A long-idle car wash lot on N. Gallaher View Road in West Knoxville is being rebuilt into a 14,000-square-foot retail strip, and zoning paperwork suggests one of its tenants could be an indoor playground. Construction crews were photographed working the 321 N. Gallaher View Road site on August 4, with the property now shaping up into a multi-tenant commercial center just steps from the Sam's Club gas station.
According to the City of Knoxville, the 0.67-acre parcel went before the Board of Zoning Appeals in December 2025 under case BZA-25-0080, where the owner sought variances to shrink the required rear setback next to residential zoning from 30 feet to 19 feet and to reduce a Class B buffer yard from 20 feet down to 3.8 feet. As reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel, the site is being transformed into a strip mall and parking lot on what was formerly a car wash.
Zoning documents cited by the paper break down the planned retail space into a 7,000-square-foot section labeled GiggleTown, a 5,000-square-foot section left unnamed, and a smaller 2,000-square-foot section. KGIS reportedly lists the property under the GiggleTown name as well. GiggleTown operates indoor children's play and entertainment centers featuring soft play equipment, ball pits with slides, toddler activity zones, and private party rooms, according to Cybo, with two locations currently in Georgia — though the Knoxville News Sentinel notes the Knoxville listing's connection to that business is attributed only to the similar name appearing in the filings.
Site Plans Show Parking, Retaining Walls and a Drive-Thru
Site layout concept plans completed by Sprinkle Engineering LLC in November 2025 call for a 17,200-square-foot parking area with 45 parking spaces, according to KGIS — more than the 42 spaces municipal guidelines require for a 14,000-square-foot multi-tenant development. The plans also include two retaining walls ranging from 4 to 10 feet tall and a paved drive-thru lane.
Knoxville Board of Zoning Appeals documents list Jay Patel as the property owner. Records reviewed by the Knoxville News Sentinel show Elkcreek LLC purchased the property for $900,000 in April. The Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission followed up in July, certifying an administrative subdivision plat under File 4-B-26 that resubdivided Lot 1 of the Walker Springs Company property to formalize the lot lines for the 0.67-acre site.
A Commercial Corridor Built for Heavy Traffic
The lot sits in a C-R-2 Regional Commercial zone, a City of Knoxville classification meant for medium- to large-scale commercial projects that serve local and regional markets and handle high traffic volumes. That fits the location: the parcel sits along N. Gallaher View Road between Interstate 40 and Middlebrook Pike, directly next to the retail development anchored by Sam's Club and Walmart, according to commercial listings on LoopNet. Traffic impact studies for nearby Gallaher View Road developments have shown high daily vehicle counts tied to the interstate interchange and surrounding apartment complexes, per the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission.
That residential density is a big part of the pitch for retail infill here — commercial listings show roughly 1,677 apartment units surrounding the property, making it one of West Knoxville's densest residential pockets. It's not the first time Jay Patel has brought a commercial proposal to Knoxville planning bodies; in 2023 he submitted plans for a 5,000-square-foot Shell Food Mart convenience store and gas station near Middlebrook Pike and Lonas Drive, according to Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission records.
Public filings don't yet confirm an opening date for the Gallaher View Road project, and the identities of the tenants filling the unnamed 5,000-square-foot and 2,000-square-foot sections remain unannounced. For now, the site remains under active construction, with the GiggleTown name attached in zoning paperwork the only real clue about what's coming to the neighborhood next.
