With renovations under way, hundreds shop at Alexander Inn estate sale

May 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Alexander Inn Estate Sale

Hundreds of people lined up at the Alexander Inn on Saturday for an estate sale, an unprecedented opportunity to buy items ranging from bed frames and Bibles to chairs and chandeliers, before the vacant, historic hotel is converted into an assisted living center. (Photo by Don Hunnicutt)

Renovations have started at the historic Alexander Inn, and on Saturday, hundreds of people shopped at an estate sale at the vacant, two-story hotel, taking advantage of an unprecedented opportunity to buy items from the 1940s to the 1980s, including bed frames and Bibles, chairs and chandeliers, and dishes and dressers.

Halfway through the three-hour sale, a project executive estimated that more than 500 people had attended. At one point, the line of people waiting to get in stretched from the hotel, located on East Madison Road, to Kentucky Avenue, said Rick Dover, general manager of Family Pride, which has proposed converting the dilapidated hotel into an assisted living center. [Read more...]

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Continuous Threads has summer sewing camps

May 28, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Continuous Threads Sewing Studio in Oak Ridge will offer summer sewing camps beginning June 10 and ending the week of July 29.

Sewing camps will meet daily from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Each week-long camp is designed for boys and girls ages nine and up who want to learn how to sew using hand sewing and machine techniques. During the course of a given camp week, students will make new friends and learn skills involving math, design, and even history, a press release said. [Read more...]

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Farmer’s Market starts Saturday in Oak Ridge, opens new Knoxville location

April 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

When the farmer’s market season begins this month, there will be another location for shoppers to find locally grown produce. The East Tennessee Association for Retail Marketing, or FARM, will operate two market locations in Knoxville this year, as well as continuing the Oak Ridge market.

FARM will launch this season on Friday, April 12, at 3 p.m. at the Laurel Church of Christ at 3457 Kingston Pike, across from Cherokee Boulevard. The Oak Ridge market will open Saturday, April 13, at 8 a.m., across from historic Jackson Square. On Tuesday, April 16, the new Knoxville location will open at 3 p.m. at Ebenezer United Methodist Church at 1001 Ebenezer Road. [Read more...]

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Council unanimously approves $150,000 contract for Jackson Square work

February 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Jackson Square Revitalization

A concept plan by Benefield Richters of Knoxville for the $1 million revitalization of historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.

After a brief discussion Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council unanimously agreed to award a $150,000 contract to a company that will help in the first phase of a $1 million project to redevelop Jackson Square, the city’s original town center.

The contract for design services was awarded to Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineering Inc. of Knoxville. V&M will help with services ranging from deed research and field surveys to preliminary plans and construction estimates.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said V&M has helped with the redevelopment of Gay Street in Knoxville.

The work is part of a project funded with help from a Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was announced by Gov. Bill Haslam in Jackson Square in June 2012.

[Read more...]

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Council considers first phase of $1 million Jackson Square redevelopment

February 7, 2013 By 2 Comments
Jackson Square Revitalization

A concept plan by Benefield Richters of Knoxville for the $1 million revitalization of historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge City Council members on Monday will consider awarding a $150,000 contract to a company that could help in the first phase of a $1 million project to redevelop Jackson Square, the city’s original town center.

The contract for design services could be awarded to Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineering Inc. of Knoxville. V&M could help with services ranging from deed research and field surveys to preliminary plans and construction estimates.

The work is part of a project funded with help from a Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was announced by Gov. Bill Haslam in Jackson Square in June 2012.

[Read more...]

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Young Professionals ‘cash mob’ at Ferrell Shop on Saturday

November 14, 2012 By 2 Comments

The Young Professionals of Oak Ridge will have its fourth quarterly “cash mob” on Saturday at The Ferrell Shop in Jackson Square.

A cash mob is an event designed to provide an economic boost to a deserving local business. Everyone in the community is encouraged to participate, a YPOR press release said.

Saturday’s cash mob is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Owner Barbara Ferrell is excited that her business, which is celebrating 30 years, was chosen.

“We plan to have hot spiced cider, and a sampling of some of the food items we sale,” Ferrell said.

The Ferrell Shop sells candles, greeting cards, toiletries and soap, tabletop items, as well as toys, kitchenware, calendars, and ornaments, an announcement said.

Past cash mobs have included The Epicurean, Downtown Hardware, Mickey’s Produce, and J&M Butcher shop. All of them have seen an increase in sales on the day of the cash mob as well as weeks and months after, the press release said.

One business owner said the cash mobs have helped reach new, younger customers.

