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Mason, an IDB member, community volunteer, dies of COVID complications

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David Mason

David Lane Mason, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board and community volunteer, died of COVID-19 complications on Monday. He was 79.

Mason was a former deputy director of environmental management and enrichment facilities at the former K-25 site, and he retired from the United States Enrichment Corporation in 2005 as the director of Centrifuge Engineering and Manufacturing Project, according to his obituary.

As a founding member of the Oak Ridge Rowing Association, Mason helped develop and build the rowing course at Melton Hill Lake, his obituary said. As a member of the Sunset Rotary Club of Oak Ridge, he helped establish the annual Da Vinci Arts and Science Fair for elementary and middle school students, the obituary said.

A nuclear physicist and Oak Ridge resident, Mason died at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville on Monday. He was a community advocate for more than 50 years, his obituary said.

Here is more information about Dave Mason from his obituary:

[Read more…]

Data center could be built on Summit, tax incentive to be considered

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This building of about 30,000 square feet on Pine Ridge, also known as The Summit, was once used to store documents for the Y-12 National Security Complex. It could now be used for a data center. The Summit is on Pine Ridge along South Illinois Avenue between Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive and Centrifuge Way. It’s pictured above on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A data center could be built in an existing building on Pine Ridge, also known as The Summit, off South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The project has been proposed by GIGA Data Centers of Atlanta.

The data center would be in the building on The Summit that was once used by the Y-12 National Security Complex to store documents. The building, which is about 30,000 square feet, would be retrofitted.

[Read more…]

Watch briefing about proposed motorsports park on Monday

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Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-Site-1-Feb-11-2020
Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

There will be a briefing on Monday afternoon about the proposed Oak Ridge Motorsports Park at Horizon Center, and you can watch it online.

Oak Ridge Today has reported that the proposed project could cover more than 300 acres at Horizon Center, an industrial and business park in west Oak Ridge, and it could cost more than $50 million.

In February, H.E. Bittle III of Hardin Valley Land Partners, the potential developer, told city officials that the planned motorsports park would have a road course that is suitable for events sanctioned by the FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) such as Formula E, Indy Car, IMSA, NASA, and other sanctioning bodies.

Besides the race course, the motorsports park would have an amphitheater with a mix of permanent and lawn seating for more than 7,000 people, similar to the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Bittle said.

Other planned amenities, he said, include a karting track, paddock club, club house, restaurants, pro shop, garages, day and overnight lodging, meeting and conference space, a recreational vehicle park, and public facilities that would include walking trails and outdoor meeting spaces.

[Read more…]

For members: Chinns part of apartment project on former AMSE site

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AMSE-Site-Feb-11-2020

The former American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Pro Tem Rick Chinn and his brother Ryan are minority partners in the project to build apartments at the former American Museum of Science and Energy site.

Rick Chinn, a developer, said this month that the project will bring much-needed apartments to the city, allowing more people who work in Oak Ridge to live here. The apartments are being built as RealtyLink, a South Carolina developer, plans to build more new stores across South Tulane Avenue at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Now called Main Street Lofts, the apartment project has included an agreement to reduce property taxes and the transfer of what had been federal property from the U.S. Department of Energy to the city and then to a developer. It will include the demolition of the former AMSE building. It is expected to include seven three-story buildings with 226 apartment units on 10 acres.

Rick Chinn and his father, Richard Chinn, a member of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, have been abstaining from votes related to the apartment project for at least a year.

They have not been required to explain their abstentions, but Oak Ridge Today has asked Rick and Richard Chinn why they have been abstaining.

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Council interested in proposed test, motorsports track

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Horizon-Center-Motorsports-Track-Site-1-Feb-11-2020
Part of the site where a test track and research facility or motorsports park could be built on the back side of Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge is pictured above on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council is interested in a proposed test track and research facility or motorsports park at Horizon Center.

The seven City Council members unanimously expressed interest in the proposed project, which could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres, during a Monday night meeting. The proposal is still in the early conceptual stage, and Council doesn’t have a specific plan to consider or endorse yet.

There are significant questions about the unusual project, which would be in west Oak Ridge, a few miles northeast of the former K-25 site. They include the questions of whether some potential uses such as a hotel would be allowed by the deed restrictions at the site, whether motorsports would be allowed under the industrial zoning, and whether a recreational vehicle park and outdoor music would be appropriate there.

