Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalists agree to sell for Kroger development

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

The congregation of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to sell their building and 3.6 acres to the developers of a new Kroger shopping center.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:01 a.m. Oct. 1.

It was a difficult decision for many, but members of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church voted overwhelmingly on Sunday to sell their building and 3.6 acres to make way for a new Kroger development that could open in 2014.

There were 169 votes in favor of selling and 12 opposed. The vote to sell required a two-thirds majority, or 120 votes.

The sale price for the heavily used property—a serene, wooded tract in the heart of Oak Ridge—has not been publicly disclosed.

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Kroger Marketplace to anchor shopping center at Illinois, Turnpike

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Note: This story was last updated at 12:09 p.m.

A Kroger Marketplace store could be the primary tenant at a new $30 million shopping center on the northeast corner of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

The new 113,000-square-foot store could open in the spring of 2014, according to a Thursday morning press release from the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The announcement ends months of community speculation about what was being proposed at the busy intersection.

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Unitarian church to consider moving for commercial development

Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

The congregation of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church will consider a commercial development company’s request to move.

A commercial development firm based in Georgia has asked members of a well-used Oak Ridge church if they would be willing to relocate, moving away from a busy intersection where a shopping center is planned.

The board of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church has agreed to have the congregation consider the offer, which was proposed by Blanchard and Calhoun of Augusta, Ga., minister Jake Morrill said Friday.

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