The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Volunteer Crossfit, 138 Midway Lane, on Monday, Dec. 10. (Photo by Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce)
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce hosted a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Volunteer Crossfit, 138 Midway Lane, on Monday, December 10. Here is a photo by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
Ernest Moniz
Note: This story was last updated at 12:10 p.m.
U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will attend the land transfer ceremony for the American Museum of Science and Energy property in Oak Ridge next week.
The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, December 30. Also expected to attend are U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann and City of Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch.
It’s a signing ceremony to formally transfer the roughly 17-acre AMSE site from the U.S. Department of Energy to the City of Oak Ridge.
Under an agreement unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on December 13, the city is then expected to transfer the property in two phases to a company set up by RealtyLink, the South Carolina firm building Main Street Oak Ridge at the site of the former Oak Ridge Mall. [Read more…]
A rendering of East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, in 2020, when cleanup there is scheduled for completion. ETTP offers robust infrastructure and multiple parcels spanning hundreds of acres, capable of attracting and supporting large-scale industry, according to DOE. (Photo courtesy DOE)
Note: This is an edited version of a story by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.
A re-industrialization program that was the first of its kind and converts federal property to private-sector use celebrated 20 years this month.
The re-industrialization program was designed to attract new industries and jobs to a former uranium enrichment complex.
Through the program, the U.S. Department of Energy has transferred hundreds of acres to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, or CROET, and the City of Oak Ridge to create two private-sector industrial parks, the 1,200-acre Heritage Center and the 1,000-acre Horizon Center.
Heritage Center is at the former K-25 site, which was built during World War II and was once used to enrich uranium in west Oak Ridge. Horizon Center is a few miles east of Heritage Center. [Read more…]
The American Museum of Science and Energy property is pictured above in central Oak Ridge. The wide road running vertically at center-right through the aerial photo is South Tulane Avenue. Main Street Oak Ridge is being built on the right side of South Tulane Avenue at the former Oak Ridge Mall. The road running horizontally at bottom is South Illinois Avenue. AMSE is the brown-roofed building at top-center.
Note: This story was last updated at 11 p.m.
The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the transfer of the American Museum of Science and Energy property. The roughly 17.42 acres will be transferred from the U.S. Department of Energy to the City of Oak Ridge. It could then be transferred in two phases to a company set up by the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.
Under the agreement, the AMSE missions will be relocated within about one year to 18,000 square feet of space in a two-story building that once housed a Sears store next to JCPenney at Main Street Oak Ridge. That space, once finished, will be provided by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a Main Street Oak Ridge company, to the city at no cost for 15 years.
The city will, in turn, sublease the former Sears space to DOE at no charge for 15 years, and it can be used for the public outreach and education missions now conducted at AMSE—as well as for a temporary visitor center for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. That visitor center is now housed at AMSE.
[Read more…]
The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. (File photo by Sara Wise)
Note: This story was updated at 2:45 p.m.
The American Museum of Science and Energy property could be transferred to the City of Oak Ridge and then to a developer under a resolution to be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday.
The City Council will consider whether to accept the 17.12-acre AMSE site from the U.S. Department of Energy during a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 13, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The Council will also consider whether to enter into certain agreements with TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC. That company was set up by RealtyLink, the developer building Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall.
The potential property transfer, the latest in a series of AMSE discussions dating back to at least 2003, was endorsed by City Council this summer as part of the Main Street Oak Ridge redevelopment. Council agreed to allow City Manager Mark Watson to negotiate the AMSE property transfer with DOE and RealtyLink.
On Monday, Watson said the city has submitted a property transfer proposal to DOE, and the federal government has accepted the terms. In order to take effect, the City Council has to approve it.
If the transfer is approved, TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC would provide Oak Ridge with 18,000 square feet of space at Main Street Oak Ridge at no cost for 15 years. The city would pay no rent, maintenance, taxes, or utilities. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade was Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. (Photo by Eli Welton)
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas Parade was Saturday. Here are photos by Eli Welton. [Read more…]
Protomet Corporation is pictured above in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Officials are celebrating the sale of federal land east of Oak Ridge National Laboratory that could be used to help an industrial company expand.
