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Frustration increases, Council not pleased as Jackson Square work stretches into fall

Posted at 9:08 pm August 11, 2015
By John Huotari 8 Comments

Jackson Square Parking Lot Meeting

Oak Ridge municipal staff members and Mayor Warren Gooch met with Jackson Square merchants at Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen on Wednesday, July 29, to discuss the $1 million parking lot renovation, which is not yet finished but could be “substantially complete” by Sept. 15. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One merchant said he’s lost more than $100,000 in sales. Another said she had to close her business. And a third has posted signs that express frustration with the pace of construction at Jackson Square.

At one time, there was hope that the $1 million parking lot renovation at Jackson Square would be complete by the Lavender Festival in mid-June. But that didn’t happen. Now, the latest construction schedule estimates that it will be “substantially complete” by September 15—in time for Taste of Anderson County—but not finished until the end of October.

Officials have said the primary delay has been with the interactive fountain that will be installed in the center of Jackson Square. It still hasn’t arrived, and officials have said it could take four weeks to install. On Monday, the contractor and her attorney said the fountain could arrive in Oak Ridge on Wednesday.

Even business owners who had an optimistic outlook earlier have lost their patience with the project, which is mostly funded with a state grant. Their primary frustrations: The work has taken much longer than expected, the schedule keeps getting extended, and there have been too many days when, they say, they’ve seen no signs of work. In the meantime, the parking lot in front of their stores was closed for months, and they believe that the construction fencing and orange barrels drove away some potential customers.

“Why can’t they finish this?” asked Jonathan Goldstein of The String Workshop.

“We’ve been nice long enough,” said Dean Russell, owner of Dean’s Restaurant and Bakery.

“I think our frustration is how many days we’ve seen nothing happening as our customer base declines,” said Steve Seivers, who has a law practice in the square, the city’s original town center.

On Monday, the Oak Ridge City Council joined the chorus of frustration. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider Tagged With: Angel Rich, Blankenship Field, Cutie Patootie’s Repeat Boutique, Danl Hall, Dean Russell, Dean's Restaurant and Bakery, interactive fountain, Jackson Square, Jackson Square merchants, Jackson Square parking lot, Jonathan Goldstein, Kathryn Baldwin, Lavender Festival, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council, parking lot, parking lot renovations, Razzleberry’s Ice Cream Lab and Kitchen, renovation, Rich Construction Inc., Rich Construction Incorporated, Rick Chinn, Robert Noell, Roger Flynn, Spotted Spaniel, Steve Seivers, Taste of Anderson County, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, The Ferrell Shop, The String Workshop, Through the Looking Glass, Trina Baughn, Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers Incorporated, Warren Gooch, Wendy Holloway

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