Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission Archives

Planning Commission recommends residential rezoning near South Illinois

Posted at 11:48 pm July 23, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, July 19, 2018, recommended a rezoning that could allow about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge, pictured above on Monday, July 23, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission has recommended a rezoning that could allow about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge.

The Planning Commission approved the rezoning request 8-0 on Thursday, said Stephen Whitson, Planning Commission chair.

There was no opposition.

The Planning Commission also voted 8-0 to recommend an associated land use plan map amendment.

The rezoning request and land use plan map amendment will now be considered by Oak Ridge City Council.

The property is currently zoned industrial. If approved by Council, the request would rezone the 32 acres as low-density residential. [Read more…]

Site work starts for Tire Discounters in front of AMSE

Posted at 4:13 pm July 22, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Site work is pictured above on Tuesday, July 17, 2018, on the lot where a Tire Discounters will be built along South Illinois Avenue in front of the American Museum of Science and Energy. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Site work was under way last week for a Tire Discounters on property south of the American Museum of Science and Energy, the first development on any part of the museum site.

There could be other developments later on the southern 7.4 acres of the 19-acre museum site, possibly including a grocery or retail store of about 55,000 square feet and retail or restaurant space. (See here and here.)

The Oak Ridge City Council unanimously approved a rezoning for the 7.4 acres, which will include the Tire Discounters store, in November.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved a final master plan for a planned unit development on the property during a special meeting in March. The final master plan was subject to certain conditions. Among them were one requirement to submit a new or revised traffic impact study when the site plan for the grocery store or large “box” store is submitted and one to install sidewalks on the northern boundary of the property. [Read more…]

Rezoning requested for about 200 homes on South Illinois

Posted at 8:34 pm July 13, 2018
By John Huotari 1 Comment

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge Community Development Department

A rezoning to be considered by Oak Ridge officials next week proposes about 200 homes on 32 acres near South Illinois Avenue and Centrifuge Way in south Oak Ridge.

The property is currently zoned industrial. The request, if approved, would rezone it as low-density residential. The request will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday.

The property, which is currently vacant, is owned by Commercial Bank. It’s in an area north of South Illinois Avenue and the Summit, south of Mitchell Road and Crossroads at Wolf Creek, east of Lafayette Drive and Midway Lane, and west of Centrus (formerly known as USEC in a building once used by Boeing) and the University of Tennessee Arboretum.

The potential developer is not named in a review of the rezoning request by the Oak Ridge municipal staff.

“The applicant states that the prospective developer for the property plans to develop the site with approximately 200 single-family detached units,” the review said. [Read more…]

Vogel giving up Council seat in move to Idaho lab

Posted at 11:16 pm June 4, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Hans Vogel

Oak Ridge City Council member Hans Vogel will give up his seat at the end of June because he is moving to Idaho National Laboratory in July.

Vogel made the announcement at the City Council meeting on Monday.

Vogel said he will be director of strategic irradiation capability for the Advanced Test Reactor at INL, which is in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

“It is a career opportunity,” Vogel said Monday night. “This opportunity at Idaho National Laboratory was something I couldn’t turn down.”

Vogel will also resign from his seat on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission. He was on the Planning Commission before he was elected to City Council in November 2016. He now serves as the City Council representative on Planning Commission. [Read more…]

Next City Blueprint Open House is Thursday

Posted at 10:36 am April 25, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Photo by City of Oak Ridge

The Oak Ridge Community Development Department is continuing the Oak Ridge City Blueprint effort with a discussion focused on multiple subareas on Thursday. An open house will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 26, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

Families and local business representatives are invited to attend meetings and share ideas for possible neighborhood improvements. While the meeting that focuses on the subarea where residents live or work may have the most relevant information for them, every citizen is encouraged to engage in the Blueprint process at each meeting, a press release said.

WHAT: Oak Ridge City Blueprint Open House [Read more…]

Ben Stephens appointed to Oak Ridge school board

Posted at 1:01 pm March 27, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Ben Stephens

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday appointed Benjamin Stephens to fill the seat being vacated by Vice Chair Robert S. Eby, who is resigning at the end of March in order to serve on the Tennessee State Board of Education.

Stephens will serve through the county election in August. The winning candidate in that election will then serve through the November election, which will have candidates for municipal, state, and federal offices.

Stephens is manager of academic partnerships at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been involved in community activities, and he serves on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission.

At Monday’s meeting, BOE member Angi Agle said she and Laura McLean, another board member, served on a 2020 Committee with Stephens and were impressed with his service there.

