Oak Ridge Today

Board could consider repair, demolition order near Magic Wok on Thursday

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Classic Cleaners

Located in a small shopping center on Tyler and Tyrone roads, Classic Cleaners was given 10 days to vacate in February after the city staff said it found very serious code violations and structural issues in the building, which also houses a handful of other businesses.

A city board on Thursday will again hear the two cases against the owners of a commercial building judged to be “in disrepair” near the Magic Wok restaurant in central Oak Ridge.

In February, the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals tabled a demolition or repair order for 60 days to give the owners, Ma Shiu-Yen Wang and Ta-Shun Etal, time to sell the damaged property or develop a repair or demolition plan, the city staff said.

That 60-day postponement expired last Sunday.

The two cases concern the 50,000-square-feet commercial building at 123 and 135 E. Tyrone Road, just north of Oak Ridge Turnpike near Jackson Square. They exclude the manufactured structure that houses the Magic Wok, but they do include the areas in the small shopping center that have housed a dry cleaner, thrift store, wig shop, Mexican grocery, and the Magic Wok’s food preparation and overflow dining areas. [Read more…]

With K-25 demolition complete, DOE plans to preserve building ‘footprint’

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K-25 Building Demolition March 2014

Demolition work at the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge is complete, and cleanup work is expected to be complete this summer. Pictured above is the former south end of the east wing. (Photo by John Huotari)

Demolition of the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge has been completed. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy looks toward the future and preserving the footprint of the Manhattan Project building.

The building was about 44 acres “under roof,” according to Susan Cange, deputy manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II.

“There was a lot of discussion over the years about whether we could retain a portion of the building as a part of historic preservation,” Cange said. “From a safety and security perspective, it really wasn’t a viable alternative.”

In 2012, Cange and others signed a Memorandum of Agreement, and they envisioned completion of a preservation project within five to seven years. They also agreed to retain the footprint of the building and dedicate it in some way to allow visitors to see the enormity of the former mile-long, U-shaped building. [Read more…]

Board orders demolition of five homes in Highland View

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117 Wade Lane Home

A city board on Thursday declared this home at 117 Wade Lane to be unfit for human habitation and ordered it demolished within 90 days.

Note: This story was updated at 11:40 p.m.

From the outside, the homes look they’re in decent shape and not the worst in the neighborhood.

But inside and underneath, problems range from collapsing floors and settling foundations to leaking roofs and tens of thousands worth of mold damage.

On Thursday, a city board declared the five vacant homes to be unfit for human habitation, and members ordered them demolished within 90 days. The city could use federal money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to buy and demolish the homes. [Read more…]

City board to consider demolition of homes on Wade Lane, West Outer Drive

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An Oak Ridge board on Thursday will consider ordering the demolition of five homes that could be bought by the city. The homes are at 105 Waddell Place, 101 and 117 Wade Lane, and 335 and 363 West Outer Drive.

The homes on Wade Lane and West Outer Drive are owned by Carden Rentals Limited Partnership. The Waddell Place house is owned by Rex Gass. The owners are interested in selling the properties to the city, the municipal staff said.

The Gass property is a vacant single-family dwelling, and the Carden homes are vacant multi-family residential units.

The city staff has recommended that the Oak Ridge Board of Building and Housing Code Appeals declare the homes unfit for human occupation or use, and order them demolished within 90 days to possibly allow the city to acquire them. The board meets at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Municipal Building Training Room. [Read more…]

Demolition, construction to start soon on ORNL shipping, receiving building

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Demolition and construction are expected to start soon on a shipping and receiving building at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a press release said.

“Hickory Construction Inc. will begin demolition of an existing structure ahead of breaking ground on a LEED Gold design-built construction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on April 1, as part of the campus-wide Site Sustainability Plan,” the press release said.

“We are always honored to work with ORNL, and the chance to build a LEED Gold structure is something we love to do,” said Chris Duncan, project manager. “Hickory not only has the ability to make quality LEED buildings, but it does so for incredible value and on time.”

The building, which will serve as a central hub for everything that ORNL ships and receives, will be a total of 26,000 square feet. Of that, 17,000 square feet is designated as a shipping/receiving warehouse with 11 loading docks, and areas for packaging, staging, and storage. The remainder of the building is designated as office space. [Read more…]

Honors: DOE employee listed among area’s rising leaders

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Heather Cloar of U.S Department of Energy

Heather Cloar, a U.S. Department of Energy employee in Oak Ridge, was named as a member of this year’s 40 Under 40.

By Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management

Earlier this year, the Greater Knoxville Business Journal compiled a list of East Tennessee’s top rising business and community leaders under the age of 40. The 2014 listing featured Heather Cloar, a contracting officer with the Energy Department in Oak Ridge.

