Oak Ridge Today

New Panera opens Sunday, Aubrey’s opens Monday

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Panera and Aubreys Opening in Oak Ridge

A new, larger Panera Bread will open Sunday morning on South Illinois Avenue, and a new Aubrey’s restaurant will open Monday.

Panera Bread will open its new store Sunday morning, and Aubrey’s restaurant will open Monday, staff members said.

Panera, which already has an Oak Ridge store, is moving into a new, larger restaurant on South Illinois Avenue. The old store is now closed, a staff member said Saturday evening, and the new diner will open at 7 a.m. Sunday.

Aubrey’s is next to the new Panera store and will open at 10:30 a.m. Monday, a staff member said.

The two restaurants are located in a new four-acre shopping center called Woodland Town Center. It’s across from the former Dean Stallings Ford.

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DOE’s Oak Ridge Office awards $10 million information technology contract

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office has awarded a $10.6 million contract to Global Engineering and Technology-Nuclear Safety Associates LLC, or GET-NSA, for information technology support services. The three-year contract will employ about 30 people in Oak Ridge and at the Pacific Northwest Site Office, a press release said.

“We are pleased with the selection of GET-NSA as the next information technology support contractor for the Oak Ridge Office,” ORO Manager Larry Kelly said. “The services provided under this contract are vital to our success, and we look forward to building a productive, professional relationship with GET-NSA.”

Tasks performed under the contract include a broad array of support activities that include cyber security operations, network operations, information engineering and systems development, and end-user support and help-desk type services.

The press release said GET-NSA is based in Oak Ridge, and it is a joint venture between Global Engineering and Technology Inc., based in Miami, Fla., and Nuclear Safety Associates Inc. of Johnson City. The contract’s period of performance is three years, including all options, the release said.

Council approves stoplight, rezonings for Kroger

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Kroger Marketplace Site

The northeast corner of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue, where a 25-acre Kroger Marketplace shopping center has been proposed. The Oak Ridge City Council approved rezonings for the $30 million project on Monday.

In three 6-0 votes Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council approved a new stoplight on North Illinois Avenue for a new Kroger shopping center, approved rezonings for the project, and agreed to give up two neighborhood roads—Iris Circle and Robin Lane—to make way for the development.

The stoplight for the $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center would be at North Illinois Avenue and Ivanhoe Road. The 25-acre project will also need new entrances on Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Illinois Avenue. Those roads are state routes, so the stoplight and entrances will have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

The shopping center will replace a neighborhood of about 55 homes, two hotels, a restaurant, day care center, and church northeast of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

In response to a question from a neighborhood resident, Paul Xhajanka, Kroger real estate manager in Atlanta, Ga., and Parker Hardy, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce president, said the developers had looked at other possible commercial locations in Oak Ridge, but weren’t able to make a deal work for several reasons, including property owners who didn’t want to sell and existing leases that hindered potential developments.

Xhajanka has said home demolition at the shopping center site could begin in February. The center would include 12,000 square feet of shop space and five outparcels, and it could open early in 2014.

Xhajanka has said it will be like Kroger stores in Farragut and at Cedar Bluff Road and Kingston Pike in Knoxville. The Oak Ridge store will include such stores as a bank, Fred Meyer jeweler, and Starbucks.

The new shopping center is expected to add about 250 jobs.

He said Kroger is leasing its current space and is trying to find a tenant to sublease it.

Council first approved project rezonings for the Kroger Marketplace during an Oct. 8 meeting.

Council approves tax break for Alexander Inn assisted living center

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Alexander Inn

The Oak Ridge City Council has approved a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for two development companies who want to convert the historic but rundown Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

The Oak Ridge City Council has unanimously approved a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for a project to convert the rundown Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

Officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, or PILOT, the tax break will be used to build a new road for cars that now drive through the three-acre site, move a storm sewer under the two-story building, and help remove asbestos, among other things.

The PILOT was endorsed in a 6-0 vote by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development board on Oct. 11. The proposal to reuse the historic hotel is also supported by members of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, which has lobbied to save the building for more than a decade.

Also known as The Guest House, the Alexander Inn has been unused for more than two decades. In recent years, it has fallen into disrepair, the victim of animals, vandals, and weather.

City code enforcement efforts against the property date back to 2005, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said during a Monday night City Council meeting.

Even with the temporary tax break, city officials said, Oak Ridge and Anderson County will continue to receive at least as much in property taxes as they do now, or about $3,900 per year each.

