OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – On a summer day in 1990, parking lots sit empty amid a sea of vacant buildings at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. By contrast, the same complex would have bustled years earlier with thousands of workers and humming machinery as steam billowed from the massive structures, a constant reminder of the site’s operations.

   The site had helped the U.S. end World War II, win the Cold War and power commercial nuclear reactors. Engineers at the plant also developed technology that enhanced the effectiveness of vaccines through centrifuge research — removing the threat of diseases like polio.

   By 1987, what was once one of the nation’s most important assets was shut down, becoming a vacant government complex with no determined future. 

   For years, Oak Ridge federal officials drove past the signature site and remembered when it was filled with employees and important missions. In 1996, they developed a creative solution — a plan that would be a first in DOE, ushering in a new chapter and returning jobs to the community. DOE’s reindustrialization program was born. 

   One of the first actions was rebranding the former uranium enrichment complex with a new name — the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). In the next two decades, EM and the reindustrialization programs worked together to remove hundreds of contaminated facilities, clean the land, and transfer infrastructure and acreage to the private sector for redevelopment. 

   Sue Cange, manager of Oak Ridge’s EM program, holds a unique perspective after working in both programs. 

   “Our cleanup progress at ETTP is crucial because it has a direct correlation to new growth opportunities for the region,” said Cange. “The two programs advance each other. EM makes land and facilities available for reuse, while the reindustrialization program highlights our successes by reutilizing unneeded assets.” 

   Through EM’s progress at ETTP, Oak Ridge’s reindustrialization program has been able to transfer roadways, electrical and water systems, fire response, and more than 700 acres to the City of Oak Ridge and Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee. It has also helped 20 companies locate onsite and welcomed multiple sustainable energy projects. There’s an array of businesses that conduct uranium enrichment research, repair locomotives, manufacture industrial ovens, develop solar energy and sell wood chips, among other things. The newest business addition was a one-megawatt solar array that opened in 2015. 

   These transfers not only save the government millions of dollars in oversight and maintenance costs annually, but they also provide new opportunities for economic development and job growth in the region. The companies currently located at the site employ about 200 people.

   Achieving Vision 2016 — EM’s goal to remove the five massive uranium enrichment facilities at ETTP by 2016 — opens 300 acres of flat, valuable real estate and positions Oak Ridge to attract new levels of industry to the site. 

   “While we still have numerous cleanup projects remaining at ETTP, reaching this very significant milestone gives us an occasion to pause and reflect about how far we’ve come,” said Cange. “What began as an unconventional idea 20 years ago is coming into fruition, and it is very satisfying to see how EM is helping make that a reality and benefiting the community.”

   With Vision 2016 in the books, Oak Ridge’s EM program moves toward Vision 2020. This time, the goal is to complete all cleanup and transfer the entire site to the private sector by 2020 for industrial development.

   In years to come, EM hopes that as employees drive past the site, they will once again see a hint of steam on the horizon amid a sea of cars in the parking lot.