Note: This story was last updated at 10 p.m.
Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn and his brother Ryan are minority partners in the project to build apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site.
A motorsports park that could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres has been proposed at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge.
The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to consider a resolution expressing support for and interest in the project on Monday evening. The development of the test track and research facility could be on three lots at Horizon Center: parcels 5, 6, and 7. The project could include about 327 acres total.
If the resolution is approved Monday, it would be sent to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. The project could then be reviewed by the IDB, which could consider whether to sell the property. The IDB has contacted Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson’s office to determine City Council’s interest in the project, according to the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
H.E. Bittle III of Hardin Valley Land Partners told Oak Ridge officials in a February 2 letter that the planned motorsports park would have a road course “suitable for FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) sanctioned events, such as Formula E, Indy Car, IMSA, NASA, and other sanctioning bodies.”
Besides the race course, the motorsports park would have an amphitheater with a mix of permanent and lawn seating for more than 7,000 people, similar to the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Bittle said.
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The new DQ Grill & Chill in Oak Ridge will have a grand opening on Tuesday, and the celebration will include promotions, raffle prizes, and family fun, a press release said.
Here is the grand opening celebration schedule:
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United Grocery Outlet in west Oak Ridge is closing January 18.
“We are unable to provide our customers with the options we have at our other locations, and we are unable to sustain in our current environment,” the store said in a sign posted on its front door.
New hours went into effect today (Monday, January 6): Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
[Read more…]DQ Grill and Chill has opened a restaurant in Oak Ridge.
The restaurant opened Tuesday, December 3. It is at the intersection of South Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, where a Taco Bell restaurant used to be. The opening of the DQ Grill and Chill last week was announced by American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), franchisor of the DQ brand.
A grand opening celebration for the new restaurant is expected in late January 2020.
The new DQ Grill and Chill includes about 75 staff members, ranging from crew members to managers, a press release said. The restaurant and the drive-through will be open daily.
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The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, and it will be open through March.
With more than 30 vendors each week, the Winter Farmers’ Market is the largest one in Anderson County, a press release said.
This weekend’s opening is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, December 7, in the gym at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge.
This year, the Winter Farmers’ Market will extend an extra four weeks, through March 28, 2020. It is closed only on the Saturday after Christmas, December 28, the press release said.
“Our farmers grow a wide array of crops all winter long,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the nonprofit organization that produces the market.
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Note: This story was updated at 12:15 p.m.
A company that has a trial fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is collaborating with a joint venture led by GE with Hitachi to produce nuclear fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.
Cirrus Aircraft and Coquí Radio Pharmaceuticals could both use the proposed Oak Ridge Airport, a project consultant said Tuesday.
Oak Ridge Today has previously reported that Coquí Radio Pharmaceuticals Corporation could use the airport, which would have a 5,000-foot runway and be located at Heritage Center, the former K-25 site. Coquí has announced plans to build a $500 million medical isotope production facility at Heritage Center.
The company makes medical isotopes with a half-life of 62 hours, airport project consultant Billy Stair said at an Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Tuesday. Using the Oak Ridge Airport, rather than spending 42 minutes driving to McGhee Tyson Airport in Blount County, would save Coquí about $2.3 million per year, Stair said. It would also avoid the loss of about 1,000 doses per day of isotopes used for medical treatments, Stair said.
The Federal Aviation Administration conditionally approved the Oak Ridge Airport in March. That was a very significant step after four years of work, Stair said. The master plan has been approved; the precise location of the runway has been set; and a model of likely traffic has been developed.
As part of the conditional approval, the FAA wants an environmental assessment and a benefit-cost analysis.
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The Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge will be renovated and renamed, a housing developer and manager said this week.
Officials with LHP Capital LLC announced Tuesday that they have signed the last document necessary to close on the acquisition and renovation of Oak Ridge’s Frank Callaghan Towers. That’s a 110-unit affordable rental housing community for seniors 62 and older and adults with disabilities, and it is located at 115 Fairbanks Road in east Oak Ridge.
LHP will oversee more than $5.8 million in renovations to the property, which was originally constructed in the late 1970s, a press release said. The sale to LHP will assure preservation of the property’s affordability status under federal guidelines, the press release said. LHP will also manage the apartments.
The renovations to the property will begin immediately and will start with a new name, according to Carr Hagan, president, LHP Development, a division of Knoxville-based LHP Capital, a real estate development firm specializing in affordable housing.
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Note: This story was last updated at 5 p.m. Aug. 20.
Dairy Queen is coming to Oak Ridge.
The Dairy Queen will be located at the corner of Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, where a Taco Bell restaurant used to be. A new Taco Bell has been built east on the Turnpike, at the intersection with Bus Terminal Road.
Workers were at the Dairy Queen restaurant site on Monday, putting up a “DQ Coming Soon!” sign and unloading construction equipment.
[Read more…]The Federal Aviation Administration provided a conditional approval for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport in a February letter, a consultant said Thursday.
The conditions included in the February 22 letter included the completion of a benefit cost analysis and an environmental assessment for the airport property, project consultant Billy Stair said.
In response to the conditional approval, the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority’s board of directors approved a work authorization for CHA Consulting Inc. during a June 19 meeting. CHA Consulting, which has an office in Louisville, will provide professional services for “qualifications development and agency scoping” for the design, environmental assessment, and benefit cost analysis for the proposed airport.
“This puts in motion the process for undertaking the BCA (benefit cost analysis) and EA (environmental assessment),” Stair said.
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The Planet Fitness gym in Oak Ridge is tentatively scheduled to open July 30, the company said Wednesday.
“The 27,000-square-foot Oak Ridge club will offer state-of-the-art cardio machines and strength equipment, 30-Minute Express Circuit, fully equipped locker rooms with day lockers and showers, and numerous flat screen televisions,” according to a response to questions provided by Josh Gerber, vice president of marketing for PF Growth Partners LLC in Timonium, Maryland. “The club will also have a signature Black Card Spa area that will feature HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, tanning beds, a Total Body Enhancement booth and more.”
The club will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the company said. People can begin signing up online starting June 10, Planet Fitness said.
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