Oak Ridge Today

Planning Commission recommends residential rezoning near South Illinois

Posted at
By 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 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
By 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 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
By 1 Comment

Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge Community Development Department

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…]

Council approves rezoning at site where Taco Bell could be built

Posted at
By 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 will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

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…]

Taco Bell could be built on current site of General Sessions Court

Posted at
By 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 will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

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 will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

 

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 would change the property from an O-2 Office District to a B-2 General Business District.

The development plan calls for a Taco Bell fast-food restaurant with a drive-through on the property, according to a rezoning request that will be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, December 14, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

It’s not clear if the existing building, which once housed the city’s police station and later the Oak Ridge Utility District, would remain. Anderson County General Sessions Court, Division II, has been there since January 2009, but the court is moving to a county-owned building that once housed the Oak Ridge Senior Center on Emory Valley Road. [Read more…]

Council approves rezoning for former AMSE property

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday unanimously approved a rezoning for property that could be developed with a grocery store, retail shops, and restaurants on vacant land south of the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning of the 7.4 acres had been requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC, a company affiliated with RealtyLink, which is developing Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on October 19. City Council approved it with some comments in the first of two monthly meetings on Monday.

In addition to approving the rezoning request, Council approved an associated planned unit development (PUD) preliminary master plan for the project. [Read more…]

Rezoning map shows possible grocery, retail stores south of AMSE

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

A rezoning map for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, shows that a grocery or large retail store could be built on the 7.4 acres south of American Museum of Science and Energy. The map also shows three smaller retailers or restaurants are possible. AMSE is to the north of the proposed grocery or large retail building.

 

A rezoning map shows a grocery or large retail store could be built on the property south of American Museum of Science and Energy.

The rezoning map shows the grocery or retailer could be 55,000 square feet, set back from South Illinois Avenue and next to Badger Avenue. But no prospective tenant has been publicly announced yet.

Also shown on the rezoning map, which was filed for an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission meeting in October, are three smaller possible retail or restaurant buildings of about 4,000 to 7,000 square feet.

The rezoning was requested by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC for the 7.4 acres south of AMSE along South Illinois Avenue between South Tulane Avenue and Badger Avenue. That property was once part of the AMSE property and owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, but it has since been transferred to the City of Oak Ridge and then to TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC.

The rezoning was approved, with a few contingencies, by the Planning Commission on October 19, and it’s been referred to the Oak Ridge City Council, presumably for the Monday, November 13 meeting. [Read more…]

Rezoning could allow commercial development on former AMSE property

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The 7.44-acre parcel outlined in red above could be rezoned and allow commercial development south of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue. (Image courtesy State of Tennessee)

The 7.44-acre parcel outlined in red above could be rezoned and allow commercial development south of the American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue. The DoubleTree Hotel is at center-left, and the U.S. Post Office is at upper right. (Image courtesy State of Tennessee)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:45 a.m. Aug. 12.

A rezoning being considered by Oak Ridge municipal officials could allow commercial development on property that is now mostly a grass field south of the American Museum of Science and Energy. The 7.44-acre site could be used by retailers, restaurants, or groceries, or for office space or multi-family developments, according to a zoning change request filed by the owner.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will consider the rezoning request on Thursday. The request was filed by TN Oak Ridge Illinois LLC of Greenville, South Carolina. That company was set up by RealtyLink, the developer of Main Street Oak Ridge at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The property includes a grass field along South Illinois Avenue between South Tulane Avenue and Badger Avenue. The northern portion of the property includes part of the AMSE parking lot.

The parcel, appraised at $908,300, is located within the city’s central commercial core, the Oak Ridge city staff said in a review of the rezoning request. There are commercial properties on the opposite side of South Tulane Avenue, including the Main Street Oak Ridge redevelopment, the staff said. There is also commercial development on the other side of South Illinois Avenue. [Read more…]

Readers ask about Main Street Oak Ridge site plan—see it here

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan July 28 2016

This is the revised site plan approved by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, July 28, 2016.

 

Oak Ridge Today readers have asked about the site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. You can see it here.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a revised site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge on Thursday, July 28. It is pictured above.

Rutgers Avenue is the curved roadway partially visible at the bottom of the map above. The intersection of South Illinois and South Illinois avenues is at top left, with South Tulane Avenue curving across the top of the map. Wilson Street, which is now a private road but could become public after improvements are made, runs from top to bottom at right.

Belk is the building labeled C, and JCPenney is the building labeled G. [Read more…]

Council to consider traffic signals, access at ORHS, Main Street Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Main Street Oak Ridge Master Plan March 26, 2015

Here is the master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. (See a larger version of the plan in the link below.) The traffic signal and access would be on Rutgers Avenue in the bottom middle of the map above.

 

The City Council on Monday will consider resolutions that would allow new traffic signals at Oak Ridge High School and Main Street Oak Ridge.

Main Street Oak Ridge is the proposed project that would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall. The proposed traffic signal would be on Rutgers Avenue at a new access to Main Street Oak Ridge that the City Council could approve on Monday.

The other traffic signal would be on Oak Ridge Turnpike between Oak Ridge High School and the Civic Center. Council postponed a vote on that stoplight in March. [Read more…]

Main Street Oak Ridge signs first anchor lease, other leases could follow

Posted at
By 5 Comments

Main Street Oak Ridge

Main Street Oak Ridge would redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use project that could include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and possibly a hotel. The existing space between the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney, would be demolished, although those two stores would remain.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:15 a.m. March 27.

The developers who want to convert the former Oak Ridge Mall into Main Street Oak Ridge signed their first anchor store lease last week, an executive said Thursday.

And three to five more leases could be signed in the next month or so, said Tim Sittema of Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that has proposed the roughly 60-acre redevelopment.

Main Street Oak Ridge would redevelop the mall as a mixed-use project that would include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and possibly a hotel. The existing space between the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney, would be demolished, although those two stores would remain. [Read more…]

Main Street Oak Ridge rezoning, master plan to be considered Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Main Street Oak Ridge Presentation

Pictured above during a Monday presentation on Main Street Oak Ridge are Crosland Southeast partner James Downs, right; Barry James, Crosland Southeast senior vice president, center; and Houston E. Daugherty, Cannon and Cannon vice president.

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will consider a rezoning request for Main Street Oak Ridge during a Thursday meeting.

The Planning Commission will also consider a planned unit development, or PUD, master plan for the project.

Main Street Oak Ridge is the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, now officially known as the Oak Ridge City Center.

The Thursday meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. [Read more…]