Oak Ridge Today

New developer plans to close on former mall on Dec. 15

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Neil Wilson of RealtyLink at Rise and Shine on Nov. 3, 2015

Neil Wilson, left, principal of RealtyLink, gives an update on the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall at an Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Rise and Shine at TNBank on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 11:15 a.m.

The new company leading the project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall plans to close on the property on December 15, an executive said Tuesday. It’s the first time a closing date has been announced by one of the developers associated with the project.

The new developer, RealtyLink, plans to have a minimum of seven stores open by Christmas 2016, Principal Neil Wilson said. That would include four stores adjacent to Belk and two adjacent to Walmart.

Wilson declined to name the stores but said the new mixed-use development, called Main Street Oak Ridge, could include a sporting goods store, a cosmetics retailer, one or two apparel merchants, and a 20,000-square-foot electronics shop that has signed a letter of intent. There could be a total of about 150,000 square feet of retail in those stores. There are roughly 130,000 square feet of retail at JCPenney and Belk, which will have a new facade and entrance.

Wilson said his company, which is based in Greenville, South Carolina, wants to start demolition on the enclosed spaces between the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney, the day after it closes on the purchase of the roughly 60-acre property in the center of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Chamber members hear about retail convention at networking meeting

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Leigha Edwards

Leigha Edwards, vice chair of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce’s economic growth efforts, gives an update on retail activity during a Tuesday morning networking meeting. (Photo by Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce)

Leigha Edwards, one of the Oak Ridge representatives who attended a recent shopping center convention, gave an update on retail activity during a Tuesday morning networking meeting.

Edwards works for UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and she is vice chair of the Chamber’s economic growth efforts, a press release said.

She recently attended RECon, held by the International Council of Shopping Centers, along with other representatives of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and the City of Oak Ridge. In addition to Edwards, other representatives who attended were Melinda Hillman of Roane State Community College and chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors; Stephen Whitson of H-S Whitson; Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Smith; and Parker Hardy, president and chief executive officer of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

“The conversation at RECon about retail development in Oak Ridge has changed dramatically since the first year I attended in 2013,” Edwards said. “The fact that Crosland Southeast is purchasing the mall property changed things in a very positive way. Their reputation is such that it brought a great deal of credibility to the project and the city as a whole. [Read more…]