The Ferrell Shop is located in the Historic Jackson Square. Earlier this year, Oak Ridge was awarded a $798,687 grant to be used in the revitalization efforts for the square. One goal of the grant is to stimulate economic diversification in the Jackson Square District, with an objective of increasing spending in Jackson Square by 25 percent during the next five years, the press release said.

“Our organization aims to encourage our members to eat, shop, play and live local,” it said.

For more information, call The Ferrell Shop at (865) 483-0961 or visit ypor.org.

The Ferrell Shop is located at 235 Jackson Square.

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City starts search for Jackson Square design firm this week

October 15, 2012 By 1 Comment
TDOT Commissioner John Schroer Tours Jackson Square

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer, left, tours Jackson Square on Monday with Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, center, and City Manager Mark Watson.

The search for a company to help transform historic Jackson Square with the help of an $800,000 grant could start this week, Oak Ridge officials said Monday.

The city plans to release a request for proposals, or RFP, for consulting engineers this week, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. The winning firm will help design and configure the new square, and meet with the public. Picking a company could take three to four weeks, Watson said.

A separate company will be selected to do an environmental review of historic buildings at Jackson Square, Oak Ridge’s original town center.

The redevelopment of the square will use a roughly $800,000 state award of federal highway money to improve the parking lot on Broadway Avenue, build and repair sidewalks, add trees and pedestrian lighting, and make the square an “attractive, landscaped plaza and parking area.”

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer toured the square on Monday afternoon with TDOT and local officials, but he declined to put a timeline on the project, which requires a local funding match of $200,000.

Watson said it would take at least 18 months to get to the construction bidding stage.

[Read more...]

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TDOT commissioner tours Jackson Square today

October 15, 2012 By 3 Comments
John Schroer

John Schroer

Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer will stop in Jackson Square Monday afternoon as part of a four-day tour of projects in East Tennsseee.

Schroer is scheduled to be at Big Ed’s Pizza in Jackson Square at 2:30 p.m. The square, Oak Ridge’s original commercial center, was recently awarded an $800,000 transportation enhancement grant for parking lots, sidewalks, benches, and bicycle racks.

During this week’s tour, Schroer, elected officials, and transportation officials will travel by bus to view TDOT projects currently under way and those listed on the department’s “Three Year Program.”

Schroer began his “TDOT Projects Tour” in TDOT’s Region One. The Region One Tour starts in Morgan County today and ends in Sullivan County on Thursday.

For more information on the “TDOT Projects Tour”, visit www.tn.gov/tdot/tour/.

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Taste of Oak Ridge raises about $2,500 for Free Medical Clinic

September 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

About 500 people enjoyed food and music at Saturday’s Taste of Oak Ridge in Jackson Square, organizers said.

Now in its fourth year, Taste of Oak Ridge is an annual fundraiser held by the Jackson Square Business Association to benefit The Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge. This year’s five-hour festival raised about $2,500 for the clinic, the most so far, a press release said.

The Free Medical Clinic serves low-income, uninsured residents of Anderson and Roane counties.

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Oak Ridge celebrates 70th birthday at Jackson Square this afternoon

September 19, 2012 By 1 Comment

Oak Ridge will celebrate its 70th birthday today with historic displays and talks in Jackson Square, special games and activities, a preservation award, and a special free showing of “Fat Man and Little Boy.”

Gen. Leslie R. Groves selected the area that is now Oak Ridge—it was then 90 square miles of East Tennessee farmland—as the first site for Manhattan Project facilities on Sept. 19, 1942. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

The 70th birthday festivities kick off at 3 p.m. today in Jackson Square.

[Read more...]

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Oak Ridge celebrates 70th birthday on Sept. 19

September 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge will celebrate its 70th birthday on Sept. 19 with historic displays and talks in Jackson Square, special games and activities, a preservation award, and a special free showing of “Fat Man and Little Boy.”

A press release said Gen. Leslie R. Groves selected the area that is now Oak Ridge—it was then 90 square miles of East Tennessee farmland—as the first site for Manhattan Project facilities on Sept. 19, 1942. The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II.

[Read more...]

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Taste of Oak Ridge on Sept. 22 in Jackson Square

September 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The fourth annual Taste of Oak Ridge on Sept. 22 in Jackson Square will feature food samples from local restaurants, music, and the opportunity to help a local medical facility, a press release said.

Restaurants that will take part include Dean’s Restaurant, Gondolier, The Market House, Razzleberry Lab and Kitchen, The Soup Kitchen, Time Out Deli, and The Other One. RNfit Weight Management will be offering samples as well.

[Read more...]

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