Crestpointe is not the only retail option in town
I have been telling people that I know we need more retail in town – to enhance residents’ quality of life and to increase sales tax revenues – but that I believe Oak Ridge can and should do better than accept the problematic Crestpointe proposal.
We can do better. Better options are starting to emerge. 
Long-time local landowner and veteran developer Bob Monday has proposed that the City consider pursuing development of a big-box shopping center (including a Target store) on an undeveloped 43-acre tract just off South Illinois Avenue (behind Dean Stallings Ford and adjacent to the City’s Service Center on Woodbury Lane). He would like the city to assist by providing a new stoplight and a bridge across East Fork Poplar Creek. Those two improvements would cost far less than $10.5 million, and Monday points out that they would also benefit the City by improving access to the City Service Center, which houses the public works dept., electric dept., and school bus garage. Edited on Tuesday, May 13: The Oak Ridger has printed Bob Monday’s offer, but only as a letter to the editor! Surely this was news, wasn’t it? It seems like the paper is interested only in official press releases about the Crestpointe proposal. Similar news item from other businesses are accepted only as letters to the editor.
I expect that we will be hearing about other good options in the coming days and weeks. Oak Ridge can and will do better than the Crestpointe proposal.
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I agree that we can do better. Who decided that Target is the store to have? Why not Kohl’s? Target is too high priced for the same goods as K-Mart now. Take a second look at K-Mart. Richard Chinn has some good property available on the East end of the city. Where the rowers are!
Comment by Jean Mustin — March 11, 2007 @ 5:31 pm
I think that the city can do a lot betther than Bob Monday- he has a VERY less than impressive record in Knoxville. Anyone who has done business with him knows what I am talking about.
Comment by Jason Reagan — March 14, 2007 @ 2:35 am
[...] Mayor David Bradshaw challenged opponents of Crestpointe, who believe with me that Oak Ridge can and should do better, to find and present viable alternatives. As long as 3 years ago I was posting comments about the need to redevelop the City Center and I made similar comments not long ago (see Instead of Crestpointe, let’s redevelop the City Center), so it’s no secret that I favor that direction. Furthermore, I have commented here and in other venues about the potential merits of a retail development on Bob Monday’s land. However, Council members and staff sneer when Bob Monday’s property or the City Center are mentioned, and the Mayor cut me off on Monday night when I attempted to tell them that the reasons they give for dismissing Bob Monday’s proposal are not valid. [...]
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