Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Note: This story was last updated at 9:30 a.m.
After years of court cases and codes enforcement battles, demolition work has started at the Applewood Apartments in Oak Ridge.
Demolition work started Tuesday at the 13-building apartment complex on Hillside Road and Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood, just north of Oak Ridge Turnpike in central Oak Ridge. Two of the buildings had been knocked down as of Thursday afternoon.
Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tennessee, plans to demolish two buildings per week, weather permitting. It could take 2.5 months or so to complete the job. The demolition company is working for First Place Finish of Oak Ridge.
Asbestos abatement work started earlier this month at the vacant buildings.
Oak Ridge Today last reported on the apartment complex in July 2017 after a court case that once called for a $400,000 fine against owner Joseph J. Levitt Jr. was dismissed. It’s one of several legal battles in the past decade that started with alleged code violations at Applewood Apartments and pitted Levitt, a Knoxville attorney, against the City of Oak Ridge. At least some of the buildings had previously been declared unfit for human occupation and use.
At last check, there were still legal cases pending in Anderson County Chancery Court in Clinton.
In various hearings and interviews, Levitt and his employees have said they worked to maintain the decades-old two-story buildings, which have often been referred to as “eyesores,” and to make repairs. Levitt has accused the city of trying to drive poor people out of Oak Ridge. Some tenants have defended the apartments, saying rent was cheaper there than anywhere else, as low as a few hundred dollars per month. But the city has said they were simply trying to enforce existing building and property codes at Applewood Apartments, and the property needed to be repaired and maintained.
The last Applewood Apartments tenant moved out in October 2016. At that time, Levitt said he was 85 and had health problems, and he was trying to clean up his estate. Most of his estate will probably go to the University of Tennessee and nonprofit organizations, Levitt said then. It wasn’t immediately clear Thursday night if that is still the plan, if UT wants the property, and if so, what it might do with it. As of Thursday night, the properties appeared to be still owned by Levitt, according to a quick review of state real estate assessment records available online.
See previous Applewood Apartments stories here.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. Another apartment building is pictured in the background. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. Other apartment buildings are pictured in the background and at right. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. Here is a remaining building that has not been demolished. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. Here is a remaining building that has not been demolished. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. Here is a remaining building that has not been demolished. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Demolition work by Brady Excavating and Demolition of Crab Orchard, Tenn., was under way on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, 2018, at an Applewood Apartments building on Hunter Circle in the Highland View neighborhood in Oak Ridge. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.
Copyright 2017 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Joseph Lee says
Imagine that.
Mark Caldwell says
Yay!
Dave Smith says
Huotari reported: “The demolition company is working for First Place Finish of Oak Ridge.”
What is the source of the funding for the demolition?
johnhuotari says
Dave, I apologize for the delayed response.
I left a message with Joe Levitt, the Applewood Apartments property owner, last week and he returned my call, leaving a message for me, but so far, we haven’t talked by phone. I am hoping to get an update on his plans for this property. It seemed possible or likely, based on our previous conversations, that this property could go to UT, but I wanted to make sure that that is still the case.
Oak Ridge officials have told me this demolition work is being done at private expense. That would have been my guess because I would assume this demolition work would cost more than $25,000, and any contract of more than $25,000 would have to be approved by City Council, which hasn’t happened.
I hope this helps, but please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thank you,
John
Dave Smith says
Thank you for researching the answer to my question, John. I am glad that the City of Oak Ridge is not paying for the demolition. I think we spent much too much getting the matter resolved to this point. I hope there’s a fruitful disposition of the property before the site becomes overgrown with weeds and brush.
johnhuotari says
Thank you, Dave. I’ll try to let you know when we have any updates.
Johnathan Jennifer Pettigrew says
Do we know why they have stopped demolition? I live behind a the set on the circle and they haven’t worked on them in weeks.
johnhuotari says
I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to check yet, but I will try to do so ASAP.