Pine Ridge Archives - Oak Ridge Today

For members: Residential lots proposed on Oak Ridge Summit

Posted at 11:57 am May 11, 2021
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, pictured above on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, the former Pine Ridge above South Illinois Avenue.

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*Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, pictured above on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)*

Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, the former Pine Ridge above South Illinois Avenue.

The 45-acre site could have 57 single-family lots, as well as open space, on a new street and cul-de-sac with access off Summit Drive on the former ridge, according to the agenda for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday.

Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, pictured above on Friday, May 7, 2021. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Residential lots have been proposed for the upper part of Oak Ridge Summit, the former Pine Ridge above South Illinois Avenue.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:

Basic

Pro

Temporary

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

We also haveÂ advanced subscription options. You can see themÂ here.

We also acceptÂ donations. You can donateÂ here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Pine Ridge building, property under contract; rest of Summit for sale for $3.5 million

Posted at 11:41 am August 24, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A large ridge top tract of land that features panoramic views and was once proposed as the site of a Target retail development is now for sale. The land, which is also known as The Summit, is on Pine Ridge along South Illinois Avenue between Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive and Centrifuge Way. A 30,000-square-foot building on the property is pictured above on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A building that is about 30,000 square feet and was once used to store documents on Pine RidgeÂ for the Y-12 National Security Complex is under contract and in “due diligence,” according to an executive involved in the potential sale. Also under contract is about 15 acres on Pine Ridge, also known as The Summit, a large piece of property that offers panoramic views from a ridge top above South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge. Noah Myers, principal broker with CornerStone Realty, said he hopes there is a closing on the building and land purchase this fall. Separate from that potential purchase, there is about 85 acres of open land on Pine Ridge that is for sale for $3.5 million. It’s a mix of office and industrial property, Myers said. Utilities are in place, including roads, electricity, water, and sewer. [Read more…]

For sale: Pine Ridge property with panoramic views

Posted at 3:58 pm August 16, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A large ridge top tract of land that features panoramic views and was once proposed as the site of a Target retail development is now for sale. The land, which is also known as 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. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A large ridge top tract of land that features panoramic views and was once proposed as the site of a Target retail development is now for sale.

It’s not clear how the property, which was cleared and graded more than a decade ago, might be used. There have been inquiries about multi-family apartments, single-family homes, and industrial uses, said Tom Tuck ofÂ TNBANK, which is based in Oak Ridge and now owns the property.

The land, which is also known as The Summit, is on Pine Ridge along South Illinois Avenue between Scarboro Road/Lafayette Drive and Centrifuge Way. It’s on the ridge top on the right side of the road as you head up the hill toward Centrifuge Way leaving Oak Ridge and driving to Knox County.

TNBANK foreclosed on the property in February. The previous owner was Revis Family LLC, according to Anderson County property records. [Read more…]

Council has special meeting today to consider contracts for water line, pool repairs

Posted at 12:04 pm February 16, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge City Council has a special meeting at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, 2018, to consider two contracts, one for water line repair and the other for pool repair. The water line repair is an emergency repair to a 24-inch feed that is considered critical for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and passes through the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The Oak Ridge City Council has a special meeting at 4 p.m. today (Friday, February 16) to consider two contracts, one for water line repair and the other for pool repair. The water line repair is an emergency repair to a 24-inch feed that is considered critical for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and passes through the Y-12 National Security Complex.

If approved, the water line repair contract would be valued at roughly $100,000, and it would be awarded to Hurst Excavating LLC of Knoxville. The project would replace about 400 feet of the 24-inch water line, which is along Bear Creek Road inside the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The project is a joint effort between the City of Oak Ridge and the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira A. McWaters said in a February 15 memo to City Manager Mark Watson. The city-DOE water contract specifies that repairs are to be shared 50/50, McWaters said.

The cast iron water line runs from east to west from the city’s water treatment plant, which is on Pine Ridge at Y-12, to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The line failed January 29. It is part of the infrastructure that was transferred to the city in May 2000, when the city assumed ownership and began operating the water treatment plant, which had previously been owned by DOE. [Read more…]

NNSA has information session on Y-12, UPF, electrical substation on Wednesday

Posted at 4:02 pm January 18, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The National Nuclear Security Administration will have an information session on Wednesday about the Y-12 National Security Complex,Â the Uranium Processing Facility construction project, and the work to replace the electrical substation at Y-12.

