The Oak Ridge Land Bank will host a gathering on Friday, August 6, at 5 p.m. on Wilson Street near Rice Road. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a news conference regarding the land bank’s Request For Proposals to develop Downtown Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The Land Bank, representing the community interest with respect to the development of a downtown district, is releasing a RFP for the purchase and development of property in accordance with the adopted “vision” for this district, the press release said.

Over the decades, multiple plans have called for creating a place where Oak Ridgers can live, work, and play, the press release said. The Wilson Street corridor borders Main Street shopping near the new American Museum of Science and Energy and planned conference center, and it is easily accessible from Oak Ridge Turnpike and Alvin K. Bissell Park, the press release said. It provides a “great opportunity to finally have a distinctive, uniquely Oak Ridge place for people to gather,” the release said. “The existence of a more urban, densely-developed environment, featuring apartments, condos, restaurants, local shops, offices, and beautiful green space, will attract new and different businesses to Oak Ridge.”