Oak Ridge Today

Planning Commission approves Weigel’s site plan

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The proposed Weigel’s site at South Illinois Avenue and Union Valley Road is pictured above on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission approved a site plan Thursday evening for a new Weigel’s at South Illinois Avenue and Union Valley Road.

The plan for the 6,600-square foot store on an undeveloped 3.6-acre site was approved 9-0 in a voice vote Thursday.

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Planning Commission to discuss revised plan for Main Street Oak Ridge

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A revised master plan for Main Street Oak Ridge. The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will discuss the proposed revisions during a work session on Thursday, April 11, 2019.

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission will again consider revisions to the plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The potential revisions will be discussed during a Planning Commission work session at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom.

The most recent version of the revised plan is similar to what Oak Ridge officials have seen before with minor variations. Some things have been incorporated that were only discussed before, such as sidewalks.

After being discussed today, the potential changes could be considered by the Planning Commission for a recommendation to Oak Ridge City Council next week, during an April 18 meeting. The changes would be considered as an amendment to the planned unit development for Main Street Oak Ridge. Among other things, the revisions would replace proposed multifamily residential units near Rutgers Avenue with retailers, and they would propose mixed-use areas in a future phase along Wilson Street.

[Read more…]

See RealtyLink’s published version of Main Street Oak Ridge site plan here

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TN-Oak-Ridge-Rutgers-Leasing-Plan-Flat-1

The site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge is pictured above as posted on the website of RealtyLink, the South Carolina-based developer, as of early August 2016. (Original image can be found here.)

 

Here is a slightly different version of the site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge that we published last week. This color version is posted on the website of RealtyLink, the South Carolina-based developer. (See a PDF version that you can enlarge here.)

This site plan shows the locations of seven of the eight new stores that have been announced so far. The only store not included on this map is Electronic Express, which is expected to be built next to PetSmart.

Main Street Oak Ridge, a 58-acre project that could cost about $75 million total, is being built by RealtyLink, a developer based in Greenville, South Carolina.

The retailers shown above include the two remaining anchors in the former Oak Ridge Mall, Belk and JCPenney. The enclosed space between those two stores is being demolished. Demolition work started at the former Sears store in July. [Read more…]

Planning Commission approves site plan for TownePlace Suites hotel

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TownePlace Suites by Marriott July 2016

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan for TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a planned four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney, on Thursday, July 28, 2016.

 

The Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission unanimously approved an amended site plan last week for TownePlace Suites by Marriott, a four-story, 81-room hotel on 2.6 acres near the intersection of Wilson Street and Rutgers Avenue, close to JCPenney.

The TownePlace Suites will be owned by Chander Bhateja, who is also the developer and franchisee. Bhateja, an Oak Ridge resident, owns three hotels in Knoxville and others in the Southeast.

TownePlace Suites is part of Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as a mixed-use development that could also include retailers, restaurants, and residential units. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

Demolition permit applied for at Main Street Oak Ridge, site plan approved

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Main Street Oak Ridge Site Plan Work Session

Barry James, Crosland Southeast senior vice president, standing, explains part of the Main Street Oak Ridge site plan to the Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday, August 6, 2015. Seated from left are planning commissioners Terry Domm, Jane Shelton, Claudia Lever, and Charlie Hensley. At left in the background is Steve Arnsdorff, chief manager of Oak Ridge City Center LLC, the current owner of the property, the former Oak Ridge Mall. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9:10 p.m.

The demolition permit has been applied for and the site plan approved, two crucial steps in the proposal to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall as Main Street Oak Ridge, a 60-acre site that could include retailers, restaurants, residential units, and a hotel.

Developers applied for the demolition permit last week, Oak Ridge Community Development Director Kathryn Baldwin said Thursday. It will now be reviewed by the city staff. The demolition could include the existing space between the two remaining anchors, Belk and JCPenney, although those two stores would remain.

The site plan is for the construction of the first phase “building footprints” and the infrastructure to serve them, Baldwin said. Construction drawings for the buildings themselves will come later.

The site plan for the core retail area was approved unanimously by the 10-member Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission on Thursday evening. It incorporated comments by the city staff. It does not require approval by the Oak Ridge City Council. [Read more…]

Main Street Oak Ridge site plan to be considered Aug. 6

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Oak Ridge Mall

A site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, which is pictured above, will be considered by city officials on Thursday, August 6, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A site plan for Main Street Oak Ridge, the $80 million redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, will be considered by city officials next week.

The site plan was submitted on Monday, June 29. It’s one of several steps that have been recently announced on the eagerly anticipated 60-acre redevelopment. Other steps include pre-demolition activities and bid reviews, and roughly $500,000 worth of pledges from six local employers to help cover public infrastructure costs.

The City of Oak Ridge has also received and is considering a preliminary subdivision plat that details construction plans for East and West Main Street and Wilson Street, which are private roads but could become public streets. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

Site plan submitted for Main Street Oak Ridge

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Main Street Oak Ridge James Downs

James Downs, Crosland Southeast partner, gave an update on the Main Street Oak Ridge project, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, during a March work session. (File photo)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 9 a.m. July 2.

A site plan was submitted on Monday for Main Street Oak Ridge, an official said. Main Street Oak Ridge is the eagerly anticipated $80 million project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

The site plan is under review by the Oak Ridge city staff and could be discussed during an Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission work session on July 9 and during a regular meeting on July 16.

A site plan is an engineered construction drawing that includes the layout of buildings and parking, utility plans, traffic and pedestrian circulation, and stormwater management, said Kathryn Baldwin, Oak Ridge Community Development director. There would still be building plans for the construction of each building at the 60-acre site. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

Planning Commission considers Pizza Inn site plan Thursday

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Pizza Inn Site Work

J.W. Herren of Mid South Utility Contractors of Putnam County helps prepare a one-acre site on Oak Ridge Turnpike for a new Pizza Inn restaurant.

A new Pizza Inn restaurant could open on Oak Ridge Turnpike next year, and work started at the one-acre site several weeks ago.

The project’s site plan is scheduled to be considered by the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission during a 5:30 p.m. Thursday meeting.

The new diner, part of a Dallas chain that has more than 300 restaurants across the world, will be at the corner of Oak Ridge Turnpike and ORAU Way, roughly where Mickey’s Produce was.

Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting is in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. The commission will consider a landscaping request for the Pizza Inn project.