The new sign is up and the new parking lot paved at Belk as work proceeds quickly at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre project to redevelop the former Oak Ridge Mall.

With the exception of Belk and JCPenney, the mall has been demolished, and there has significant progress on the sites where new stores will be built.

First, on Saturday, concrete stands in the parking lot in front of Belk were almost finished, and some lighting poles and fixtures were installed, said Ray Evans, retail consultant for the City of Oak Ridge. The goal has been to finish the new Belk entrance and its new parking lot by Thanksgiving.

Second, there was work on piping for interior utilities where Electronic Express and PetSmart will be located between JCPenney and Walmart on South Rutgers Avenue.

Third, the pad had been completed and a stone base put down where Dick’s Sporting Goods and T.J. Maxx will be built between Walmart and the U.S. Post Office on South Tulane Avenue, in the area of the former Sears department store. [Read more…]