Oak Ridge Today

Merchants frustrated with progress at Jackson Square; protest sign posted

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Renovations Sign

There has been some frustration among merchants at Jackson Square about not being able to use the partially paved parking lot while they wait for renovations to be completed. This protest sign saying “Free Our Parking Lot!!” was posted on Wednesday.

 

Merchants have grown frustrated with the pace of renovations at Jackson Square, and on Wednesday a protest sign was posted. “Free Our Parking Lot!” said the sign, which has since been removed.

For now, the parking lot inside Jackson Square remains closed off behind construction fencing as work continues on a $1 million renovation mostly funded by a state grant awarded in 2012.

But merchants wonder why they can’t use the parking lot since it was used for the Lavender Festival on June 20.

Compounding their frustration is the closure of the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field. It’s one of two lots on the north side of Broadway Avenue and Jackson Square. Employees at nearby businesses who used to park in the Blankenship Field lot are now using the second lot, the one used by the Farmers Market, reducing the parking spaces available there, one merchant said.

The Blankenship Field work, which was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in June, is also causing concern for the Farmers Market. The Farmer Market’s vendors set up in the second parking lot on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and they now don’t have parking available at either the Blankenship Field lot or inside the Jackson Square lot. [Read more…]

Main Street Oak Ridge signs first anchor lease, other leases could follow

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Main Street Oak Ridge

Main Street Oak Ridge would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use project that could include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and possibly a hotel. The existing space between the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney, would be demolished, although those two stores would remain.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 a.m. March 27.

The developers who want to convert the former Oak Ridge Mall into Main Street Oak Ridge signed their first anchor store lease last week, an executive said Thursday.

And three to five more leases could be signed in the next month or so, said Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has proposed the roughly 60-acre redevelopment.

Main Street Oak Ridge would redevelop the mall as a mixed-use project that would include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and possibly a hotel. The existing space between the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney, would be demolished, although those two stores would remain. [Read more…]

Materials science duo advances next wave of alloys; work conducted at ORNL, UT

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Louis Santodonato

Louis Santodonato

Peter Liaw

Peter Liaw

KNOXVILLE—High-entropy alloys—substances constructed with equivalent quantities of five or more metals—might hold the key to future manufacturing and construction, and two researchers from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville could help pave the way.

Doctoral candidate Louis Santodonato, along with his adviser Professor Peter Liaw, both in materials science, did an extensive study into this class of materials, which are considerably lighter and less prone to fracture, corrosion, and oxidation than conventional alloys.

The pair used various methods to observe and model the atomic mixing behavior of high-entropy alloys, work that was picked up by the prestigious journal Nature Communications. [Read more…]

Main Street Oak Ridge developers aim to close on property in June

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Main Street Oak Ridge James Downs

James Downs, Crosland Southeast partner, gave an update on the Main Street Oak Ridge project, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, during a Monday evening work session.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:20 p.m.

The North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge could close on the property in June, an executive said Monday.

The mixed-use project could include retailers, restaurants, and residential units, as well as a hotel. Belk and JCPenney, the two remaining anchor stores at the mostly empty mall, would remain, said James Downs, partner in Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has proposed the long-awaited redevelopment of the roughly 60-acre site.

Downs said Main Street Oak Ridge will include a total of about 325,000 square feet of retail space, or about 200,000 square feet of retail space more than what Belk and JCPenney have now. There would then be a total of about 600,000 square feet in the area. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate new bridge, road relocation, haul road for UPF at Y-12

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Bear Creek Road Extension and Bridge

Pictured above is the new Bear Creek Road extension and bridge on the west side of the Y-12 National Security Complex.

 

They called it their first major milestone: the completion of site readiness work, delivered on time and under budget. The work included the relocation of Bear Creek Road, a new bridge, and construction of a haul road.

It’s part of the project to build a Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. UPF could replace World War II-era buildings at Y-12. The project has been capped at $6.5 billion, and it’s expected to be completed by 2025.

Federal officials and contractors celebrated the completion of the site readiness subproject in a Friday morning ceremony at Y-12. [Read more…]

Avisco, a DOE contractor, to wind down operations after 30 years

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Avisco Inc. Logo

Avisco, a long-term U.S. Department of Energy contractor based in Oak Ridge, has announced a plan to phase out of their existing contracts and eventually close the company after 30 years of operations.

In a Tuesday press release, company owner Avis A. Phillips said she decided it was time to wind down Avisco after long discussions with her family.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed all the years we’ve worked with a terrific group of clients and a wonderful team of employees,” Phillips said. “It’s the association with our great staff that makes this decision particularly difficult. I can never thank them enough.” [Read more…]

Temporary closure on Rutgers Avenue starts Sunday

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A project to improve the city’s sewer system will require a temporary closure on busy Rutgers Avenue in central Oak Ridge starting Sunday.

