Oak Ridge Today

Council to consider 10 percent pay raise for city manager, mall TIF

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Mark Watson

Mark Watson

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider a 10 percent salary increase for City Manager Mark Watson.

If council approves, Watson would earn a new annual base salary of $150,321.60, effective Aug. 8, 2013. He started in Oak Ridge about three years ago at an annual salary of $131,996.80.

The pay raise has been unanimously recommended by a three-member City Manager Evaluation Committee. It would require that Watson’s employment agreement be amended.

The recommended increase is based on council member’s evaluations of Watson and his performance during the previous year, said Charles J. “Chuck” Hope Jr., chair of the City Manager Evaluation Committee. [Read more…]

Anderson committee recommends tax package for Oak Ridge Mall

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Anderson County Operations Committee

The Anderson County Operations Committee on Monday unanimously recommends a tax financing agreement that could help with the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. Pictured above from left are Anderson County commissioners Robert McKamey, Zach Bates (partially obscured), Tracy Wandell, Whitey Hitchcock, Steve Emert, Rick Meredith, and John Shuey.

CLINTON—An Anderson County committee has unanimously recommended a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall.

In a 7-0 voice vote, the Anderson County Operations Committee recommended the tax increment financing, or TIF, to the full Anderson County Commission during a Monday evening meeting.

The TIF could last 20 years, and it would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs. It’s already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. [Read more…]

County committee to consider tax financing for Oak Ridge Mall redevelopment

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the tax financing plan for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall during a Monday evening meeting.

The Anderson County Operations Committee will consider the tax financing plan for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall during a Monday evening meeting.

The tax financing agreement could be worth $13 million and last 20 years. It would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.

The tax increment financing, or TIF, proposal has already been unanimously endorsed by the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board.

It will be considered by the Operations Committee in a meeting that starts at 6 p.m. today in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. It will also be considered at 4 p.m. Thursday by the Anderson County Budget Committee; at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, by the Oak Ridge City Council; and at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, by the Anderson County Commission. [Read more…]

Guest column: Diversity in proximity—an aesthetic approach to urban architecture

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I’m very glad there is positive forward movement on redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. However, I feel that the current layout proposed will fall far short of the ideal design, one that will best do what Oak Ridge wants it to.

I recently returned from my honeymoon through the Carolinas and Georgia, and along the way it dawned on me precisely what elements are in play regarding our gut “feelings” about downtown shopping, dining, and nightlife architecture—what makes one place more appealing than another. [Read more…]

Gatti’s Pizza, Market House restaurants close

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Gatti's Pizza

A sign posted on the door of the former Gatti’s Pizza next to the Oak Ridge Mall says the business has been sold.

A longtime pizza restaurant and a newer “farm-to-table” diner have closed in Oak Ridge.

A sign posted on the front door of the former Gatti’s Pizza earlier this month said the business has been sold.

Meanwhile, the owners of The Market House at Jackson Square posted on their Facebook page on Oct. 14 that they will no longer be open but will continue to fulfill any private party obligations.

Oak Ridge Today has not been able to reach the owners of either business to elaborate. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Mall plan receives key endorsement from city board

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Oak Ridge Mall TIF Public Hearing

Ray Evans, right, Oak Ridge economic development consultant, explains an economic impact plan for the proposed $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. Also pictured seated at left are Tim Sittema, a partner in Crosland Southeast, a North Carolina commercial real estate company, and James Murphy, center, a Nashville attorney.

The $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall received a key endorsement Thursday when a city board unanimously recommended a plan that would allow new property tax revenues generated at the site to be used to help pay for development costs.

It’s known as a tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement, and it could be worth $13 million and last 20 years. In an 8-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday, the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board recommended the plan to the Oak Ridge City Council and Anderson County Commission, which could consider it in November.

Tim Sittema, a partner in Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has had a purchase contract on the mall since January, said the commercial real estate firm doesn’t have signed leases for the proposed redevelopment yet but is focused on 20 or 30 larger potential tenants.

If all goes well, the sale of the mall could close in the middle of next year, and demolition could then start immediately and last three to four months. Construction could last about 1.5 years, Sittema told the IDB. That means the redeveloped property, which would be named Freedom Park, could open in 2016. [Read more…]

Mall TIF could be worth $13 million, last 20 years

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Oak Ridge Mall Concept Plan Featured

The proposed tax financing agreement to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall could be worth up to $13 million and last 20 years, and when complete, the 60-acre site in the center of the city could include a mix of mostly retail and some office space, a hotel, and up to 50 multi-family residential units.

