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State comptroller approves $13 million agreement for Oak Ridge Mall

Posted at 4:43 pm February 8, 2014
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Oak Ridge Mall

The Tennessee Comptroller has approved the use of a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall. The L-shaped mall is pictured at center above.

The Tennessee Comptroller has approved a $13 million tax financing agreement that could be used for the $85 million redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall.

The approval was announced in a Wednesday letter from Tennessee Comptroller Justin P. Wilson to Nashville law firm Bradley, Arant, Boult, and Cummings, which is working with Crosland Southeast, the North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the mostly empty mall.

The 20-year tax increment financing, or TIF, agreement, would use new property tax revenues generated at the 59-acre site to help pay for development costs, possibly including tearing down the existing space between the two remaining anchor stores, JCPenney and Belk, as well as for replacing aging infrastructure and building new roads. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Commission, Belk, Bradley Arant Boult and Cummings, Clint Brewer, comptroller, Crosland Southeast, ECD, IDB, JCPenney, Justin P. Wilson, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, Oak Ridge Mall, property tax revenues, redevelopment, retail sales, sales tax revenues, tax financing, tax increment, tax increment financing, Tennessee Comptroller, Tennessee Economic and Community Development, TIF, Tim Sittema

Mall redevelopment could cost $80 million, create close to 1,000 jobs

Posted at 9:17 am September 25, 2013
By John Huotari 104 Comments

Oak Ridge Mall Master Plan

The site plan for the redevelopment of the Oak Ridge Mall shows a multi-use, town center development with retail, office, hotel, and residential properties. (Submitted image)

The project could include retail, hotel, office, and residential properties, and generate more than $2 million per year in new city and county sales tax revenues, consultant says

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

The North Carolina company that wants to redevelop the Oak Ridge Mall has unveiled its site plan for the 60-acre property.

The $80 million redevelopment could include new retail, hotel, office, and residential properties. It would create almost 1,000 new jobs and increase annual city and county sales tax revenues by more than $2 million, according to an estimate by a city consultant.

The two remaining anchor stores at the 500,000-square-foot mall, JCPenney and Belk, would stay. So would Walmart and the Cinemark Tinseltown theater.

Meanwhile, the existing interior space between the anchor stores would be demolished. Previous mall redevelopment plans had also called for demolishing that interior retail space. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Belk, bond resolution, Cinemark Tinseltown, Crosland Southeast, downtown, JCPenney, jobs, mall, mall redevelopment, Oak Ridge City Center LLC, Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board, Oak Ridge Mall, property tax revenues, Ray Evans, redevelopment, sales tax revenues, site plan, tax increment financing, TIF, Tim Sittema, Tom Beehan, town square, Walmart, Woodland Town Center

Guest column: Changing the economic development game in Oak Ridge

Posted at 8:32 pm February 5, 2013
By Trina Baughn 14 Comments

There’s no nice way to spin it: The results of our city’s bad decisions for the past decade are catching up with us.

In addition to having high debt and property taxes, our sales tax revenues continue to decline, we are exporting more than $727 million per year in U.S. Department of Energy payroll (1), and we have a comparatively stagnant population growth. Even with all the new restaurants opening, these projects won’t fully replace the revenue we’ve lost from the countless businesses that have closed up shop or left town for greener pastures.

Continuing down this path is not an option. Thankfully, our city manager understands this and wants to strategize a more competitive position for Oak Ridge. He is proposing that we change our approach to economic development (2) by finding other uses for the $1-2 million we’ve been spending annually on nearly 20 different external organizations like the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: budget, business tax burden, business-friendly, community allure, competition, debt, economic development, Economic Diversification Fund, economic vitality, Farragut, marketing, Oak Ridge, payroll, population growth, property taxes, revenue, sales tax revenues, services, The Beacon Center of Tennessee, Trina Baughn, U.S. Department of Energy

Council candidates say city’s cost, housing, revenues are top issues

Posted at 8:49 am November 1, 2012
By John Huotari 6 Comments

Note: This story was updated at 2:03 p.m.

Early voting for the Nov. 6 election ends today, and the ballot includes five candidates running for three seats on Oak Ridge City Council.

The five candidates were asked to define the city’s biggest problem during a League of Women Voters forum last month. Two named revenues, one mentioned housing, another talked about repopulating the city as the original generation ages, and the last said the city is too expensive.

The five candidates are the three incumbents—Charlie Hensley, Chuck Hope, and Ellen Smith—and two challengers, Trina Baughn and Kelly Callison. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2012 Election, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: candidates, housing, Nov. 6 election, Oak Ridge City Council, revenue, sales tax revenues

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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