The 20-acre parcel had been owned by the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. The property is adjacent to the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge and west of Protomet. The company had sought the property for a planned expansion.
The parcel was sold to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, or IDB, on October 20.
The IDB, which served as a conduit, then sold the land to Protomet. The company is evaluating the site as one option as it plans for a $30 million expansion that could add 200 jobs over a five-year period. [Read more…]
The new Winter Farmers Market in Oak Ridge opened in the gym at St. Mary’s School on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. The Farmers Market is open Saturdays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s from December through February. (Photo by Julio Culiat)
The new Winter Farmers Market in Oak Ridge opened in the gym at St. Mary’s School on Saturday, December 3. The Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., December through February.
The new Winter Farmers Market, by Grow Oak Ridge LLC, features items from hand-roasted coffee to hydroponically raised tilapia. It brings more than 40 local food and artisan vendors indoors for the first time ever in the Secret City, organizers said.
The St. Mary’s School gym is at 323 Vermont Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Submitted
Come and enjoy a diverse holiday experience at Jackson Square and explore unique gifts created by regional crafters and artisans, fun activities for kids, food, visits with Santa, and much more. It all takes place on Saturday, December 3, beginning with a Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sponsored by the Jackson Square Association and United Way of Anderson County, the Holiday Market will fill Jackson Square with tables of handmade crafts, artisans’ wares, and vintage goodies to help one find those specials gifts for those on one’s holiday gift giving list. Several Jackson Square businesses will also be open to offer their unique items for sale.
Oak Ridge’s youth will be in action throughout the day, providing music by performing in various choral groups, the Oak Ridge High School Brass Quintet, and other music offerings. [Read more…]
Protomet Corporation is pictured above in the Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Jeff Bohanan
Protomet Corporation has purchased about 20 acres of former federal land on Bethel Valley Road in south Oak Ridge, and the company is evaluating that property as one option as it plans for a $30 million expansion that could add 200 jobs over a five-year period.
On Tuesday, Protomet founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bohanan said the company prefers to stay in Oak Ridge, but there is no guarantee. The 19.47-acre parcel on Bethel Valley Road will have to be cut and filled, and drainage will have to be redirected, Bohanan said. It’s not clear yet how much that work might cost.
Protomet needs about 100,000 square feet for its expansion, which was announced in February. Protomet now has 70 workers in a 40,000-square-foot building on eight acres, so the company could more than triple in size.
“The new facility will dramatically increase Protomet’s capacity and capabilities for the customers it serves,” Bohanan said. “We have already started purchasing equipment for the new facility, and some of it is already in use at our current facility.”
Protomet bought the Bethel Valley Road land from the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board for $103,000 on October 20. The property, which was previously owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, is west of Protomet and east of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“This is a big step in our ability to evaluate this site as an option,” Bohanan said. [Read more…]
Work continued on the new Belk entrance and parking lot on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2016. The goal has been to complete that portion of the work at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall, by Thanksgiving. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The new sign is up and the new parking lot paved at Belk as work proceeds quickly at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.
With the exception of Belk and JCPenney, the mall has been demolished, and there has significant progress on the sites where new stores will be built.
First, on Saturday, concrete stands in the parking lot in front of Belk were almost finished, and some lighting poles and fixtures were installed, said Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge. The goal has been to finish the new Belk entrance and its new parking lot by Thanksgiving.
Second, there was work on piping for interior utilities where Electronic Express and PetSmart will be located between JCPenney and Walmart on South Rutgers Avenue.
Third, the pad had been completed and a stone base put down where Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx will be built between Walmart and the U.S. Post Office on South Tulane Avenue, in the area of the former Sears department store. [Read more…]
The sign at the Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on December 16, 2014. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC achieved a significant increase in contracting with small businesses during fiscal year 2016, eclipsing its small business contracting goals and awarding more than $276 million at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.
The small business dollars awarded represented an increase of more than $36 million over fiscal year 2015 figures, and were 67 percent of all funding awarded, exceeding CNS’ fiscal year 2016 goal of awarding 55 percent of all procurement dollars, a press release said.
CNS uses small businesses in a range of diverse roles, from staff augmentation services to construction support work, the press release said. [Read more…]