The information session was scheduled after Oak Ridge officials raised concerns in November and December about the power lines proposed on top of Pine Ridge as part of the electrical substation project.Â Pine RidgeÂ separates Y-12 from the center of the city, and Oak Ridge officials have said they had not received adequate notice of the power line project and didn’t know what other options had been considered. They also expressed concerns about the lack of public input and the visual impact of building power lines and installing transmission towers on top of the ridge. As of December, Oak Ridge City Council members said they hadn’t seen a visual representation of what the power lines could look like. [Read more…]

City provides information on what power poles on Pine Ridge could look like

Posted at 8:56 pm December 22, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

H-frame or H tower transmission towers are pictured at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex off Scarboro Road on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m.

The City of Oak Ridge this week provided information on what the power poles on Pine Ridge could look like.

The logging work to install the power line poles, or transmission towers, on top of Pine Ridge has been temporarily delayed for 45 daysÂ afterÂ Oak Ridge City Council members raised concerns in November and December.

One of the concerns for City Council members has been the potential visual impact the power poles could have on top of Pine Ridge. That prominent ridge in south Oak Ridge separates Y-12 from the center of the city.

So far, the National Nuclear Security Administration and its Uranium Processing Facility Project Office haven’t provided a visual representation of what the transmission towers could look like on top of the ridge.

On Tuesday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson and Electric Director Jack Suggs provided some visual comparisons to City Council members during a non-voting work session. Watson said a light pole at the city baseball field is about 80 feet. That’s close to the same size as the roughly 79-foot-high power poles expected on Pine Ridge. [Read more…]

NNSA grants 45-day discussion for Pine Ridge logging, Y-12 power lines

Posted at 5:12 pm December 18, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Dale Christenson, Uranium Processing Facility federal project director, standing at right, talks to Oak Ridge City Council during a non-voting work session in the Jefferson Middle School Library on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. In the background are city staff members and members of the public. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The National Nuclear Security Administration has granted a 45-day discussion period for a project to build a new electrical substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex that could include logging work on top of Pine Ridge.

Oak Ridge officials had requested a 30-day delay of the logging work. CityÂ officials have raised concerns about that part of the project because they said they didn’t know about it until a week or two before logging operations were scheduled to start, there has been no public input, and cutting down trees and replacing them with transmission towers on top of the ridge would affect the view in that part of the city, including from two residential neighborhoods, Scarboro and Groves Park Commons.Â Pine Ridge is between Y-12 and the center of the city.

Oak Ridge officials have also said they don’t know what other options were considered, besides installing the high-voltage power lines on top of Pine Ridge.

The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new electrical substation that will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. UPF is the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II, and it is expected to be completed by 2025 at a cost of no more than $6.5 billion.

Oak Ridge officials have emphasized that they support the project, but they don’t think the city has been treated as an equal partner on the electrical substation and power line portion of the project.

In a press release Tuesday, the City of Oak Ridge said theÂ electrical substation project would involve clear-cutting 2.1 miles of mature trees along the top of Pine Ridge. The NNSA has delayed that project for 45 days, althoughÂ some logging activity will still occur during that time. [Read more…]

Council to discuss AMSE project, Y-12/UPF power lines on Tuesday

Posted at 2:57 pm December 16, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The American Museum of Science and Energy is at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge. (File photo by Sara Wise)

The Oak Ridge City Council on Tuesday will discuss the project to move the American Museum of Science and Energy from its current home on South Tulane Avenue to Main Street Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge Today reported in November that construction documents had been submitted for the new museum at Main Street Oak Ridge,Â the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.Â Itâ€™s not clear when AMSE might open at its new home at Main Street Oak Ridge, but it willÂ continue to be at its current location, where itâ€™s been since the mid-1970s,Â past the end of the year.

AMSE is relocating to space that will be renovated in aÂ two-story building that once housed a Sears Roebuck store next to JCPenney at what is now Main Street Oak Ridge. That planned move is part of anÂ agreement that was signed by the city and DOE in December 2016. Under that agreement, the 17-acre AMSE site was to be transferred from theÂ U.S. Department of Energy to the City of Oak Ridge.

The city is, in turn, transferring the AMSE property in two phases to TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC.Â That company wasÂ set up by RealtyLink, the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge.

The southernmostÂ 7.44 acres of the AMSE site have already been transferred to TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC. In November, the Oak Ridge City Council unanimously approved a rezoning for that property, which could be developed with a grocery store, retail shops, and restaurants.

