateries at New Midland Plaza. These restaurants can take many forms, from Bullpen, the city's first sports bar, to Hot Rod's 50's Diner with its glowing neon signs and pinball machines. This family-owned retro diner offers over 80 burger varieties, including steak, chicken and vegan patties. Alcoa is covered in miles of greenways, offering locals a relaxing way to get from one end of the city to the other without having to get in the car. For driving, there is Alcoa Highway, also known as U.S. Route 129, which is a main arterial roadway on the National Highway system and a primary connector between Alcoa and Maryville to Knoxville. This highway corridor provides access to McGhee Tyson Airport, at the western end of the neighborhood, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For medical care, Blount Memorial Hospital is about 2 miles from Alcoa and specializes in multiple kinds of surgery, from plastic and reconstructive to colorectal or orthopedic. According to Huff, “Some of the key events for the city are Songs by the Brook, a local concert series, a kids' fishing derby and a kids' triathlon by the pond.” Songs by the Brook is a free event every other Thursday from August 17 to September 14 that focuses on folk and blues music from local musicians. The Duck Pond Fishing Derby for Kids and the “Gotta Tri” Kids Triathlon are significant events for getting active, with the derby offering prizes for the largest fish and the most fish caught for each age group. The triathlon offers a chance for locals to run, bike and get wet, with each participant getting a medal. “From summer to fall, the park is fully booked with events,” Huff says. The Alcoa neighborhood is dominated by the Arconic aluminum plant in the middle and the McGhee Tyson Airport to the west. This can result in a great deal of noise or an eye sore for residents closer to these facilities.