Vince Guarino, Advisor

11/09/2025

Great and small. Capital keeps coming to Knoxville.

$6.6 Million Investment to Create 94 New Jobs in Knox County Aqua Membranes, an Albuquerque-based leader in reverse osmosis (RO) membrane manufacturing, announced plans to establish its first facility outside New Mexico in Knoxville, Tennessee. The $6.6 million investment will create 94 new jobs and...

10/31/2025

Monterey County California, in my 20 years of residence in that beautiful place, never was able to produce adequate affordable housing . There were agricultural workers living in caves. The population density in Salinas was higher than NYC. The underlying incentives not to build were too high. These provided by an array of antigrowth advocates with billions to spend in the interest of protecting the environment from human occupation.

The Knox County is very similar Monterey County in population.
Here though there is a real balance between environmental protection and human needs. This year alone more affordable housing has come on line in Knox County than that which occurred in my whole 20 years in Monterey County, CA. https://www.wate.com/news/knox-county-news/list-affordable-housing-opened-in-knoxville-in-2025/

04/18/2025

Last week flew to Washington, DC on HonorAir Knoxville with 130 other East TN military veterans. The majority were Viet Nam guys, many of whom were not admired when they returned in the 1970's Some are still burdened with the experience of war. Having no Nam service I did not think qualified for HonorAir. They thought otherwise and invited me to several days of greatly positive conversations with the other vets and yesterday a tour of every war memorial in DC.. Everywhere we went those men received the respect they had earned. plane crews, gate crews, bus drivers, people on the street, high school tour groups meeting us on paths to monuments. Our US Senator Marsha Blackburn. And on return to Knoxville around 500 hundred greeters of all ages lining the arrival walk with smiles, applause, outstretched hands and gifts. https://www.facebook.com/honorair/

Over 60 years ago a remarkable generation of Americans joined forces to protect civilization in the largest war in world history. No amount of gratitude could ever repay the debt for the gift of democracy these veterans gave the world.

10/30/2024

East Tennessee is “fly over” country for many Americas. Especially those businesspeople traveling between the West and East Coasts. If they associate anything with the Knoxville metro area it is Dollywood or perhaps the Smoky Mountains National Park. Recreation, yes. But commercial real estate investment? Why?
Here is a link to the “Why?” Knoxville Metro has a lot of jobs and is creating more all the time. The biggest single employer is a federal payroll at the nearby Oak Ridge National Lab and Uranium Enrichment Plant. Those dependable dollars are just the icing on a broad-based diversified economy. Knox Metro also provides thousands of jobs in automotive equipment manufacturing, logistics, higher education, medicine and tech. Granted, some of the techs are small start-ups spinning off from Oak Ridge. Still, the spinners choose to stay in Knoxville’s attractive lifestyle much as happened to Austin, TX forty years ago.

Some Knoxville companies, like Pilot and TVA, have workforces big enough to make the list but aren't included because most employees are outside the region.

10/28/2024

A lot is being written about companies and people moving to Tennessee for opportunity. This article from the Knoxville News Sentinel speaks to the massive investment Denso has already made in the Knoxville metro which continues to grow.

DENSO, an auto parts giant, headquartered in Japan, will begin producing HVAC systems in McMinn County.

08/18/2023

Excellent retail space in Maryville, TN. At the traffic circle on East Broadway in rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.

https://www.etnrcre.com/jsp/search/results.jsp?init=1&tab=&searchType=ACTIVE_LISTINGS&street1=East+Broadway&locationQuery=Maryville&keyword=&size_min=&size_max=&size_units=5602&numberOfUnits_min=&numberOfUnits_max=&salePrice_min=&salePrice_max=&leasePrice_min=&leasePrice_max= =3|p=1,50|ls=800|c=searchType:ACTIVE_LISTINGS;street1:East%20Broadway;search2:true;city:USA/7CTN/7CMaryville;propertyType:;subtype:;searchFilter_include_non_member_listings:no;|ac=SearchType,StreetAddress,Keyword,Location:[{country/3A%22USA%22/2Cstate/3A%22TN%22/2Ccity/3A%22Maryville%22}],PropertyType,SalePrice,LeasePrice,Size,SaleLease,AdditionalListings|gs=0|h=|d=80_4899454|tl=1519%20East%20Broadway%20Avenue%20-%20Motion%20Consulting%20Building/2C%20Suite/3A%202|hid=1|

08/18/2023

Rare Commercially Zoned high traffic count location in Knoxville's high demographic West.

https://www.etnrcre.com/jsp/search/results.jsp?init=1&tab=&searchType=ACTIVE_LISTINGS&street1=Concord+Road&locationQuery=&keyword=&size_min=&size_max=&size_units=5602&numberOfUnits_min=&numberOfUnits_max=&salePrice_min=&salePrice_max=&leasePrice_min=&leasePrice_max= =3|p=1,50|c=searchType:ACTIVE_LISTINGS;street1:Concord%20Road;search2:true;propertyType:;subtype:;searchFilter_include_non_member_listings:no;|ac=SearchType,StreetAddress,Keyword,Location:[],PropertyType,SalePrice,LeasePrice,Size,SaleLease,AdditionalListings|gs=0|h=|d=55_30850128|tl=Concord%20Road%20near%20S.%20Northshore%20Dr%20Round%20About%20Intersection|hid=1|

08/18/2023

In zoned multi-family land short Knoxville a potential for a 15 acre rezone exists.

https://www.etnrcre.com/jsp/search/results.jsp?init=1&tab=&searchType=ACTIVE_LISTINGS&street1=Maynardville+Pike&locationQuery=&keyword=&size_min=&size_max=&size_units=5602&numberOfUnits_min=&numberOfUnits_max=&saleOnly=true&salePrice_min=&salePrice_max=&leasePrice_min=&leasePrice_max= =3|p=1,50|c=searchType:ACTIVE_LISTINGS;street1:Maynardville%20Pike;search2:true;propertyType:;subtype:;saleOnly:1;searchFilter_include_non_member_listings:no;|ac=SearchType,StreetAddress,Keyword,Location:[],PropertyType,SalePrice,Size,SaleLease,AdditionalListings|gs=0|h=|d=55_30848608|tl=Maynardville%20Pike%20Multi-Family%20Appropriate%20Land|hid=1|

06/06/2023

One of the reasons we chose Knoxville 12 years ago was its similarity with our hometown Austin Texas. Twelve years ago there was a strong analogy between Austin of the late 70's with todays Knoxville. Other eyes now see the same thing as this article reveals.

Knoxville has a great foundation to become a tech mecca. Now, a regional network of fast, frequent trains would take it to the next level.

04/14/2023

As of April 1, 2023 Wallace dropped its Coldwell Banker franchise . We are now Wallace Commercial Real Estate. No changes in personnel or place. We are here we have always been, doing what we have always done.

04/14/2023

https://www.knoxvillechamber.com/wallace-re-launches-as-largest-independent-real-estate-firm-in-east-tennessee/

Knoxville firm announces departure from Coldwell Banker and plans for growth Coldwell Banker Wallace has become Wallace and is now the largest independent real estate firm headquartered in East Tennessee [...]Read More...

03/02/2023

Apartment developers from all over the US have been calling me for three years+. Why? Read here.

The National Association of Realtors showed Knoxville's rent grew faster than any other city, beating out cities like Fort Myers and Asheville.