(WBIR-OAK RIDGE) The Oak Ridge City Council approved changes Tuesday to redevelopment plans for the former Main Street mall after switching developers in September.
"I think it shows that the region, Anderson County, the city of Oak Ridge can adapt really quick to the changing circumstances," Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said.
RealtyLink stepped in as the new master developer over Crosland Southeast, which had been involved with the project for two years.
RealtyLink set lofty goals, including demolishing the former mall by the end of November and opening up five to eight stores by Christmas 2016.
"For a very high-quality developer to come in and offer to rebuild the entire facility and keep the anchor stores is wonderful," Oak Ridge Councilman Charlie Hensley said.
Hensley did acknowledge the plan calls for giving deferred tax breaks, betting on higher revenue in the future.
"It's required a little bit of a sacrifice on the part of the Oak Ridge citizens," he said. "We're doing it through the (tax increment financing) process, but if it restores some retail in Oak Ridge, becomes the center for our area, it would be wonderful."
Council members agreed to push the tax increment district to begin in 2017 instead of next year, allowing 30 years to pay off their end of the deal.
"We're looking at a large footprint," Watson said. "We also are looking at trying to develop the upstairs portion of that, which would be the apartments."
"The projections that the developer is talking about brings the small stores back (and) also brings in multi-family use," Hensley said. "It's kind of the modern touch where you have shops below and residences above or doctors offices."
Hensley said the city has a long road ahead but believes the work is worth it.
"To go down there again and walk around the stores in the snow and shop again in Oak Ridge, for me who has lived here for 48 years, it'd be an incredible thing to do," he said.
RealtyLink said it will hire locally for the demolition. It said plans for potential restaurants could happen by 2017.
