by Ken Cowin <kencowin@bellsouth.net>
Some of you may have already heard, but for those who haven’t, there has been a proposal submitted to the Oak Ridge, Tennessee City Council to build a road race course in Oak Ridge! A developer is eyeing the Horizon Center property for the track where over 300 acres available for sale. Hardin Valley Land Partners has stated that they may be willing to invest in a test track and racing venue which could cost upwards of $50,000,000! They would hope to support use for a wide range of uses from a test facility all the way to hosting Indy Cars, Formula E, IMSA, and NASA sanctioned races. A proposal was presented to the Oak Ridge City Council for consideration. My wife and I attended the meeting to hear about the proposal and to express our support.
The presentation showed a picture of the Monticello Motorsports Park in New York as being representative of the type of facility they were considering. Their proposal described a desire to eventually include hotels, restaurants and an amphitheater. No member of the Hardin Valley Land Partners was present to answer questions at this meeting. Many of the City Council members expressed their support of the project but some had reservations and one was clearly against it initially. The main objection being the concern for the impact to the adjacent nature preserve and the noise pollution for the neighboring subdivisions. In addition, the current zoning for the tract of land is industrial which does not allow for sporting events open to the public or for any form of overnight accommodations or restaurants.
But zoning can be changed. The land was deeded over to the city of Oak Ridge by the Department of Energy who placed certain restrictions on its use. It was transferred to the city for the purpose of attracting business to Oak Ridge and thus zoned industrial. The Oak Ridge Industrial Development Board (IDB) is charged with finding suitable businesses to purchase the property. But they have tried for 10 years and only a couple of the sites have been purchased. Meanwhile the city is spending a considerable amount just maintaining the property.
The discussions lasted almost two hours. About fifteen members of the public had the chance to voice their input including my wife and me. Most of the opinions were in favor of the project. One of the issues that won great favor with the board was how the track would utilize the existing topography of the land and would have minimal impact to land drainage. The largest concern by far was the potential noise pollution but all agreed that this could be big business for the town. I live in one of the closest subdivisions to the site at only 1.7 miles as the crow flies. My wife and I, as well as several neighbors, expressed our support but some of our neighbors were there too, either expressing concern or objection to the plan. Many automotive enthusiasts from the greater Knoxville area were also there expressing their support. One point brought up was the ideal location Oak Ridge provides with there being no other race tracks located within 250 miles. That and the proximity to other attractions like Deal’s Gap and the Cherohala Skyway could be synergistic with this track.
The question remains, could or would the zoning be changed to allow public sporting events on this property, or would the developers be interested in pursuing development if public events were not allowed? The council did agree to recommend that the IDB proceed to enter negotiations with Hardin Valley Land Partners to discuss the feasibility of this project.
The next step is for the IDB to enter negotiations with the developer. This may take place at any time, possibly this week. It has been suggested that we write to the IDB or city council to voice our support or make suggestions which will be considered. They can be reached at oridb01@gmail.com and citycouncil@oakridgetn.gov. If you would like to voice your thoughts, I encourage you to do so quickly.