The project has been proposed by Family Pride Corp. of Loudon and InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville. Family Pride has said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break.

Construction of the $4.5 million, 60-unit assisted living center, which would include a wing for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia, could take roughly a year.

The Alexander Inn developers have said they are ready to immediately start remediation and rehabilitation work once Council approves the PILOT.

The Alexander Inn once hosted such dignitaries as physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi, and Secretary of War Henry Stimson.

City Council considers new Kroger stoplight, Alexander Inn tax break

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Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

Kroger Marketplace Site Plan

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider recommending a new stoplight on North Illinois Avenue for a new Kroger shopping center.

Council will also decide whether to give developers a 90 percent, 10-year tax break to convert the historic but rundown Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

The new stoplight for the $30 million Kroger Marketplace shopping center would be at North Illinois Avenue and Ivanhoe Road. The project will also need new entrances on Oak Ridge Turnpike and North Illinois Avenue.

Those roads are state routes, so the stoplight and entrances will have to be approved by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

As part of the project, City Council has been asked to give up two neighborhood roads—Iris Circle and Robin Lane—to make way for the 25-acre shopping center. Sewer, water, and electric easements will also have to abandoned. The shopping center will replace a neighborhood of about 55 homes, two hotels, a restaurant, day care center, and church northeast of the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Illinois Avenue.

Council approved rezonings for the project in the first of two readings, or votes, earlier this month, and endorsed what is known as a planned unit development preliminary master plan.

The tax break for the Alexander Inn, officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, or PILOT, was endorsed in a 6-0 vote by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development board on Oct. 11. It would be used to help with public improvements that include a new road for cars that now drive through the three-acre site, relocation of a storm sewer under the two-story building, environmental remediation, building stabilization, and code compliance.

Even with the temporary tax break, Oak Ridge and Anderson County will continue to receive at least as much in property taxes as they do now, said Ray Evans, an economic development consultant for the city.

The project has been proposed by Family Pride Corp. of Loudon and InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville. Family Pride has said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break.

Construction of the $4.5 million, 60-unit assisted living center could take roughly a year.

A Kroger representative said home demolition at the shopping center site could begin in February. The Alexander Inn developers have said they are ready to immediately start remediation and rehabilitation work if Council approves the PILOT.

Monday’s meeting is unusual in that it’s the second regular City Council meeting this month. Council added the meeting to consider the Kroger and Alexander Inn project, as well as new city codes.

Council also changed the date of the regular November meeting. It was moved from Nov. 12 to Nov. 5. That means it will be held before the Nov. 6 election, ensuring there are seven Council members available for the meeting.

City officials weren’t sure if the results of the election would be certified by the Nov. 12 meeting, so it was possible that only four of the seven Council members would have been available for that meeting.

The Oct. 22 and Nov. 5 meetings both start at 7 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

For more information, contact the Oak Ridge City Clerk’s Office at (865) 425-3411.

Small business start-up seminar Oct. 25

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center and Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will offer a free workshop on Oct. 25 for small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to learn more about starting a new business.

The seminar discussion includes the forms of business organization, tax requirements, business licenses, business planning, and financing, with more discussion about small business loan guarantee programs.

To sign up, call (865) 483-2668 or e-mail Jutta Bangs at jbangs@tsbdc.org.

The Oct. 25 seminar is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center advises and assists entrepreneurs and small business owners at no cost to them.

Answer Financial hiring 75 in Oak Ridge

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Answer Financial, a national auto and home insurance agency that has offices in Oak Ridge, plans to hire 75 employees this year, increasing its workforce by 30 percent, a press release said.

“Answer Financial is an established, growing organization with considerable opportunity for both seasoned and aspiring sales professionals,” said Peter Foley, Answer Financial senior vice president for sales and client services.

Answer Financial is headquartered in Encino, Calif., and the company’s sales center in Oak Ridge has been operating since the late 1990s. It employs about 240 people, the press release said.

The company said business growth inspired the local recruitment effort.

In the press release, the company said it provides paid training and state licensing, full benefits with a 401(k), a compensation plan that includes base pay and a performance bonus, and excellent career opportunities.

Sales experience is not required. Answer Financial has an in-house training program, the release said.

Applicants can email their resumes to careers@answerfinancial.com or visit the website at www.answerfinancial.com/careers to learn more about the company and available positions.