The proposed tax financing agreement to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall could be worth $13 million and last 20 years, and when complete, the 60-acre project in the center of the city could include a mix of mostly retail and some office space, a hotel, and up to 50 multi-family residential units.

The developer, C4 Investments LLC of North Carolina, could spend more than $85 million converting what is now a mostly empty enclosed mall into an open-air, retail-driven, mixed-use property.

The redevelopment plan calls for about 400,000 square feet of retail space and roughly 60,000 to 100,000 square feet of office space, according to an economic impact plan to be discussed at a public hearing at 5 p.m. today (Thursday) and considered during a special meeting of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board. [Read more…]

IDB has public hearing, special meeting to consider mall plan Thursday

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Oak Ridge Mall Master Plan

A city board will have a public hearing and special meeting Thursday to consider a tax financing agreement for the $80 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. (Submitted image)

A city board will have a public hearing and special meeting Thursday to consider a tax financing agreement for the $80 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall.

The public hearing starts at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. It will include a presentation by Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has a purchase contract on the mall and has proposed redeveloping it. The public hearing will also include public comments.

The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board will have a special meeting after the public hearing to consider approving the tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement, which could be recommended to Oak Ridge City Council and Anderson County Commission. [Read more…]

Mall redevelopment could cost $80 million, create close to 1,000 jobs

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Oak Ridge Mall Master Plan

The site plan for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall shows a multi-use, town center development with retail, office, hotel, and residential properties. (Submitted image)

The project could include retail, hotel, office, and residential properties, and generate more than $2 million per year in new city and county sales tax revenues, consultant says

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

The North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has unveiled its site plan for the 60-acre property.

The $80 million redevelopment could include new retail, hotel, office, and residential properties. It would create almost 1,000 new jobs and increase annual city and county sales tax revenues by more than $2 million, according to an estimate by a city consultant.

The two remaining anchor stores at the 500,000-square-foot mall, JCPenney and Belk, would stay. So would Walmart and the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.

Meanwhile, the existing interior space between the anchor stores would be demolished. Previous mall redevelopment plans had also called for demolishing that interior retail space. [Read more…]

Tax financing meeting for Oak Ridge Mall postponed

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Oak Ridge Mall

A meeting to consider a tax financing agreement for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall has been postponed. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above.

The meeting to consider a tax incentive that could be used to help redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has been postponed in order to allow a city board to update its policy to reflect current state law, a city consultant said Friday.

The meeting, which had been scheduled for Sept. 26, could be rescheduled two to three weeks later, economic development consultant Ray Evans said.

He said the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board has a tax increment financing, or TIF, policy that was initially enacted in 2008 and last updated in 2011. [Read more…]

DOE, TEMA emergency forum set for Sept. 26 in Oak Ridge

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office will host another Oak Ridge Emergency Management Forum on Sept. 26. This year’s theme is “Back to Basics: Partnerships in Emergency Management.” Admission is free to the public and activities will begin at 8 a.m.

The DOE-ORO and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency collaborated to sponsor this year’s forum, which will be held at the Y-12 New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. The keynote speaker, Federal Emergency Management Agency Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, will speak about current innovations in emergency management partnerships. The all-day forum will also include panel and breakout sessions on a variety of topics. [Read more…]

City board will consider tax incentive, development area for Oak Ridge Mall

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Oak Ridge Mall Redevelopment Area

The Oak Ridge Mall economic development area is pictured above. The map shows a contiguous area that could be affected economically by the proposed development, which only includes the former 60-acre mall property, according to a city consultant. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

A city board this month will consider a financing arrangement that could be worth up to $10 million and allow a North Carolina company to use new property tax revenues generated at a redeveloped Oak Ridge Mall to be used for site development, possibly including for roads, stoplights, and demolition work.

Many of the details aren’t available yet, including the precise amount of the proposed tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement and the length of time it could be in effect. The details will be discussed at a Sept. 26 meeting of the Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, when members will consider an economic impact plan, city consultant Ray Evans said.

The economic development area could include about 90 acres. It would include the 60-acre mall and could include an apartment complex and museum, movie theater and pizza shop, real estate firm and hotel, and several busy stores on Oak Ridge Turnpike—properties that could benefit from the TIF, Evans said.

[Read more…]