Oak Ridge Today

Planet Fitness could open July 30

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Planet Fitness is building a gym in Oak Ridge in part of the former Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue. Construction is pictured above on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Planet Fitness gym in Oak Ridge is tentatively scheduled to open July 30, the company said Wednesday.

“The 27,000-square-foot Oak Ridge club will offer state-of-the-art cardio machines and strength equipment, 30-Minute Express Circuit, fully equipped locker rooms with day lockers and showers, and numerous flat screen televisions,” according to a response to questions provided by Josh Gerber, vice president of marketing for PF Growth Partners LLC in Timonium, Maryland. “The club will also have a signature Black Card Spa area that will feature HydroMassage beds, massage chairs, tanning beds, a Total Body Enhancement booth and more.”

The club will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the company said. People can begin signing up online starting June 10, Planet Fitness said.

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Planet Fitness building gym in Oak Ridge

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Planet Fitness is building a gym in Oak Ridge in part of the former Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue. Construction is pictured above on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: We have posted a second story here with more information about the new gym, which is tentatively scheduled to open July 30.

Planet Fitness is building a gym in Oak Ridge.

The new gym will be in part of the former Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue.

The new gym has been announced on the company’s website, which says the Oak Ridge fitness club is coming soon.

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With Kmart lease ending in March, prospective tenants already showing interest in building

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The Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge will close in mid-December. The store is pictured above on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Kmart store in Oak Ridge is closing in mid-December, and the company’s lease expires in March. It’s too early to comment on prospective tenants, but the property owners have already had quite a bit of interest in that building, a manager said Tuesday.

Kmart has been located on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge for 25 years, said Jim Harrison, manager of Oak Ridge Group Associates, which owns the property.

The owners would love to have Kmart stay and be successful, but now that the company has announced they’re closing the store, with a liquidation sale starting Thursday, Oak Ridge Group Associates is working hard to try to get the property redeveloped or leased again, Harrison said. [Read more…]

Kmart store closing in December

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The Kmart store on South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge will close in mid-December. The store is pictured above on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Kmart store in Oak Ridge will close in mid-December, the company said Monday.

“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced,” the company said in a statement. “We can confirm that we are making the difficult but necessary decision to close the Kmart store at 370 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.”

The store will remain open to customers until the mid-December closing and start a liquidation sale on September 22.

“We often hear from our members who are disappointed when we close a store, but our Shop Your Way membership platform, websites, and mobile apps allow us to maintain these valued relationships long after a store closes its doors,” Kmart said in the statement. “As a result, we hope to retain a portion of the sales previously associated with this store by maintaining our relationships with the members who shopped this location.” [Read more…]

Clinton Kmart closing

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Information from WYSH Radio

The Sears Holding Corp. has confirmed that the Kmart store in South Clinton will close sometime in mid-June, although a specific closure date has not been announced.

The decision was made after what company officials called an extended period of slow sales. The store will remain open to the public and plans to begin its liquidation sale on April 7.

The store had been in its current location since 1983.

Robbery suspect allegedly threatened to kill Kmart cashier

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Devlin Seth Walker

Devlin Seth Walker

Arrested Friday, the suspect in two recent robberies at the Kmart  pharmacy in Oak Ridge allegedly used misspelled hand-written notes to demand drugs and money and threaten to kill cashiers, authorities said.

In the first robbery, which occurred on Feb. 26, suspect Devlin Seth Walker, 34, of Lancing in Morgan County, allegedly handed a cashier a note that said, “Give me all your money and a bottle of Percoset or I will kill you,” according to arrest warrants filed in Anderson County General Sessions Court.

The cashier handed Walker the money from the register and the note, the warrants said. Walker then allegedly walked around the pharmacy counter and threatened the pharmacist. The pharmacist was allegedly forced to open a locked cabinet where the narcotics are stored, and Walker took four bottles of 10mg oxycodone from the cabinet and fled the store, said the warrants, filed by Oak Ridge Police Department Officer John Criswell.

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Kmart pharmacy robbed again

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Oak Ridge Police Respond to Kmart Robbery

The Oak Ridge Police Department responds to a reported robbery at the Kmart pharmacy on Tuesday evening.

A man who robbed the Kmart pharmacy on Tuesday fled on foot with $597 in cash but no pills, the Oak Ridge Police Department said Thursday.

It’s not clear yet if there is a connection between that stickup and a Feb. 26 pharmacy heist. It’s the second time in about a week that the pharmacy has been robbed.

ORPD Lt. Robin Smith said the suspect in this week’s robbery allegedly handed a note to a pharmacy clerk, demanding money and pills. The clerk cleaned out a cash drawer and gave the man $597, but no pills, Smith said.

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Oak Ridge police identify Kmart robbery suspect

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The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified a robbery suspect who allegedly stole $56 in cash and 387 oxycontin pills from the Kmart pharmacy last week.

The suspect has been identified as Jeramiah Frederick Webb, 35, of Morgan County, ORPD Lt. Robin Smith said Wednesday. Webb’s last known address was in Lancing, Smith said.

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