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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

Merchants frustrated with progress at Jackson Square; protest sign posted

Posted at 4:23 pm July 4, 2015
By John Huotari 4 Comments

Jackson Square Parking Lot Renovations Sign

There has been some frustration among merchants at Jackson Square about not being able to use the partially paved parking lot while they wait for renovations to be completed. This protest sign saying “Free Our Parking Lot!!” was posted on Wednesday.

 

Merchants have grown frustrated with the pace of renovations at Jackson Square, and on Wednesday a protest sign was posted. “Free Our Parking Lot!” said the sign, which has since been removed.

For now, the parking lot inside Jackson Square remains closed off behind construction fencing as work continues on a $1 million renovation mostly funded by a state grant awarded in 2012.

But merchants wonder why they can’t use the parking lot since it was used for the Lavender Festival on June 20.

Compounding their frustration is the closure of the lower parking lot at Blankenship Field. It’s one of two lots on the north side of Broadway Avenue and Jackson Square. Employees at nearby businesses who used to park in the Blankenship Field lot are now using the second lot, the one used by the Farmers Market, reducing the parking spaces available there, one merchant said.

The Blankenship Field work, which was approved by the Oak Ridge City Council in June, is also causing concern for the Farmers Market. The Farmer Market’s vendors set up in the second parking lot on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, and they now don’t have parking available at either the Blankenship Field lot or inside the Jackson Square lot. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Business, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Angel Rich Johnson, Anne Garcia Garland, Bill Haslam, Blankenship Field, Broadway Avenue, City of Oak Ridge, construction, Ellen Smith, farmer's market, Gary Cinder, interactive fountain, Jack Armstrong Stadium, Jackson Square, Lavender Festival, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Farmers Market, parking lot, pedestrian plaza, protest, Rich Construction, Rich Construction Inc., Roger Flynn, Rogers Group, TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, Trina Baughn, Warren Gooch

Council approves $1 million contract for Jackson Square parking lot project

Posted at 1:55 am October 29, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Jackson Square Plaza Improvements Map

Note: This story was updated at 11:35 a.m. Oct. 29.

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday awarded a $1 million contract for a project funded with help from a state grant to rebuild the Jackson Square parking lot area.

The contract was awarded to Rich Construction Inc. of Lenoir City. Oak Ridge officials will have a pre-construction conference in 10 days, and they are hopeful that work will start in late November, City Manager Mark Watson said.

He said the project could take 180 days, or about six months. That means it would be done before the Lavender Festival in 2015.

The work will include a landscaped pedestrian plaza with parking, an interactive fountain, stone pavers, curbing, asphalt paving, utilities, benches, sidewalks, and upgrades under the American with Disabilities Act. There will a slight increase in the number of parking spaces. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Government, Oak Ridge, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: concrete paving, curbing, fountain, Jackson Square, Lavender Festival, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge City Council, parking lot, pedestrian plaza, Rich Construction, Rich Construction Inc., TDOT, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant

Anderson County agrees to buy Lake City bank building for coal mining museum

Posted at 9:24 am August 20, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bank of America Lake City

The Anderson County Commission has agreed to buy this former Bank of America building in Lake City for a Coal Mining Museum, storage space, and satellite county offices.

CLINTON— The Anderson County Commission agreed in a 13-1 vote on Monday to buy the former Bank of America building in Lake City for a Coal Mining Museum.

The two-story brick building will be purchased using $100,000 from the sale of property in the David Jones Industrial Park. Lake City will own the former bank, and it could also be used to store excess county supplies and as a satellite office for county departments. Organizers hope to open the museum eight months after Lake City receives the building.

Most of the initial revenue for museum operations would come from Lake City’s lodging tax. The Lake City Council has agreed to use one-third of that hotel and motel tax for the museum for at least the next three years, said Stephanie Wells, director of the Anderson County Tourism Council. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Government, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Commission, Anderson County Tourism Council, Bank of America, Briceville, Coal Creek Motor Discovery Trail, Coal Mining Museum, Devil’s Triangle, Fraterville, Lake City, Lake City Council, Myron Iwanski, North Anderson County/Lake City Welcome Center, PlanEt, Stephanie Wells, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant

Three conceptual drawings for Jackson Square revitalization to be discussed tonight

Posted at 1:28 pm August 7, 2013
By Dawn Huotari Leave a Comment

Jackson Square Revitalization Square Option

Pictured above is one of three conceptual drawings for the project to revitalize Jackson Square, the city’s original town center. The drawings will be on display during an open house at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce this evening. (Submitted image)

During a meeting this evening, residents will be able to view and comment on three conceptual drawings for the project to revitalize Jackson Square, the city’s original town center.

The open house meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The Community Development staff will record public comments and provide feedback to project team members Hedstrom Design LLC, Landscape Architects, and Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers Inc. The design will be finalized, and construction is anticipated to begin in January 2014. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, State, Top Stories Tagged With: conceptual drawings, Hedstrom Design LLC, Jackson Square, Landscape Architects, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, open house meeting, revitalization, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers Inc.

Public meeting next month, construction next year on Jackson Square project

Posted at 6:04 pm July 30, 2013
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Jackson Square Grant Ceremony

Gov. Bill Haslam, fourth from left, joins local residents re-creating a famous “War Ends” photograph in Jackson Square, but this time with an $800,000 state check for parking lots, sidewalks, benches, and bicycle racks. (File photo June 2012)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam visited Oak Ridge about one year ago to announce that a state grant valued at roughly $800,000 had been awarded to the city to help revitalize Jackson Square, focusing on parking, lighting, landscaping, and benches.

Next month, Oak Ridge officials will have an open house to present three conceptual drawings for the project, which is in the city’s original town center. The public meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 7, at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant awarded last year is to be used for the project’s first phase, which includes renovating the Jackson Square parking lot by adding handicapped parking and access, pedestrian lighting and circulation, landscaping and event enhancements, and bicycle racks and benches, a city press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, State, Top Stories Tagged With: benches, Bill Haslam, drawings, grant, Hedstrom Design LLC, Jackson Square, landscaping, lighting, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, Oak Ridge Community Development, parking, public meeting, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, Tom Beehan, Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineers Inc.

Council considers first phase of $1 million Jackson Square redevelopment

Posted at 5:25 pm February 7, 2013
By John Huotari 2 Comments

Jackson Square Revitalization

A concept plan by Benefield Richters of Knoxville for the $1 million revitalization of historic Jackson Square in Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge City Council members on Monday will consider awarding a $150,000 contract to a company that could help in the first phase of a $1 million project to redevelop Jackson Square, the city’s original town center.

The contract for design services could be awarded to Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineering Inc. of Knoxville. V&M could help with services ranging from deed research and field surveys to preliminary plans and construction estimates.

The work is part of a project funded with help from a Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant that was announced by Gov. Bill Haslam in Jackson Square in June 2012.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Jackson Square, Oak Ridge City Council, redevelopment, Steven R. Byrd, Tennessee Department of Transportation Enhancement Grant, Vaughn and Melton Consulting Engineering Inc.

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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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