Stephens said he has worked with the board on several strategic plans, and he is honored to serve on the Oak Ridge Board of Education. [Read more…]

Plan for former AMSE property shows possible grocery, tire store, retail/restaurant

Posted at 10:50 pm March 6, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Image from Oak Ridge Community Development Department’s staff report for TN Oak Ridge Illinois PUD Final Master Plan, to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, March 8, 2018. This image shows the location and types of businesses that could locate on the 7.4-acre site.

A final master plan for about 7.4 acres south of the American Museum of Science and Energy shows possible businesses that could include a grocery or retail store of about 55,000 square feet and smaller businesses that could include a tire store and retail/restaurant.

The businesses would be on former AMSE property that is now vacant land at the intersection of South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue.

The final master plan for the planned unit development, or PUD, will be considered during a special meeting of the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday. The special meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. A work session will follow at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

Planning Commission to consider final master plan for property south of AMSE

Posted at 11:51 pm March 5, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday will consider a final master plan for about seven acres of land south of the American Museum of Science and Energy, property that was once part of the museum site.

During Thursday’s special meeting, the Planning Commission is scheduled to consider a final master plan for a planned unit development, or PUD, for the 7.4 acres, which is at the intersection of South Tulane Avenue and South Illinois Avenue.

The plan is to be submitted by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, which is developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall. A copy of the PUD final master plan wasn’t available Monday afternoon.

The special meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. A work session will follow at 6 p.m. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge City Blueprint open house schedule updates

Posted at 12:44 pm March 2, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Photo by City of Oak Ridge

The Oak Ridge Community Development Department has provided an updated open house schedule for the Oak Ridge City Blueprint project, including revised meeting dates and additional opportunities for members of the community to join the discussion.

At a recent meeting, the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved several modifications to the Blueprint open house schedule in an effort to balance the calendar, avoid conflicts, and potentially increase attendance, a press release said.

Here is the updated schedule: [Read more…]

Construction starts at Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Posted at 3:48 pm January 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Construction has started on a building that will include Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers on a corner lot at South Illinois Avenue and South Tulane Avenue, between Taco Bell and Golden Oak Buffet. Here are a few photos from the work site on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The restaurant has signed a lease in a building that will be about 9,000 square feet, said Neil Wilson of RealtyLink, the South Carolina company redeveloping the former 58-acre Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge.

Freddy’s has previously said it could open in Oak Ridge this year.

During an Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce event in November, Wilson said the corner lot, which was once a detention pond, is one of the best commercial property corners in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Photos: Construction under way at TownePlace Suites

Posted at 3:06 pm January 14, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Construction is pictured above on the TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney, on Friday, Jan. 5, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Construction work is under way at TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney. Here are photos of the construction work this month.

Oak Ridge Today last reported on the hotel in August 2016, after the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan for the hotel.

The TownePlace Suites will be owned by Chander Bhateja, who is also the developer and franchisee. Bhateja, an Oak Ridge resident, owns three hotels in Knoxville and others in the Southeast, Oak Ridge Today reported at the time.

TownePlace Suites is at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development that could also include retailers, restaurants, and residential units. The hotel property, which is separate from the property being leased by RealtyLink, the South Carolina-based developer of Main Street Oak Ridge, is owned by Series C of NP Road Partners LLC of Oak Ridge, according to state records, and Bhateja is the registered agent of NP Road Partners LLC. [Read more…]

Council approves rezoning at site where Taco Bell could be built

Posted at 10:47 pm January 8, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A Taco Bell restaurant could be built on the property that now houses Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, at the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike. A rezoning has been requested for the 1.1-acre site by Tacala TN Corporation of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The rezoning request was approved by Oak Ridge City Council in the first of two monthly readings, or meetings, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018.

Although they didn’t approve a specific development, the Oak Ridge City Council on Monday approved a rezoning that could allow a Taco Bell restaurant with a drive-through on property that now houses a courthouse at the intersection of Bus Terminal Road and Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Council was approving a rezoning only. Any specific proposal to develop the property would undergo the city’s normal site review.

The 1.1-acre site is now home to Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, which is expected to move soon to a county-owned building that once housed the Daniel Arthur Rehabilitation Center on Emory Valley Road.

The rezoning has been requested by Tacala TN Corporation of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The rezoning would change the property from an O-2 Office District to a B-2 General Business District. Restaurants are allowed as special exceptions in the O-2 district, as long as there is no drive-through, Oak Ridge Community Development Senior Planner Kelly Duggan said in a December 18 memo to City Manager Mark Watson. B-2 districts allow drive-through restaurants “by right,” Duggan said. [Read more…]