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 Heritage Center and Oak Ridge Have What Your Business Needs to Succeed.
Centrally located in the Eastern United States, Heritage Center, LLC and Oak Ridge are within a 600-mile radius of more than 65% of the nation's major cities. Only miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cumberland Mountains, the area's natural beauty is enhanced with lakes and rivers, parks, and nature trails. East Tennessee has strong cultural offerings, including deep roots in bluegrass and country music, and a strong sports history as home of the Tennessee Volunteers.
Combined with a low cost of living, these benefits make East Tennessee one of the nation's best areas to do business. See below for more information on the area’s diverse labor and natural resources, culture and natural environment, and financial advantages and community support.
Diverse Labor & Natural Resources
The combination of a highly skilled, productive talent base and a wealth of natural resources makes Oak Ridge a premier business location.
Technology Talent
The 15-county region surrounding Oak Ridge boasts a highly productive, diverse workforce of almost half a million people, including highly trained professionals, technical staff, skilled and unskilled labor. It is this sizeable, talented workforce that supports and fuels the area's major industries: aluminum and aerospace manufacturing, specialized chemical and textile production, automobile equipment manufacturing, and agriculture.
Your talent pool includes:
•Over 45,000 highly educated and exprienced professionals
•More than 5,000 engineers, 2,400 scientists, 2,300 Ph.D.s
•Over 9,000 college students majoring in science, math, engineering, or information technology
Natural resources
The utilities at Heritage Center—natural gas, sanitary sewer, potable water lines, and compressed air—run through the site and are readily accessible.
•Water is available at up to 300 gpm, with an additional 1,000 gpm for fire protection.
•Underground ducts supply electrical power to each of the facilities.
•Natural gas is available through an 8-inch, 375 psi pipeline into the park, with interior distribution lines from 2 to 8 inches in diameter.
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 Culture & Natural Environment
Located in the heart of East Tennessee, Heritage Center enjoys some of the nation's most beautiful scenery. Nearby are breathtaking mountain vistas and sparkling lakes and rivers. This natural beauty can be enjoyed in outdoor activities throughout the year, such as hiking the Appalachian Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains, mountain biking the Big South Fork and Cumberland Gap, and rafting the area's many rivers and streams.
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Financial Advantages & Community Support
There are few places friendlier to business than Oak Ridge. In addition to its outstanding location and quality of life, the area offers numerous financial and professional benefits.
Cost of Living
With a healthy local economy, Oak Ridge enjoys a cost of living that is 4.7% below the national norm. This is coupled with one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation and no state income tax. Additionally, quality housing is available at an average of 17% below the U.S. norm.
Wage Comparisons
The area's wages are considerably below the U.S. average-high-tech wages are 7.7% lower. In addition, very low levels of absenteeism, a voluntary turnover rate of only 2 to 3%, a low unionization rate, and a per capita manufacturing output that consistently ranks above the national average, make East Tennessee's labor pool second-to-none.
Tax Structure
With a state corporate excise tax of only 6%, Oak Ridge has one of the lowest per capita tax burdens in the nation. There is no sales tax on industrial equipment, which is very beneficial to businesses. There are also a variety of tax breaks for machinery, raw materials, and utilities.
Transportation
Oak Ridge's many transportation systems provide convenient traveling and shipping for your business.
Key Benefits:
•Heritage Center is only minutes away from Interstates 40 and 75, both major east-west and north-south corridors serving the eastern half of the nation. Oak Ridge is located within one day's drive of more than 65% of major U.S. metropolitan areas.
•A network of deep-channel rivers borders the park, allowing barge service through the Ohio, Tombigbee, and Mississippi river systems to the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico.
•The region's McGhee Tyson Airport, about 25 miles from Oak Ridge, offers air service from 12 airlines and has 12 nonstop destinations throughout the East. Approximately 120 flights arrive at and depart from the airport daily.
•A nearby Norfolk Southern rail spur connects the center with rail systems across the U.S. and serves the park daily.
In each of these systems, the National Transportation Research Center in Oak Ridge assures traveling safety through state-of-the-art research and expertise in transportation issues such as vehicle testing, packaging, and geographic information systems.
 Infrastructure
Heritage Center's unique infrastructure offers valuable assets to the commercial marketplace. It includes a well-maintained system of roads, railroad tracks, fire hydrants, sidewalks, parking, and electricity transmission lines. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides electricity in quantities and at rates that are among the most competitive in the country. To serve the telecommunication needs of tenants, a new telephone switching system is available that includes rich business lines and ISDN. High-speed computer networking through fiber optic connectivity is also available.
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