Oak Ridge Today

Planning Commission approves site plan for TownePlace Suites hotel

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TownePlace Suites by Marriott July 2016

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan for TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a planned four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney, on Thursday, July 28, 2016.

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan last week for TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney.

The TownePlace Suites will be owned by Chander Bhateja, who is also the developer and franchisee. Bhateja, an Oak Ridge resident, owns three hotels in Knoxville and others in the Southeast.

TownePlace Suites is part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development that could also include retailers, restaurants, and residential units. [Read more…]

Readers ask about Main Street Oak Ridge site plan—see it here

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Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan July 28 2016

This is the revised site plan approved by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, July 28, 2016.

 

Oak Ridge Today readers have asked about the site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. You can see it here.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a revised site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 28. It is pictured above.

Rutgers Avenue is the curved roadway partially visible at the bottom of the map above. The intersection of South Illinois and South Illinois avenues is at top left, with South Tulane Avenue curving across the top of the map. Wilson Street, which is now a private road but could become public after improvements are made, runs from top to bottom at right.

Belk is the building labeled C, and JCPenney is the building labeled G. [Read more…]

Hobby Lobby projected to open in early October

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Hobby Lobby Renovations at Kroger June 15 2016 4

Construction and renovation work has started on the new Hobby Lobby store at the former Kroger on South Illinois Avenue, and workers are pictured above at the site of the new store on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:25 a.m.

Hobby Lobby plans to open its Oak Ridge store in early October, the company said Wednesday.

The new store is opening in the 63,000-square-foot former Kroger building at the intersection of South Illinois and Rutgers avenues. Construction and renovations have already started.

The national craft and home decor retailer said the store will create about 35-50 jobs paying $15.35 per hour for full-time workers and $10.23 per hour for part-time employees. [Read more…]

Training session on new overtime rules for businesses on Aug. 30

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a training session on “Navigating the New Overtime Rules” on August 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The cost to attend is $10, which includes lunch.

The training session is offered in partnership with The University of Tennessee-PTAC, Strategic Consulting Solutions, and Bass, Berry and Sims. [Read more…]

Free small business start-up seminar on Aug. 26

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a free training session on “How to start a small business” on August 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The workshop is held at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

To register, call (865) 483-2668 or email jbangs@tsbdc.org.

Free government contracting seminar for businesses on Aug. 11

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The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at Roane State Community College is offering a free training session on “How to do business with the government” on August 11 from 9 a.m. to noon.

The workshop will be at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

To register, call (865) 483-2668 or email jbangs@tsbdc.org.

Countryside Tire and Auto opening on Rutgers; Secret City Pies closed

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Countryside-Tire-and-Auto-Keeping-Room-Rutgers-Aug-1-2016

A sign announces that Countryside Tire and Auto will be opening soon at the site of the former Keeping Room on Rutgers Avenue in central Oak Ridge. The sign above is pictured on Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Countryside Tire and Auto Service plans to open soon at the site of the former Keeping Room on Rutgers Avenue.

Countryside Tire and Auto hopes to open the new shop in late October.

“We will know better as it gets closer,” the company said Monday.

Countryside Tire and Auto will be moving to Rutgers Avenue from its current location at 220 Brisbane Road in east Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Sears Hometown Store expected to be open for Christmas shopping

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Sears Hometown Store Under Construction July 2016

Leslie Agron, an Oak Ridge resident and owner of Sears Hometown Store, is pictured above at the site of the new store, which is expected to open this fall on Fairbanks Road. (Photo credit: Fred Riffle of SHOS)

 

The new Sears Hometown Store on Fairbanks Road is expected to be open in plenty of time for Christmas shopping, according to the owner, Oak Ridge resident Leslie Agron.

The new Sears Hometown Store is being built even as the former Sears department store is being demolished at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Visible construction activity on the roof at the new Sears Hometown Store, which is at 142 Fairbanks Road, was scheduled to start last week.

The store was announced in May, and it will be a free store pick-up site for many items on Sears.com, Agron said. [Read more…]

Linda Brown Realty merging with Crye-Leike Realtors on Monday

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Linda Brown Realty

Crye-Leike Realtors has purchased the Linda Brown Realty building, and the real estate companies will merged, effective Monday, Linda Brown said this weekend.

“This will allow the companies to grow in our market,” Brown said in a Facebook post.

She said the name will be Crye-Leike Realtors effective Monday, August 1.

“Very little is changing except the name and signage,” Brown said. “I will continue as the managing broker just as I have been; my agents will remain. We are excited about all of the technology upgrades we will have and continuing training to stay up to date with the rapidly changing business world.” [Read more…]

IIa, ORAU sponsor Employee Night at Oak Ridge Playhouse

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Bonnie Carroll and Andy Page at Fiddler on the Roof

Bonnie Carroll, founder and CEO of IIa, and Andy Page, president and CEO of ORAU, welcome their employees to Oak Ridge Playhouse’s recent production of Fiddler on the Roof. (Submitted photo)

GemTech Nuclear Security Solutions receives Y-12, Pantex services contract

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GemTech Nuclear Security Solutions has been awarded the professional and technical services contract with Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, a press release said.

GemTech Nuclear Security Solutions, or GemTech NSS, is a joint venture formed by four Oak Ridge-based small businesses: GEM Technologies Inc., CS Engineering, Strata-G LLC, and Spectra Tech Inc., and supported by team subcontractors Navarro Research and Engineering, ABS Consulting, Tetra Tech, Enercon, and Paschal Solutions.

“We are thrilled with the announcement,” said Michael Evans, president and chief executive officer of GEM Technologies Inc., managing partner of GemTech NSS. “GEM has been supporting Y-12 for more than 20 years and Pantex for the past two years. We are committed to providing reliable, safe, secure, quality, cost-effective solutions, and we look forward to partnering with CNS for the next five years to support their mission requirements.” [Read more…]

Georgia man, woman indicted in Check Into Cash robbery

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Check Into Cash

The Oak Ridge Police Department reported that a robbery was reported at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

CLINTON—A Georgia man and woman have been indicted in a robbery at Check Into Cash in Oak Ridge in June 2015.

Arvenzio Clyde Miles, 24, and Kianna Denise Hill, 22, were indicted by the Anderson County Grand Jury on July 6, 2016. They had arraignments in Anderson County Circuit and Criminal Court in Clinton on Friday.

Miles and Hill are both charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; especially aggravated kidnapping with a gun, a Class A felony; and aggravated assault while displaying a firearm, a Class C felony.

Hill and Miles are accused in an armed robbery at Check Into Cash at 361 South Illinois Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2015. They were arrested less than two weeks later in East Point, Georgia, southwest of Atlanta, on Wednesday, July 8, 2015.

The indictments allege that Hill and Miles confined Calvin Murray, a store manager, and employees Morgan Gist and Joy Jennings, and took their cell phones while displaying a firearm. All three were forced into a restroom at gunpoint against their will, and they were held captive there until the robbery was complete, according to arrest warrants filed in July 2015. The warrants alleged that the cell phones were taken to prevent the victims from calling the police. [Read more…]