Oak Ridge Today

Sears Hometown Store expected to be open for Christmas shopping

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Sears Hometown Store Under Construction July 2016

Leslie Agron, an Oak Ridge resident and owner of Sears Hometown Store, is pictured above at the site of the new store, which is expected to open this fall on Fairbanks Road. (Photo credit: Fred Riffle of SHOS)

 

The new Sears Hometown Store on Fairbanks Road is expected to be open in plenty of time for Christmas shopping, according to the owner, Oak Ridge resident Leslie Agron.

The new Sears Hometown Store is being built even as the former Sears department store is being demolished at the former Oak Ridge Mall.

Visible construction activity on the roof at the new Sears Hometown Store, which is at 142 Fairbanks Road, was scheduled to start last week.

The store was announced in May, and it will be a free store pick-up site for many items on Sears.com, Agron said. [Read more…]

Mall demolition begins

Posted at
By 3 Comments

Oak Ridge Mall Demolition Sears July 26 2016

Demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall began Tuesday. Crews demolished a significant part of the former Sears store Tuesday morning, July 26, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:15 p.m.

Demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall began Tuesday. Crews demolished a significant part of the former Sears store Tuesday morning.

The demolition is expected to include the enclosed space between Belk and JCPenney, the two remaining anchors at the former mall.

Plans call for replacing the former mall with Main Street Oak Ridge, a 58-acre, $75 million mixed-use development that could include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel. Belk and JCPenney are part of Main Street Oak Ridge, and they remain open during demolition of the mall’s enclosed spaces and construction of new stores. [Read more…]

Mall demolition begins with ceremonial groundbreaking, knocking down of wall

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Main Street Oak Ridge Groundbreaking July 20 2016

Demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall began Wednesday, July 20, 2016, with a ceremonial groundbreaking and the knocking down of a wall near the former Goody’s store, starting construction on a 58-acre mixed-use retail development known as Main Street Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7 p.m.

Demolition of the former Oak Ridge Mall began Wednesday with a ceremonial groundbreaking and the knocking down of a wall near the former Goody’s store, starting construction on a 58-acre mixed-use retail development known as Main Street Oak Ridge.

Demolition could last three months, and the construction of two new stores, T.J. Maxx and Dick’s Sporting Goods, could start where the former Sears building is in October. New stores could open in the spring of 2017.

Officials, business representatives, and the community celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday. About 300 or more people attended. After the groundbreaking on a hot, sunny summer afternoon, those celebrating, including children and adults, had a chance to spray graffiti on part of the old mall as a fundraiser for the renovation of Blankenship Field.

Main Street Oak Ridge is now the largest multi-tenant commercial retail project in the city, said Parker Hardy, president of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. [Read more…]

Preparing for demolition, construction: Fence installed at Main Street Oak Ridge

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Main Street Oak Ridge Fencing July 12 2016 Slider 2

Loudon County Fence LLC started putting up 4,000 feet of construction fencing around the former Oak Ridge Mall on Tuesday, July 12, 2016, preparing the site for partial demolition and construction of Main Street Oak Ridge, a 58-acre mixed-use development. These workers are near the former Sears store. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 3 p.m. July 13.

Workers started installing construction fencing around the former Oak Ridge Mall on Tuesday morning, as the new owner prepares for demolition of much of that building and construction of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the site.

Loudon County Fence LLC, which is based in Lenoir City, expects to install 4,000 feet of fence around some parts of the former mall, which is now mostly empty. Some parts near Belk and JCPenney, the two remaining anchor stores, will remain open.

The work could be complete Wednesday afternoon. [Read more…]

Sears Hometown Store opening this fall in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By 2 Comments

A new Sears Hometown Store will open in Oak Ridge this fall, a press release said. The store will be located at 142 Fairbanks Road.

“We are delighted to have local business owner and resident Leslie Agron and his team serving customers in Oak Ridge and the surrounding communities,” said Mike Jones, Region Development Manager—Sears Hometown Stores. “We are especially excited to be a part of the Oak Ridge retail community and to be able to bring back the Sears name and products to this area. We also appreciate the partnership with R&R Properties and others in the community who have worked diligently to get this project going.”

Rick Chinn of R&R Properties said he is excited about the project.

“We worked very closely with Leslie and the corporate folks from Sears to find just the right location in this market that would fit the needs of the required store layout,” Chinn said in the press release. [Read more…]

Planning Commission approves re-subdivision for Main Street Oak Ridge, the mall redevelopment

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Planning Commission Main Street Oak Ridge Jan. 7, 2016

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a re-subdivision for Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development including retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel, on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin is standing at right. City staff members and representatives of RealtyLink, the development company, were also present. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge officials on Thursday approved a re-subdivision that was required for the $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The re-subdivision includes 10 different lots, including one larger parcel in the center of the 58-acre site and other smaller lots. Officials said the re-subdivision was necessary for financial considerations, and it is a condition for closing on the property.

Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said the city has received notice the remediation is complete on the interior of the mostly empty mall, and construction drawings have been submitted for three buildings expected to receive permits. The new buildings could be erected next to Belk and in the area where Sears is now.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved the re-subdivision in an 8-0 vote during a special meeting Thursday. Planning commissioners present were Chair Stephen Whitson, Vice Chair Austin Lance, Secretary Claudia Lever, and members Charlie Hensley, Sharon Kohler, Jane Shelton, Hans Vogel, and Todd Wilson. [Read more…]

Pre-demolition activities under way, environmental firm working at future Main Street Oak Ridge

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Environmental Abatement Inc. Pickup Trucks

Pre-demolition work at the Oak Ridge City Center, the former Oak Ridge Mall, was scheduled to start late last week or early this week, and environmental remediation trucks were on the 60-acre site on Monday, July 13, 2015. The trucks above are from Environmental Abatement Inc., a structural, demolition, and environmental contractor. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Pre-demolition work at the Oak Ridge City Center, the former Oak Ridge Mall, was scheduled to start late last week or early this week, and environmental remediation trucks have been at the 60-acre site this week, starting Monday.

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

The trucks that have been at the mall site this week are from Environmental Abatement Inc., a structural, demolition, and environmental contractor. There has also been an asbestos waste container at the site.

A project representative said that Crosland Southeast, the company that has proposed the $80 million project, is working on pre-demolition activities and reviewing bids. The pre-demolition work includes asbestos abatement, and earlier this month, the representative said that the company hopes that that work will take place within a month. [Read more…]