GSA to auction off the Happy Valley Campground in Oak Ridge, TN

August 10, 2016

Temporary hutments housed thousands of construction workers in the valleys of Oak Ridge in 1945.

                                    Ed Westcott/DOE (Photographer), 1945, The Secret City, Retrieved from

                                             http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2012/06/the-secret-city/100326/ 

Bidding open at $275,000; $10,000 bid deposit required

ATLANTA – The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced an opportunity for prospective buyers to inspect the former Happy Valley Campground, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. GSA representatives will be at the Heritage Center Conference Facility, located at 200 Heritage Blvd., Wednesday, August 17 and August 31 from 9-11 a.m. EDT. Pre-registration is not required. The Heritage Center Conference Facility is located on Heritage Center Boulevard and the Oak Ridge Turnpike, approximately 10 miles west of downtown Oak Ridge.

The online auction for Happy Valley Campground opened for bidding July 7. The starting bid is $275,000 with a $10,000 deposit required to bid. The property is located on the south side of the Oak Ridge Turnpike across from the site of the Manhattan Project, the site where enriched uranium was produced for atomic bombs. The Happy Valley Campground was a construction camp of trailer homes and hutments for the thousands of construction workers building the Manhattan Project complex. Happy Valley was a self-contained facility that included schools, cafeterias, bakery, post office, warehouse, theater, recreation halls, and a bowling alley. A commercial center featured a grocery store, barber shop, shoe shop, and dry goods store. All improvements were demolished in the 1950’s.

The property has 160+ acres of wooded, rolling terrain of mixed pine and hardwood trees. There is one developed area known as Visitor’s Overlook that contains a small paved parking lot and an enclosed pavilion. The property has 3,800 feet of highway frontage on Oak Ridge Turnpike (SR 58). Across from the property is a planned general aviation airport. Happy Valley Campground is a short drive from both Interstate Highways 40 and 75, and is approximately 20 miles from Knoxville, TN.

GSA is an economic catalyst for cities and communities across the country. As part of GSA’s ongoing efforts to make more efficient use of our real estate assets, GSA is actively working with federal agencies to identify and timely dispose of unneeded properties. Moving underutilized properties, such as the Happy Valley Campground, out of the federal inventory allows for local use that better promotes economic growth and saves taxpayer dollars.

Information about the property, as well as instructions on how to participate and terms and conditions of the online public auction sale can be found at www.realestatesales.gov.  

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