[Read more…]

Council to discuss Y-12, UPF power lines on Pine Ridge today

Posted at 10:43 am December 8, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017, asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge, pictured above from South Illinois Avenue in south Oak Ridge, for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge City Council will discuss the power lines planned on top of Pine Ridge for a new electrical substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex during a special meeting today (Friday, December 8).

Specifically, City Council will review the federal response to a city letter about the planned high-voltage power lines.

The special meeting will start at 1:30 p.m. Friday, December 8, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom at 200 South Tulane Avenue. [Read more…]

City wants to minimize impact of new power lines for Y-12, UPF

Posted at 12:28 pm December 4, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Pine Ridge, which separates the Scarboro neighborhood from the Y-12 National Security Complex, is pictured above from the Scarboro Community Center playground. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge has asked federal officials to consider an option that minimizes the impact of new high-voltage power lines planned on top of Pine Ridge, which is between the center of the city and the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The 161-kilovolt power lines will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex.Â The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12.

Dale Christenson, federal project director for the UPF, presented the project to Oak Ridge City Council during a November 7 work session. Less than a week later, at its November 13 meeting, City Council unanimously approved a letter that requested a postponement of tree-clearing workÂ that is part of the projectÂ in order to discuss alternatives. The National Nuclear Security Administration agreed to a two-week delay, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release Monday. Y-12 is an NNSA site.

In order to install the power lines, federal officials planÂ to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge. The ridge is between Y-12Â and two Oak Ridge neighborhoods: Scarboro and Groves Park Commons.

“Several weeks ago, the NNSA advised of proceeding with plans to clear cut 2.1 miles of mature trees and vegetation along the crest of Pine Ridge,” the city’s press release said. “More than 30 79-foot Tennessee Valley Authority transmission towers will be erected along the top of the ridge after clear cutting occurs. Although DOE has been planning this initiative for at least two years, the city has not been engaged in the process or studying electrical options for serving the new Uranium Processing Facility.” [Read more…]

Council asks UPF project director to postpone removal of trees on top of Pine Ridge

Posted at 12:06 am November 20, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A letter unanimously approved by Oak Ridge City Council on Monday asks federal officials to postpone a project to remove trees and other vegetation from the top of Pine Ridge for 161-kilovolt power lines that will provide electricity to a new substation at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

Among the City Council concerns: They only recently learned of the project, they don’t know what other options were considered, and they are worried about the visual impact of 79-foot transmission towers being located on top of Pine Ridge. Also, Council members said, there has been no public discussion about the project until two weeks before the logging operation was scheduled to start on Thursday, November 16.

The clearing work is part of a project to build aÂ new substation at Y-12. It will replace an existing substation that is “nearing the end of its service life,” according to information presented to City Council and some community members. The tree removal will allow the 161-kilovolt power linesÂ to be installed in the cleared area.Â The area to be cleared is on top of the ridge, about 2.1 miles long, and it will support a right-of-way that is about 100 feet wide. The electrical line would run from east to west on Pine Ridge, according to a report toÂ City Council from Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. All of the work would be on U.S. Department of Energy property, officials said.

The new substation will service all of Y-12, but it is being built as a subproject of the Uranium Processing Facility. It would be near UPF on the west side of Y-12. [Read more…]

New water plant could cost more than $40 million

Posted at 11:35 am November 13, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Building a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge or rehabilitating the current one could cost between $43.1 million and $46.9 million, according to an evaluation of three alternatives prepared for the city by an engineering company. The three alternatives are show in the image above.

Building a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge or renovating the current one could cost between $43.1 million and $46.9 million, according to an evaluation prepared for the city by an engineering company.

Three alternatives for renovating the existing water plant or building a new one were presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in October in an evaluation byÂ Jacobs Engineering Group. The three options have different impacts on the raw water intake on the Clinch River in south Oak Ridge, an intermediate pump station at the Y-12 National Security Complex between the raw water intake and the existing water treatment plant, andÂ the current 70-year-old plant, which is on Pine Ridge above Y-12.

The first alternative, which could cost $46.5 million, would rehabilitate the existing plant. ItÂ would continue to use the raw water intake, the intermediate pump station, and the water plant. It would include work at those three sites, as well as to the two underground lines that feed the water plant.

The rehabilitation wouldÂ require mechanical and process equipment upgrades, pipeline replacement, electrical improvements, and slope stabilization.

The Jacobs evaluation said the building and basins at the existing plant are in good condition, and the facility works well at 8-12 million gallons per day. It has the two underground lines coming in and three going out, and two storage reservoirs on Pine Ridge, one of three million gallons and the other of four million gallons. [Read more…]