• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

Loudon company wants to use Alexander Inn as assisted living center

Posted at 10:37 am September 28, 2012
By John Huotari 2 Comments

A Loudon company has proposed converting the historic but run-down Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge into a $6 million, 60-unit assisted living senior center.

Family Pride Corp. has requested a 90 percent, 10-year tax property tax break on the three-acre site. Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board members will be briefed on the proposal Monday and consider recommending it to City Council during a special Oct. 11 meeting.

Family Pride would work with InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville to redevelop the two-story hotel, which was built during World War II as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project.

“While virtually all parties agree that ‘rebirth’ of the historic Alexander Inn is vitally important to Oak Ridge, no past effort has come to fruition,” the companies said in their application for a tax break, officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement. “With the city’s assistance, we are certain we can return it to its former glory, and at the same time, position it to be a significant contributor to the local economy.”

Family Pride said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break “in light of extreme blight, environmental hazards, deterioration, and codes issues resulting from neglect, deferred maintenance, and past public policy impacts.”

The public improvements would include a new road to reroute public traffic that now drives through the Alexander Inn property, relocation of a public storm sewer running under the building, environmental remediation, building stabilization and code compliance, and demolition of the unsafe ballroom area, the application said.

The U.S. Department of Energy is providing $500,000 for the rehabilitation through a grant to East Tennessee Preservation Alliance as part of a recent agreement that allows the complete demolition of the former uranium-enriching K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge.

“While incredibly helpful to this effort, the total of public improvements, purchase assistance and building stabilization will require additional funding to make the project viable,” the application said.

The companies could also apply for federal historic tax credits.

In its application, Family Pride said it has converted two hospitals and one school in Loudon and Lenoir City into assisted living centers. InSite has mostly focused on adapting historic buildings in downtown Knoxville, including the Mast General Store, into mixed-use commercial and residential facilities.

The two award-winning firms are teaming up to restore a long-vacant school in Knoxville’s Oakwood neighborhood into an assisted-living center.

“Similar to the Alexander Inn, Oakwood School was (a) once-proud neighborhood landmark that had deteriorated into an eyesore,” the application said.

The Alexander Inn is now owned by the Oak Ridge Revitalization Effort and could be purchased for $350,000. The assisted living center would be called Alexander Senior Living of Oak Ridge. It would include a wing for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

It would employ 40 people, have an annual payroll of $900,000, and an annual economic impact of more than $2.7 million, the application said.

Also known as The Guest House, the hotel once hosted such dignitaries as physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, and Secretary of War Henry Stimson. It’s been shut down for about two decades.

Some have argued that the building is beyond repair, but the two companies said they have successfully rehabilitated other properties that were as dilapidated—or worse.

They said assisted living is the best of the “realistic re-uses for the building,” in terms of neighborhood revitalization and economic impact.

“The reality, however, is that this conversion is significantly more expensive than some other re-uses because of stricter fire codes, accessible bathrooms, the addition of a commercial-scale kitchen, and furniture and equipment throughout the facility,” the application said.

The companies said they are ready to buy the property and immediately start remediation and rehabilitation work if the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement is approved.

Monday’s IDB meeting starts at 4 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Training Room.

Filed Under: Business, Government Tagged With: Alexander Inn, assisted living, City Council, Family Pride Corp., Guest House, InSite Development Corp., Manhattan Project, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, payment in lieu of taxes, tax break

Advertisements

 



Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Comments

  1. Karen Eckel Bridgeman says

    September 29, 2012 at 6:59 pm

    WOW.

    Reply
    • John Huotari says

      October 1, 2012 at 10:50 am

      I was surprised too. The discussion at today’s IDB meeting should be interesting.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Business News

MCLinc donation funds ramp for Children’s Museum

Submitted Barry Stephenson believes the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is one of the city’s treasures. The laboratory he leads, employee-owned Materials & Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc), wants to make sure this … [Read More...]

ORNL Credit Union president retiring

ORNL Federal Credit Union President and Chief Executive Officer Colin Anderson plans to retire September 30. Anderson has been president and CEO since July 2015, and he has informed the ORNL FCU Board of Directors and … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge Housing Authority proposes home project in Scarboro

The Oak Ridge Housing Authority is interested in an affordable housing project on about 16-18 acres of city-owned land next to the Scarboro Community Center. The site was expected to be developed by Habitat for Humanity … [Read More...]

Company could evaluate leaving rail in place at airport

The Brentwood company performing preliminary studies for the proposed Oak Ridge Airport could evaluate leaving a short section of railroad in place and building a runway bridge over it. The short section of railroad … [Read More...]

CNC Bootcamp returns to Oak Ridge High School this spring

A popular bootcamp is returning to Oak Ridge High School this spring thanks to a recent partnership between Roane State Community College and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing … [Read More...]

More Business

More Government News

Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool public input meeting set for June 13

The Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department will hold its first public open house for the Outdoor Pool Renovation Project this month. On Tuesday, June 13, at 6 p.m., the public is invited to join the department for … [Read More...]

Oak Ridge Public Library East Wing grand reopening set for June 20

Renovations of the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library include a brand-new Children's Room and bathrooms that meet Americans with Disability Act standards. The library will celebrate with a June 20 grand … [Read More...]

City to repave Melton Lake parking lot beginning June 12

Beginning the week of June 12, Oak Ridge Recreation and Parks Department crews will begin repaving the Melton Lake Greenway parking lot located on Melton Lake Drive, just north of the intersection with Edgemoor … [Read More...]

City brush pickup continues

The annual citywide brush pickup program continues this week. During the program, which began May 8, tree limbs and bagged yard clippings/leaves will be picked up.   City collection efforts will follow the … [Read More...]

Learn about alternatives to death penalty

You can learn about alternatives to the death penalty during Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 2. Reverend Stacy Rector, executive director of Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, will be the guest … [Read More...]

More Government

Recent Posts

  • Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool public input meeting set for June 13
  • Oak Ridge Public Library East Wing grand reopening set for June 20
  • Local church choir to sing in London in July
  • City to repave Melton Lake parking lot beginning June 12
  • Tim O’Brien to kick off Summer Sessions concerts
  • ORNL scientist to lead project studying permafrost thaw, climate processes in Alaska
  • Community Band has Memorial Day concert
  • Outdoor Pool closed Sunday due to weather
  • Outdoor pool to re-open Friday
  • Children’s Museum to celebrate 50 years with free admission

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today