Oak Ridge Today

Planning Commission recommends revised Main Street plan

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A revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission was to discuss the proposed revisions during a work session on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission voted 7-1 on Thursday to recommend a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge to the Oak Ridge City Council.

Among the requested changes are building four stores along a sidewalk between PetSmart and JCPenney, removing the access road from Rutgers Avenue to the roundabout at Main Street Oak Ridge to allow those four stores to be built, removing the multi-family residential units that had been proposed in the area between Walmart and JCPenney, and including mixed-use development areas along Wilson Street as part of the third phase of the project.

Voting to recommend the revised plan were Planning Commission Chair Stephen Whitson and planning commissioners Jim Dodson, Charlie Hensley, Sharon Kohler, Claudia Lever, Roger Petrie, and Todd Wilson. Planning Commissioner Jane Shelton cast the only “no” vote.

Planning Commission approved the revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge during a roughly 1.5-hour discussion on Thursday. The meeting included discussions of sidewalks, parking lot configurations, pedestrian connections, and a possible traffic study.

[Read more…]

RealtyLink negotiating leases with three national tenants

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RealtyLink, the company developing Main Street Oak Ridge, is negotiating leases with three national tenants, construction director Brett Rogers, left, told the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday evening, April 25, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

RealtyLink, the company developing Main Street Oak Ridge, is negotiating leases with three national tenants, an executive said Thursday.

Brett Rogers, RealtyLink construction director, was responding to a question from former Oak Ridge City Council member Anne B. Garcia during a Planning Commission meeting on Thursday. She wanted to know if RealtyLink has contracts to occupy the four new proposed stores, or if changes to the project plan were being proposed on speculation.

Responding to that question, Rogers said the three large national tenants are committed to be in Oak Ridge.

“We just have to get them across the finish line,” he said in a brief interview after the meeting.

[Read more…]

Four new stores at Main Street could generate more than $600,000 in tax revenues, city says

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A revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission was to discuss the proposed revisions during a work session on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

The four new stores at Main Street Oak Ridge could create 150 jobs and generate more than $600,000 in sales and property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to calculations by the city’s economic development consultant.

The estimated new revenues could include $572,096 in sales tax revenues and $116,965 in property tax revenues for Oak Ridge and Anderson County, according to the calculations. The portion of new sales tax revenues for just Oak Ridge could total $385,158, according to the calculations.

The four new stores are part of a revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

A new version of that plan is scheduled to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. The economic benefit calculations for the new stores are included in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.

Here is the specific breakdown of the economic benefits of the four new stores, which could total 75,000 square feet, according to the calculations:

[Read more…]

Planning Commission to discuss revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge

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A revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will discuss the proposed revisions during a work session on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will again consider revisions to the plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The potential revisions will be discussed during a Planning Commission work session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

The most recent version of the revised plan is similar to what Oak Ridge officials have seen before with minor variations. Some things have been incorporated that were only discussed before, such as sidewalks.

After being discussed today, the potential changes could be considered by the Planning Commission for a recommendation to Oak Ridge City Council next week, during an April 18 meeting. The changes would be considered as an amendment to the planned unit development for Main Street Oak Ridge. Among other things, the revisions would replace proposed multifamily residential units near Rutgers Avenue with retailers, and they would propose mixed-use areas in a future phase along Wilson Street.

[Read more…]

City estimates monthly revenue loss for Main Street delay at about $100,000

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Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

 

The city has estimated about a $100,000 revenue loss per month for each month that the next phase of the Main Street Oak Ridge project is delayed.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson provided the rough estimate of probable sales tax revenues per month, based on “quick calculations,” to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board on Monday and League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The project was delayed in January when the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 in its second and final vote to reject a revised plan that had been drafted as the developer, RealtyLink, prepared to welcome a second wave of tenants to the 58-acre site.

It hasn’t been clear since then what might happen next or whether there will still be a second phase.

But on Monday, Watson said he has talked to RealtyLink, and on Tuesday, he said, “I think we will see a re-submittal.” [Read more…]

DOE needs more time for K-25 history projects

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An outside view showing the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

An image published in October 2017 shows the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy is requesting more time to complete projects to commemorate the historic contributions of the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.

Built during World War II, the K-25 site helped enrich uranium for the first atomic bomb used in wartime as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The plant continued to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants after the war, and those who have worked at the site have said it helped win the Cold War.

The history of the site will be honored by preserving the concrete slab of the former K-25 Building, building a Viewing Tower and replica Equipment Building on the south side of the building site, and opening a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the adjacent Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4.

A historical interpretation agreement was signed in August 2012. But it expires this August. And the roughly $20 million worth of projects won’t be complete by then.

DOE is making “good progress,” but “the reality is we need a little more time,” said Dave Adler, acting deputy manager for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. Adler and Steve Cooke, K-25 preservation coordinator for DOE, briefly discussed the proposed amendment to the agreement during a Tuesday evening work session with the Oak Ridge City Council. [Read more…]

Work starts on next phase of Rails to Trails

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The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The former CSX railway is pictured near Jefferson Middle School in central Oak Ridge on Dec. 30, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Work has started on the next phase of Rails to Trails, a project to convert a former CSX railroad into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway in the center of Oak Ridge.