Oak Ridge City Council member Ellen Smith said there are legal constraints on the property. Certain kinds of uses are allowed, and some, such as homes and hotels, are not, Smith said. She said the U.S. Department of Energy was hoping to foster industrial development on the former federal property.

It’s not clear what position DOE might take on the proposed use, and it’s not clear whether the site would be a test track and research facility for non-spectators, a motorsports park for spectators, or a combination of the two.

[Read more…]

Motorsports park proposed at Horizon Center

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The Horizon Center off Highway 58 in west Oak Ridge is pictured above in this image published by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

A motorsports park that could cost more than $50 million and cover more than 300 acres has been proposed at Horizon Center in west Oak Ridge.

The Oak Ridge City Council is expected to consider a resolution expressing support for and interest in the project on Monday evening. The development of the test track and research facility could be on three lots at Horizon Center: parcels 5, 6, and 7. The project could include about 327 acres total.

If the resolution is approved Monday, it would be sent to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. The project could then be reviewed by the IDB, which could consider whether to sell the property. The IDB has contacted Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson’s office to determine City Council’s interest in the project, according to the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

H.E. Bittle III of Hardin Valley Land Partners told Oak Ridge officials in a February 2 letter that the planned motorsports park would have a road course “suitable for FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) sanctioned events, such as Formula E, Indy Car, IMSA, NASA, and other sanctioning bodies.”

Besides the race course, the motorsports park would have an amphitheater with a mix of permanent and lawn seating for more than 7,000 people, similar to the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Bittle said.

[Read more…]

Frank Callaghan Towers to be renovated, renamed

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LHP Capital Closing Fairbanks Tower Sept 3 2019
Officials from LHP Capital and the City of Oak Ridge celebrate the closing of a transaction that will enable LHP to acquire and renovate Frank Callaghan Tower, an affordable housing community for seniors on fixed incomes. Pictured above from left to right on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019, are Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board Chair David Wilson, LHP Development President Carr Hagan, and LHP Development CEO Alvin Nance. (Submitted photo)

The Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road in Oak Ridge will be renovated and renamed, a housing developer and manager said this week.

Officials with LHP Capital LLC announced Tuesday that they have signed the last document necessary to close on the acquisition and renovation of Oak Ridge’s Frank Callaghan Towers. That’s a 110-unit affordable rental housing community for seniors 62 and older and adults with disabilities, and it is located at 115 Fairbanks Road in east Oak Ridge.

LHP will oversee more than $5.8 million in renovations to the property, which was originally constructed in the late 1970s, a press release said. The sale to LHP will assure preservation of the property’s affordability status under federal guidelines, the press release said. LHP will also manage the apartments.

The renovations to the property will begin immediately and will start with a new name, according to Carr Hagan, president, LHP Development, a division of Knoxville-based LHP Capital, a real estate development firm specializing in affordable housing.

[Read more…]

City estimates monthly revenue loss for Main Street delay at about $100,000

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Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

Most of Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above in this proposed plan from Nov. 29, 2018.

 

The city has estimated about a $100,000 revenue loss per month for each month that the next phase of the Main Street Oak Ridge project is delayed.

Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson provided the rough estimate of probable sales tax revenues per month, based on “quick calculations,” to the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board on Monday and League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

The project was delayed in January when the Oak Ridge City Council voted 4-3 in its second and final vote to reject a revised plan that had been drafted as the developer, RealtyLink, prepared to welcome a second wave of tenants to the 58-acre site.

It hasn’t been clear since then what might happen next or whether there will still be a second phase.

But on Monday, Watson said he has talked to RealtyLink, and on Tuesday, he said, “I think we will see a re-submittal.” [Read more…]

City acceptance of Main Street roads triggers $1.5 million in funding for work

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Main Street West is pictured above at Main Street Oak Ridge on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Main Street West is pictured above at Main Street Oak Ridge on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The city’s acceptance of three rebuilt roads at Main Street Oak Ridge triggered $1.5 million in funding for the public improvement work.

The Oak Ridge City Council unanimously agreed to accept the roads—Main Street East, Main Street West, and Wilson Street—in a 7-0 vote on Monday, November 13.

