Demolition of the K-25 Building in west Oak Ridge has been completed. Now, the U.S. Department of Energy looks toward the future and preserving the footprint of the Manhattan Project building.
The building was about 44 acres “under roof,” according to Susan Cange, deputy manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. K-25 was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II.
“There was a lot of discussion over the years about whether we could retain a portion of the building as a part of historic preservation,” Cange said. “From a safety and security perspective, it really wasn’t a viable alternative.”
In 2012, Cange and others signed a Memorandum of Agreement, and they envisioned completion of a preservation project within five to seven years. They also agreed to retain the footprint of the building and dedicate it in some way to allow visitors to see the enormity of the former mile-long, U-shaped building.
Once the preservation project is finished, visitors will be able to use a viewing tower, see a re-creation of an equipment building, and tour a history center that will be located on the second floor of a nearby fire station.
The equipment building will replicate a portion of the former K-25 Building and display equipment used in the facility. The department also hopes to integrate a virtual museum into the design of the facilities. The viewing tower will allow visitors to get an overall perspective of the size of the building’s footprint.
The finished project is expected to cost about $20 million using funds appropriated from Congress to the Department of Energy for cleanup and compliance projects, Cange said.
Now that demolition is complete, other related buildings associated with the former facility must be cleaned up. That cleanup is expected to be finished this summer, and within three months of completion, the DOE will then study the condition of the area to ensure it is safe and secure for visitors. UCOR is the cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy.
The department has awarded subcontracts to a few different companies such as Knoxville-based design company Smee + Busby Architecture and Gerald Hilfery and Associates, a museum planning and design consultant firm from Athens, Ohio.
Cange said construction is expected to begin in 2015, once building designs are chosen.
Sara Wise is a freelance contributor to Oak Ridge Today.