Oak Ridge Today

Photos: Construction under way at TownePlace Suites

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Construction is pictured above on the 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, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Construction is pictured above on the 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, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Construction work is under way at 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. Here are photos of the construction work this month.

Oak Ridge Today last reported on the hotel in August 2016, after the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan for the hotel.

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, Oak Ridge Today reported at the time.

TownePlace Suites is at 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. The hotel property, which is separate from the property being leased by RealtyLink, the South Carolina-based developer of Main Street Oak Ridge, is owned by Series C of NP Road Partners LLC of Oak Ridge, according to state records, and Bhateja is the registered agent of NP Road Partners LLC. [Read more…]

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…]

Mall demolition begins with ceremonial groundbreaking, knocking down of wall

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Main Street Oak Ridge Groundbreaking July 20 2016

Demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall began Wednesday, July 20, 2016, with a ceremonial groundbreaking and the knocking down of a wall near the former Goody’s store, starting construction on a 58-acre mixed-use retail development known as Main Street Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7 p.m.

Demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall began Wednesday with a ceremonial groundbreaking and the knocking down of a wall near the former Goody’s store, starting construction on a 58-acre mixed-use retail development known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

Demolition could last three months, and the construction of two new stores, T.J. Maxx and Dick’s Sporting Goods, could start where the former Sears building is in October. New stores could open in the spring of 2017.

Officials, business representatives, and the community celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday. About 300 or more people attended. After the groundbreaking on a hot, sunny summer afternoon, those celebrating, including children and adults, had a chance to spray graffiti on part of the old mall as a fundraiser for the renovation of Blankenship Field.

Main Street Oak Ridge is now the largest multi-tenant commercial retail project in the city, said Parker Hardy, president of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. [Read more…]

City to discuss site plans for Panda Express, TownePlace Suites on Thursday

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Ruby-Tuesday-Panda-Express-July-15-2016 1

Oak Ridge officials will discuss site plans for two more new businesses on Thursday: a Panda Express restaurant and TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a hotel. The Panda Express would be on part of the property that was once home to a Ruby Tuesday restaurant, pictured above on Friday, July 15, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:20 a.m. July 17.

Oak Ridge officials will discuss site plans for two more new businesses on Thursday. The first is Panda Express, a restaurant, and the second is TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a hotel.

There have now been more than a dozen new businesses announced in Oak Ridge so far this year.

The Panda Express, a fast casual Chinese restaurant, would be at the site of the former Ruby Tuesday restaurant on South Illinois Avenue, in front of Walmart and next to Comfort Inn. The developer wants to take the property and divide it into two parcels, with the Panda Express on one lot and possibly two to three retail stores in one building on the other.

The four-story TownPlace Suites would be on 2.6 acres between East Main Street and Rutgers Avenue on the south side of Wilson Street. That property is on the northeast side of Main Street Oak Ridge, near JCPenney at the former Oak Ridge Mall. [Read more…]