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Alexander Guest House renovation restores grandeur at historic hotel

Posted at 2:57 pm September 27, 2015
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Alexander Guest House Ballroom and Cafeteria Sept. 23, 2015

The ballroom and cafeteria area is pictured above at the Alexander Guest House, which converted the beloved but long-vacant Alexander Inn hotel into an assisted living center. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

It’s been a dream for years, and now the preservation and transformation of the former Alexander Inn is nearly complete.

The two-year, $8 million construction and renovation project is almost finished, and Alexander Guest House could open as an assisted living facility in about two weeks, said Rick Dover of Dover Development of East Tennessee.

Sixty percent of the 64 apartments are already reserved, Executive Director Jody Daugherty said during a media tour Wednesday. Among those who will live there are Jean Stone of Oak Ridge and Dean Ford of Oliver Springs. They participated in the media tour on Wednesday.

“I think they’ve done a remarkable job of restoring it to its grandeur,” said Stone, a longtime Oak Ridge resident who has “many fine memories” of parties, weddings, wedding receptions, and club meetings, among other events, at the historic two-story hotel. “Once I saw what they’re doing here, I wanted to come here. I think it will be a lovely place to live. It’s absolutely tremendous.”

The historic two-story hotel was built as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II, and top scientists and dignitaries once stayed there. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Community, East Tennessee Technology Park, Front Page News, Government, Health, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Guest House, Alexander Inn, Bill Haslam, CNB, Dean Ford, DOE, Dover Development, East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, Enrico Fermi, Family Pride Corporation, Guest House, Henry Stimson, historic hotel, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Jean Stone, Jody Daugherty, John Ragan, K-25, Kim Trent, Knox Heritage, Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Historic Register, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, ORHPA, Randy McNally, renovation, Rick Dover, Tom Beehan, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Interior, Wes Farragut, World War II

Senate passes Manhattan Project park bill that includes Oak Ridge

Posted at 11:58 pm December 12, 2014
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Manhattan Project Park Sites

Note: This story was last updated at 11 a.m. Dec. 14.

House approved bill last week; legislation now headed to President Obama

After years of work, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill to set up a Manhattan Project National Historical Park that includes Oak Ridge, a once-secret city that played a key role in ending World War II. The legislation passed the U.S. House last week, and it now goes to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.

Besides Oak Ridge, the park will include Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Hanford, Washington. Those two cities were also part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to develop the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation, atomic bomb, Atomic Heritage Foundation, atomic weapons, B Reactor, Barack Obama, Ben Ray Lujan, Beta-3 Calutrons, Bob Corker, Building 9204-3, Building 9731, Chuck Fleischmann, Clark Bunting, Cynthia C. Kelly, Department of Interior, Doc Hastings, East Tennessee Economic Council, Energy Communities Alliance, Enrico Fermi, Ernest O. Lawrence, Guest House, Gun Site, Hanford, Jeff Bingaman, K-25 Building, Lamar Alexander, Leslie Groves, Los Alamos, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Manhattan Project park, Maria Cantwell, Mark Watson, Martin Heinrich, National Defense Authorization Act, National Park Service, National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, NDAA, NPCA, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, Patty Murray, Pete Domenici, Pilot Plant, The Gun Site, Tom Beehan, Tom Udall, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. House, U.S. Senate, uranium, V Site, Warren Gooch, World War II, X-10 Graphite Reactor, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

Alexander Inn, Family Pride to receive historic preservation award

Posted at 9:06 am September 17, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Guest House Senior Living Concept

Artist concept of the Guest House/Alexander Inn Senior Living Center. (Images courtesy ORHPA)

The company converting a historic two-story hotel in Jackson Square into an assisted living center will receive a historic preservation award on Thursday. The award presentation will be held at the front door of the Guest House/Alexander Inn at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

“When Rick Dover and Family Pride acquired the property in May 2013, it was in total disrepair,” a press release said. “A $6 million investment will restore this beloved icon to its former glory.”

“We’re going to faithfully restore this building to its original look, from the soda-fountain bar in the lobby to the beautiful wide porch out front,” Dover said.

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is included as part of the proposed new Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge. It’s been removed from an annual list of endangered places in East Tennessee published by the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance.

Top military leaders and scientists once stayed at the Alexander Inn. The renovation by Family Pride started in July 2013, the culmination of a years-long preservation effort. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Community, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Alexander Inn, assisted living center, East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, Enrico Fermi, Family Pride, Family Pride Corporation, Guest House, Henry Stimson, historic preservation award, hotel, J. Rober Oppenheimer, Jackson Square, Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, National Register of Historic Places, Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association, ORHPA, Rick Dover, World War II

Gov. Haslam supports national preservation award for Alexander Inn

Posted at 10:12 am February 28, 2014
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn in November.

Gov. Bill Haslam is supporting a nomination for a national historic preservation award for a project converting the Alexander Inn in Oak Ridge into an assisted living center.

Knox Heritage and East Tennessee Preservation Alliance have nominated the hotel for the 2014 The National Trust/Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation.

In a Feb. 25 letter, Haslam said he supports the nomination. The letter was sent to Stephanie Meeks at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C.

The Alexander Inn was built during World War II, when Oak Ridge raced to help build the world’s first atomic weapons as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. Guests who once stayed at the two-story hotel included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Community, East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, Health, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office, State, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, assisted living center, Bill Haslam, East Tennessee Preservation Alliance, Enrico Fermi, ETPA, Family Pride Corp., Guest House, Henry Stimson, historic preservation, historic preservation award, J. Robert Oppenheimer, K-25 Building, Kim Trent, Knox Heritage, Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project, National Historic Register, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rick Dover, The National Trust/Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Award for Federal Partnerships in Historic Preservation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Interior, World War II

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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