01-23-2008, 12:57 AM
Those demographics can work in our favor, if we let them...
The school board's architectural consultant hired an out-of-town demographics expert to provide advice on future enrollments in the Oak Ridge Schools. In his oral presentation to the school board, that consultant emphasized that "Oak Ridge is starter home heaven."
His point was that this city has a large stock of existing homes in "affordable" price ranges that are destined to go on the market within the next few years (a prediction based on the age of the current owners). He pointed out that it is much easier for young families to buy existing homes than it is to buy new homes because new homes typically cost more -- and it is easier to make a 20% down payment on a $140K home than on a $200K home (the prices were his examples).
He said that affordability and proximity to both breadwinners' jobs (since most first-time homebuyers are two-breadwinner households) are the most important factors in determining where a couple buys its first home.
There was more to his presentation than that (if he provided a written report, it needs to to be widely disseminated, although I'm not sure he put very much in writing), but those were some of the more interesting points...
As for Trader Joe's, the store that I've been to has its own building on a downtown street in one of the older Chicago suburbs. The store is a bit like a Fresh Market or Earth Fare in what it sells (for example, international specialty foods), but the store is smaller than either of those. The smaller size makes it seem more likely that the Oak Ridge market could support one. Notably, their prices are lower than Fresh Market's or Earth Fare's, apparently due largely to Trader Joe's practice of selling private-label products. (It's owned by the family that started Aldi, which has been extremely successful concentrating on private-label products.)
To me, geography (not demographics) looks like the biggest barrier to getting a Trader Joe's here. Trader Joe's doesn't have any stores in Tennessee yet (their closest locations are in the Charlotte and Atlanta areas). Based on where they are in other states, I think it's highly unlikely that they would come into Oak Ridge (or anywhere else in metro Knoxville) until after establishing some stores in the Nashville area. Also, since wine seems to be an important part of Trader Joe's business, it's easy to imagine that Tennessee's alcoholic beverage laws would make this state unattractive for them.
The school board's architectural consultant hired an out-of-town demographics expert to provide advice on future enrollments in the Oak Ridge Schools. In his oral presentation to the school board, that consultant emphasized that "Oak Ridge is starter home heaven."
His point was that this city has a large stock of existing homes in "affordable" price ranges that are destined to go on the market within the next few years (a prediction based on the age of the current owners). He pointed out that it is much easier for young families to buy existing homes than it is to buy new homes because new homes typically cost more -- and it is easier to make a 20% down payment on a $140K home than on a $200K home (the prices were his examples).
He said that affordability and proximity to both breadwinners' jobs (since most first-time homebuyers are two-breadwinner households) are the most important factors in determining where a couple buys its first home.
There was more to his presentation than that (if he provided a written report, it needs to to be widely disseminated, although I'm not sure he put very much in writing), but those were some of the more interesting points...
As for Trader Joe's, the store that I've been to has its own building on a downtown street in one of the older Chicago suburbs. The store is a bit like a Fresh Market or Earth Fare in what it sells (for example, international specialty foods), but the store is smaller than either of those. The smaller size makes it seem more likely that the Oak Ridge market could support one. Notably, their prices are lower than Fresh Market's or Earth Fare's, apparently due largely to Trader Joe's practice of selling private-label products. (It's owned by the family that started Aldi, which has been extremely successful concentrating on private-label products.)
To me, geography (not demographics) looks like the biggest barrier to getting a Trader Joe's here. Trader Joe's doesn't have any stores in Tennessee yet (their closest locations are in the Charlotte and Atlanta areas). Based on where they are in other states, I think it's highly unlikely that they would come into Oak Ridge (or anywhere else in metro Knoxville) until after establishing some stores in the Nashville area. Also, since wine seems to be an important part of Trader Joe's business, it's easy to imagine that Tennessee's alcoholic beverage laws would make this state unattractive for them.