Rutgers Avenue connects South Illinois Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, and it runs between the Woodland neighborhood and J.C. Penney and Walmart.

A city press release said a gravity sewer line running from east to west under the north end of Rutgers Avenue must be relocated as part of the rehabilitation work. [Read more…]

Construction work starts on $1 million rebuild at Jackson Square

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Jackson Square Parking Lot Fencing

A work crew began installing construction fencing between the city-owned parking lot and the sidewalk in front of businesses at the U-shaped Jackson Square shopping center on Monday. It’s the start of a $1 million rebuild of the parking lot in the city’s original town center. 

 

Construction work has started on the $1 million rebuild of the parking lot area at Jackson Square, Oak Ridge’s original town center.

Crews started putting up construction fencing on Monday. Project executives and city officials plan to complete the work in 180 days, or roughly six months—before the Lavender Festival in June.

The construction contract was awarded to Rich Construction Inc. of Lenoir City by the Oak Ridge City Council in October. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge mall to have new name, banks considering financing

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Oak Ridge Village Area Rendering

 

Tim Sittema

Tim Sittema

The redeveloped Oak Ridge mall will have a new name, and local banks and credit unions are considering helping with project financing, executives said Tuesday.

The redeveloped mixed-use property will be known as Main Street—Oak Ridge, said Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina development firm that has been working with the city of Oak Ridge to redevelop the site, including through significant demolition and new construction. The name was chosen after long consideration of a new brand identity for the development, including involvement by Oak Ridge High School students.

“Most everyone we talked to in Oak Ridge was positive about creating a downtown destination for the community—something that says this place is the heart of the city,” said Crosland Southeast partner Tim Sittema. “The site already has Main Street running through it; so Main Street—Oak Ridge is the obvious choice.”

David Bradshaw

David Bradshaw

Construction is expected to begin in early 2015, with an opening anticipated in the third quarter of 2016, based upon completion of the financial arrangements.

In a press release, Crosland Southeast said a consortium of local financial institutions, led by CapitalMark Bank and Trust of Oak Ridge, is considering substantial involvement in the financing of the redevelopment “due to the transformative nature of this project in the city core.”

“In addition to our bank, ORNL Federal Credit Union and others have held discussions together about providing lending support to the mall project,” said David Bradshaw, executive vice president of CapitalMark. “Although details have not been finalized and commitments have not yet been made, there is very strong interest among our local banks and credit unions to be engaged in this important long-term investment in the Oak Ridge community.” [Read more…]

Emory Valley Road to be closed temporarily as railroad tracks removed

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Emory Valley Road Railroad Crossing

Emory Valley Road will temporarily be closed between Briarcliff Avenue and Fairbanks Road as railroad tracks that are no longer used are removed.

 

Emory Valley Road will temporarily be closed between Briarcliff Avenue and Fairbanks Road as railroad tracks that are no longer used are removed on Thursday.

Rogers Group Inc., a city contractor, is removing the railroad tracks that cross Emory Valley Road and Briarcliff Avenue on Thursday. The project should be completed on Friday, a city press release said.

The road closure is designed to help make the construction project safe for workers and motorists, and it will will require that traffic be detoured. The detour routes will be clearly marked, the press release said. The closures will affect only one direction of traffic at a time. Message boards will be located on Lafayette Drive to remind motorists of the closure so an alternate route can be taken. All residential and business properties will have access during this closure; however, streets will be posted for no through traffic. [Read more…]

New UPF project director replaces Strock, who is retiring

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Brian Reilly

Brian Reilly

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC announced last week that Brian Reilly will become project director for the Uranium Processing Facility.

CNS is the new contractor that will manage and operate the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, starting this summer.

A press release said Reilly has 34 years of commercial nuclear engineering, procurement, and construction leadership and project management experience. A Bechtel senior vice president, Reilly managed Bechtel’s global nuclear operations for six years and has led numerous nuclear projects from conceptual studies and design through all aspects of engineering, procurement, and construction. [Read more…]

Sewer rehab work continues this week

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More rehabilitation work of the city’s sewer collection pipes is scheduled to continue this week.

The work is being done by Hurst Excavating and Morgan Contracting under contract with the City of Oak Ridge. It includes rehabilitating sewer collection pipes within city easements in yards and in roadways, a press release said.

Residents should already have received color-coded letters and door hangers (orange for Hurst Excavating and purple for Morgan Contracting) providing general information and each contractors’ contact information. [Read more…]