After about six months of discussions, the City of Oak Ridge has a right of entry, which allows geotechnical and surveying work to be done on the former railroad, said Jon Hetrick, director of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department. Geotechnical work allows holes to be bored in the ground for subsurface studies.

The survey and geotechnical work is being done by A. Morton Thomas and Associates of Kingsport. The Oak Ridge City Council awarded a $358,317 contract to that company in May. A. Morton Thomas is to provide environmental testing, master planning, design and engineering of the trail, and help with construction bidding.

After a Tuesday evening City Council work session, Hetrick said the geotechnical and survey work is required under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. The city hopes to have the NEPA phase approved through the Tennessee Department of Transportation by August, Hetrick said. [Read more…]

(For members) Retiring Bull Run, Paradise could save millions, more than $1 billion in ‘lifetime costs’

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The Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The coal-burning Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton and Paradise Fossil Plant Unit 3 in Kentucky are not economical to operate, and retiring them will offer a savings of about $320 million and avoid more than $1 billion in capital costs, the Tennessee Valley Authority said Thursday.

The TVA Board of Directors voted 6-1 to close Paradise Unit 3 and unanimously agreed to close Bull Run during a meeting in Chattanooga on Thursday. Paradise could close by December 2020, and Bull Run is expected to close by December 2023.

The Bull Run and Paradise closures will be the first 1,700 megawatts of coal plant retirements of the 2,600 megawatts that could be retired through 2033 under a 2015 integrated resource plan, TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson told the board.

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Council, DOE to discuss proposed amendment to historical interpretation agreement

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The Oak Ridge City Council and U.S. Department of Energy will discuss a proposed amendment to a historical interpretation agreement on Tuesday evening.

The agenda for the non-voting Council work session does not give the purpose of the proposed amendment or say what it might do.

But it appears that the proposed amendment could be related to historical interpretation at the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge because one of the DOE representatives scheduled to talk to Council is Steve Cooke, K-25 preservation coordinator for the U.S. Department of Energy. Also scheduled to talk to Council is Dave Adler, acting deputy manager for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. [Read more…]

TVA to brief Council on possible closure of Bull Run Fossil Plant

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The Tennessee Valley Authority's Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Tennessee Valley Authority will talk to the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday about the potential closure of the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton.

The informational briefing is scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, February 11, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room at 200 South Tulane Avenue. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge dispatch switches to encrypted radio system

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Oak Ridge dispatchers and emergency workers switched to a new radio system last week that uses encrypted communications, and access is restricted to public safety employees.

That means that people who have listened to Oak Ridge police and fire communications, among other radio transmissions, on scanners and scanner apps but aren’t public safety employees such as police officers or firefighters will no longer be able to listen. That includes reporters.

“For the safety of our officers, the Police Department does not have any plans at this time to allow access to the radio system beyond public safety employees,” City of Oak Ridge spokesperson Sarah Self said in a brief statement Tuesday, January 29.

The switch was apparently made at about 1 p.m. Monday, January 28. Oak Ridge Today has not heard Oak Ridge dispatchers on the radio since then.

Oak Ridge Today asked what steps the city will take to ensure that people continue to stay informed at least about major police and fire incidents since reporters and the public will no longer be able to listen to emergency communications. [Read more…]

Council members suggest next steps for Main Street Oak Ridge

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Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

 

Oak Ridge City Council members on Tuesday suggested next steps for Main Street Oak Ridge. The discussion occurred about a week after Council rejected a revised plan for the second phase of the project in a 4-3 vote, creating uncertainty about what will happen next. The Tuesday evening discussion was meant to help guide Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson in his conversations with RealtyLink, the developer.

The four City Council members who voted against the revised plan expressed a range of concerns on Tuesday that included having a main entrance, ensuring that there is a way to get into and see the center of Main Street, and making sure the project is walkable and has a comprehensive system of sidewalks. Individually or collectively, they objected to the proposed layout of the buildings as the site prepared to welcome a second wave of tenants, advocated for a public forum on the project, and mentioned the importance of mixed-use development. (Mixed-use developments can include retailers and residential and commercial units, among other possibilities.)

The three Council members who voted for the revised plan continued to stress the potential benefits of welcoming four new national retailers to Oak Ridge, pointed out that RealtyLink has spent tens of millions of dollars here, and emphasized the importance of the potential sales tax revenues. They said those revenues will be crucial to help pay off such debts as the renovation of Oak Ridge High School. That debt is expected to spike in 2022 and 2023, about the same time as the city will permanently lose its revenues from the state’s Hall income tax, Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch said.

Gooch issued a dire warning about the possibility of city inaction bringing the project to a standstill on Tuesday.

“The clock is running, and it’s going to impact us going forward,” Gooch said. “I view this as absolutely imperative to go forward. The fiscal viability of this city is at risk.”

The Council members who have raised concerns and voted against the revised plan on Monday, January 14, have stressed the importance of making sure that the city and developer pursue the best development option. They have said they want to ensure the project’s long-term success.

Here is a summary of some of the city officials’ comments from the Tuesday night non-voting work session: [Read more…]