Specifically, Heather, an Energy Department employee since 2002, is the federal official responsible for administering the $2.2 billion environmental cleanup contract with URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR. She is responsible for reviewing and approving all contract actions and guaranteeing that the contract remains aligned with EM’s priorities. She also certifies that the contractor’s work is performed in a cost-efficient manner to ensure the best value for American taxpayers. As a testament to her watchful oversight and frequent interaction with contractor leadership, UCOR completed the department’s largest-ever demolition project one year ahead of schedule and approximately $300 million under the current budget.

“Heather is making sure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayers under the contract and making sure the contract stays on schedule,” said Karen Shears, chief of the special acquisitions branch for DOE’s procurement and contracts division. “She’s got excellent judgment and great leadership skills, which is something you need because you interact with so many stakeholders.” [Read more…]

Price Florist demolished

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Price Florist Demolition

Demolition work at Price Florist began Saturday and could be completed Monday.

Workers began demolishing Price Florist on Oak Ridge Turnpike on Saturday and could finish the job on Monday.

The work at the longtime floral business in central Oak Ridge is being done by Perkins Trucking and Excavating of Knoxville.

Tony Cappiello of Capiello Real Estate said one of his family’s companies purchased the 0.43-acre property about a month ago for $216,000. He said the seller agreed to demolish the property at her expense since it had been condemned by the City of Oak Ridge.

Cappiello said the property is about as large as the Subway down the street. [Read more…]

DOE, UCOR demolish last piece of K-25, once the world’s largest building

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K-25 Building Demolition Final

The last section of the former K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge was demolished on Thursday.

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, built by the U.S. government in less than two years as part of a top-secret race to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II.

Officials say it also helped win the Cold War.

But five years after demolition started, the K-25 Building is gone. Officials, workers, and invited guests watched the last section of the giant building crash to the ground on Thursday.

The mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building enriched uranium through a process called gaseous diffusion. It was the largest facility in the U.S. Department of Energy complex. Debris shipments are expected to be completed in the spring of 2014.

The $1.1 billion project is under budget and ahead of schedule. [Read more…]

Once the world’s largest, K-25 Building will be completely demolished Thursday

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K-25 Demolition December 2013

Demolition work on the former uranium-enriching K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge is expected to be completed Thursday. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Lynn Freeny)

It was once the world’s largest building under one roof, but on Thursday, federal officials expect to complete demolition work at the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge.

K-25 was built during World War II to enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. After the war, it enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants.

But the site shut down in the mid-1980s, and demolition work on the K-25 Building started five years ago, in December 2008, under former cleanup contractor Bechtel Jacobs.

Officials and workers expect to tear down the last remaining piece of K-25 starting at about 11 a.m. Thursday. They have invited media to attend to witness the historic event. [Read more…]

K-25 Building demolition nears completion

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K-25 Building Demolition

Workers continue demolishing and hauling away debris at the K-25 Building. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Demolition of the last standing section of the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park is more than 75 percent complete.

UCOR workers began tearing down the last six units in the east wing of the mile-long Manhattan Project-era gaseous diffusion building in September. The majority of those six units—4.5 of them—are already on the ground, and work is continuing at a steady pace, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported in the December issue of Public Involvement News.

The entire project, including waste removal, should be completed next year, the Oak Ridge Office said.

The historic, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II, and it was once the world’s largest building under one roof. It once had 54 units. [Read more…]

More than 20,000 loads of debris hauled away from K-25 demolition

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K-25 Building Demolition Progress November 2013

Demolition of the K-25 Building’s remaining section continues as the contractor performing the work hit a waste disposal milestone last month. (Photos courtesy DOE Oak Ridge Office/Public Involvement News)

Demolition of the K-25 Building’s remaining section continues as the contractor performing the work hit a waste disposal milestone last month, officials said.

UCOR, a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, has safely shipped more than 20,000 loads of demolition debris from the K-25 project, according to the November 2013 issue of Public Involvement News, published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

Most of the debris is being disposed at the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility near the Y-12 National Security Complex.

“Demolition continues at a steady pace, with the project expected to be completed next year,” the monthly newsletter said. [Read more…]

Demolition begins on last section of historic K-25 Building

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K-25 East Wing Demolition

Workers begin demolishing the last section of the K-25 building on Tuesday. K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and was once the world’s largest building under one roof, but it’s been unused for decades. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Demolition work began Tuesday on the last section of the historic K-25 Building, which was erected to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II and was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

Most of the building, which is in west Oak Ridge, has already been demolished. Only a small section of the east wing remains at the former mile-long, U-shaped building.

K-25 was built during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons through a process known as gaseous diffusion. Those operations ended in 1964. [Read more…]