Workers demolished the former Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church at Oak Ridge Turnpike and Robertsville Road on Monday. The congregation has moved to a new church at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, on the north side of the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, home to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.
Church members agreed in September 2012 to sell their former site, which they had used for almost six decades, to make way for a new Kroger Marketplace shopping center.
The new UU church was dedicated in October.
The new $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center opened this year, and the development of smaller retail spaces continues. The former UU church property, which includes 3.6 acres, could be used as part of the shopping center’s outparcels.
The UU Church has been used for a range of community events including for the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge and Breakfast Rotary Club of Oak Ridge.
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