The former Oak Ridge City Center, which could be redeveloped as a multi-use town center known as Main Street Oak Ridge, is pictured above. Also known as the former Oak Ridge Mall, the L-shaped building is at center. The white building at center left is Walmart, and it is not part of the proposed redevelopment. Neither is the white building at center top, the Tinseltown Theater. JCPenney is near the bottom right of the “L” and Belk is near the top left. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m.
Four stores had already been announced at Main Street Oak Ridge, the project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.
On Friday, Neil Wilson, principal of RealtyLink, the South Carolina company redeveloping the mall, announced four more.
The four stores that had already been announced were Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, T.J. Maxx, and Ulta.
The four new stores named Friday, during an interview with Wilson about the purchase of the 58-acre mall site, were Electronic Express, Maurice’s, Rack Room, and Rue 21. The sale of the former mall site closed late Thursday evening.
The stores will be part of Main Street Oak Ridge, a roughly 58-acre mixed-use development that could include retailers, restaurants, service companies, residential units, and possibly a hotel.
Demolition of the enclosed space between Belk and JCPenney, the two remaining anchor stores, could start the week of July 18. A demolition crew will be at the site on Tuesday, but they may not be noticed right away because they might be inside. Workers have to first shut down the utilities that serve the old mall, Wilson said, and that could take a few days.
Construction of new stores expected to open in the spring of 2017 could start near Belk in October. It’s part of the $46 million first all-retail phase of the project.
The first four stores to be built, adjacent to Belk, are Maurice’s, Rack Room, Rue 21, and Ulta, Wilson said.
Construction on Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx, which will be adjacent to Walmart, will start soon after that.
RealtyLink also has leases with Electronic Express and PetSmart. Those stores will be located on the JCPenney side of the property.
The second phase of the project, which is expected to cost about $75 million total, could include restaurants and residential units and maybe service companies like insurance agencies and dry cleaners.
Wilson said RealtyLink has a contract with a Marriott-brand hotel and is selling them land. The hotel could open sometime next year, he said.
See a story on the mall sale on Thursday here.
See a story on demolition plans here.
See previous Main Street Oak Ridge stories here.
See previous Oak Ridge Mall stories here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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