Robertsville Middle receives donation from Food City

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Food City Donation to Robertsville Middle School

Pictured above are Amy Nahill, Food City human relations coordinator in Oak Ridge, and Dawn Hammer, Robertsville Middle School PTSA president. (Submitted photo)

Robertsville Middle School has received a $546 donation from the Food City in Oak Ridge through a program that earns the school money when supporters shop at the grocery store.

The amount earned by RMS this year was triple the amount earned last year, a press release said.

Food City presented the school with the check during an Oct. 9 parent-teacher meeting.

The press release said RMS plans to put the money towards funding more school needs throughout the year.

The release said Food City invites area schools to take part in the School Bucks program by encouraging school families to link their Food City ValuCards to earn money for the school of their choice. Then, for every $10 of store brand products purchased in a single visit, the shopper’s school of choice earns a point towards their School Bucks earnings, the release said. Patrons can register their ValuCard online at my.foodcity.com or in person by speaking to a Food City customer service representative.

Each year, Food City donates $500,000 to area schools, and the points accumulated through the year determine the percentage a school earns, the release said.

CROET moves headquarters to Commerce Park

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The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee is moving its headquarters across town to the Commerce Park, where the economic development organization will share a building with Tech 20/20.

CROET has been located at the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office building complex on Laboratory Road for years, and Tech 20/20 has had its headquarters at 1020 Commerce Drive.

In a press release, John Morris, Tech 20/20 president and chief executive officer, said the collaboration between the two economic development organizations brings his career “full circle.”

“In 1996, CROET helped launch one of my start-up companies, Net Learning, with a $100,000 seed loan that served as a catalyst to launch the business,” Morris said. “They were there when we could not get traditional funding, and now I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue to strengthen the partnership between Tech 20/20 and CROET. By being co-located, we will build upon the great relationships we’ve had for years to leverage opportunities and help other businesses and start-ups in non-traditional ways.”

The press release said the partnership between CROET and Tech 20/20 has played a key role in economic development in Oak Ridge, with projects including the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth’s accelerator fund and the Halcyon Commercialization Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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City board recommends tax break for Alexander Inn project

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Note: This story was updated at 11:16 p.m.

An Oak Ridge board has endorsed a 90 percent, 10-year tax break for a project to convert the vacant, run-down Alexander Inn into an assisted living center.

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board recommended the tax break, officially known as a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, in a 6-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday. It will now be considered by Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 22.

Even with the temporary tax break, Oak Ridge and Anderson County will continue to receive at least as much in property taxes as they do now, said Ray Evans, an economic development consultant for the city.

The project to redevelop the two-story hotel on three acres in Jackson Square has been proposed by Family Pride Corp. of Loudon and InSite Development Corp. of Knoxville.

Construction of the $4.5 million, 60-unit assisted living center could take roughly a year.

The payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, or PILOT, could help with public improvements that include a new road for cars that now drive through the Alexander Inn property, relocation of a storm sewer under the building, environmental remediation, building stabilization, and code compliance. Family Pride has said the project is not economically feasible without the tax break.

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Chamber’s Primetime Tailgate Party features area businesses

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The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is having a networking event for businesses on Thursday.

It’s the second annual Primetime Tailgate Party, and it’s scheduled to run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

“Last year’s Primetime Tailgate Party was a huge hit among our membership,” said Parker Hardy, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce president. “We are pleased to provide this large-scale networking event and to provide an opportunity for people in the community to come find out more about our member businesses.”

More than 70 Chamber member businesses have already reserved exhibit space at this year’s Primetime, a press release said. Participants have been encouraged to come dressed in their favorite team colors and to decorate their display areas with a football tailgate theme.

The evening will include bluegrass music, food, beverages, door prizes, and a few games—”everything you would expect in a tailgate environment,” the release said.

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Council approves Weigel’s store in two 6-0 votes

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Weigels Rezoning

The Oak Ridge City Council has approved a rezoning and two driveways for a Weigel’s on South Illinois Avenue.

With almost no discussion, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday voted 6-0 to approve a rezoning and two driveways off South Illinois Avenue for a new Weigel’s gas station and convenience store.

In previous meetings, city officials had been concerned about potential traffic problems at the new 16-pump gas station, particularly with more vehicles turning left to get on and off busy, seven-lane South Illinois Avenue.

But a traffic study completed by Knoxville engineering firm Cannon and Cannon in September appears to have alleviated those concerns. Prepared for Weigel’s, that study said the new store would have a minimal impact on traffic.

“Much to my surprise, this is a good idea,” Oak Ridge City Council member Ellen Smith said before Monday night’s vote.

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