Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer, left, tours Jackson Square on Monday with Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, center, and City Manager Mark Watson.
The search for a company to help transform historic Jackson Square with the help of an $800,000 grant could start this week, Oak Ridge officials said Monday.
The city plans to release a request for proposals, or RFP, for consulting engineers this week, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. The winning firm will help design and configure the new square, and meet with the public. Picking a company could take three to four weeks, Watson said.
A separate company will be selected to do an environmental review of historic buildings at Jackson Square, Oak Ridge’s original town center.
The redevelopment of the square will use a roughly $800,000 state award of federal highway money to improve the parking lot on Broadway Avenue, build and repair sidewalks, add trees and pedestrian lighting, and make the square an “attractive, landscaped plaza and parking area.”
Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer toured the square on Monday afternoon with TDOT and local officials, but he declined to put a timeline on the project, which requires a local funding match of $200,000.
Watson said it would take at least 18 months to get to the construction bidding stage.