The developer, TN Oak Ridge Rutgers LLC, which is affiliated with RealtyLink of Greenville, South Carolina, has certified $1.84 million worth of public improvements to the three roads. Most of that, or $1.28 million of it, was for asphalt, base, earthwork, demolition, storm and “wet utilities,” among other work, according to a letter to Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson from Manager Phillip J. Wilson.

The next largest portion of the costs, roughly $320,000, was for electrical work. There were also land costs of $179,000, according to Wilson’s letter to Watson. [Read more…]

IDB approves tax abatement as MCLinc plans to build at Horizon Center

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Barry Stephenson, president and chief executive officer of MCLinc, discusses the analytical testing laboratory's plan to build a 29,000-square-foot building at Horizon Center during an Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Barry Stephenson, president and chief executive officer of MCLinc, discusses the analytical testing laboratory’s plan to build a 29,000-square-foot building at Horizon Center during an Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board meeting on Monday, Oct. 2, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A city board on Monday approved a six-year, 50 percent property tax abatement for a company that plans to move from Heritage Center, the former K-25 site, to Horizon Center, a few miles northeast.

MCLinc is now in Building K-1006 at Heritage Center, which is also known as East Tennessee Technology Park. A conference center at ETTP’s main entrance is leased for special events, and MCLinc has the next building on the right. It’s been home to a laboratory since 1965. MCLinc (Materials and Chemistry Laboratory) has been there since 1998, when the company started.

But the building is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, and it is slated for demolition, said Barry Stephenson, MCLinc president and chief executive officer. Attempts to acquire the building have not panned out, Stephenson told the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board on Monday.

Three years ago, the company, an analytical testing laboratory, received notice that they have to move, Stephenson said. He told the IDB that MCLinc has to be out of the building by September 2018. [Read more…]

They evaluated Oak Ridge, but Protomet will expand in Loudon County

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Jeff Bohanan, founder and chief executive officer of Protomet in Oak Ridge, announced a $30 million expansion in Loudon County on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Jeff Bohanan, founder and chief executive officer of Protomet in Oak Ridge, announced a $30 million expansion in Loudon County on Tuesday, June 27, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Protomet Corporation evaluated a site in south Oak Ridge for a $30 million, 200-job expansion, but the company will expand in Loudon County instead, officials said Tuesday.

The good news for Oak Ridge: The current operations will remain here. And all Protomet operations will still be in East Tennessee, said Jeff Bohanan, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.

Protomet had announced in early 2017 that it needed more manufacturing space to add new production capabilities and increase the company’s output.

The initial plan was to expand with a 100,000-square-foot building on the west side of the existing facility on Larson Drive in Bethel Valley Industrial Park in south Oak Ridge. Protomet acquired a 19.7-acre parcel next to its current facility from the U.S. Department of Energy, with the purchase going through the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

Protomet immediately began testing that site, spending about $60,000 on architectural and engineering fees, Bohanan said Tuesday. The idea was to add the new building at the same location as the current one.

But, “at the end of the evaluation, it was clear we could not do the expansion the way it was designed on that land,” Bohanan said. [Read more…]

General Assembly approves bill that would establish CROET as ETTP manager

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The East Tennessee Technology Park, now known as Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above in this aerial photo from 2015. The large building that extends from left to right at left-center is the former K-27 Building, where demolition work was completed in August 2016. (Photo courtesy CROET)

The East Tennessee Technology Park, now known as Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above in this aerial photo from 2015. The large building that extends from left to right at left-center is the former K-27 Building, where demolition work was completed in August 2016. (Photo courtesy CROET)

 

The Tennessee General Assembly has approved legislation that would establish the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, or CROET, as the manager of the 1,300-acre East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge, a press release said.

The legislation was sponsored by Tennessee Senator Ken Yager and Representative Kent Calfee, both Kingston Republicans. It has been sent to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam for his signature.

East Tennessee Technology Park, or ETTP, is also known as Heritage Center and the former K-25 site. It once housed the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which was built during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons, before Germany could.

The ETTP site, once used to enrich uranium, is slowly being cleaned up. K-25 operations ended in 1985, and the site was permanently shut down in 1987. Now, it is being slowly converted into a large industrial park. Proponents hope it will become one of East Tennessee’s prime locations for new industry, the press release said.

CROET President Lawrence Young said the state legislation “is the latest step in efforts by the Department of Energy and CROET to reindustrialize the former K-25 site and help diversify the region’s economy.” [Read more…]

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