Semaglutide Medical Weight Loss Near Me Alcoa, TN

ALCOA, Tenn. (WATE) — Alcoa is seeing continued growth as new businesses and developments move into the Springbrook Farm area. This was previously an old 363-acre Alcoa, Inc. West Plant, for aluminum fabricating. Today it is a spot where visitors, locals, business owners all come to work, eat, and some even live.

The city has grown from about 12,000 residents to roughly 15,000 over the past six years, according to Alcoa Vice Mayor Tracey Cooper.

Cooper said the Springbrook Farm area has “become a hub for residential, retail, dining and commercial businesses.

“You’re in Springbrook Farms, and this is, I don’t know if we have it actually as phases, but it has exploded in the last six years,” Cooper said. “And you are in the first big section that developed as you go further down, you have much more development going on.”

Among the businesses and developments coming to the area are Costco, In-N-Out Burger and new Covenant Health facilities.

Costco broke ground last month. Cooper said the building could be on site in about 80 days, with the store expected to open about 120 days later.

Alcoa is also the site of a planned In-N-Out Burger, which is in the planning stages.

Covenant Health is building two new facilities in the area, including a 70,000-square-foot, two-story building with clinical space, doctors’ offices and laboratories.

Cooper said the growth is also bringing more people into the city.

“We are the city with the smallest population that has ever had a Costco built in it,” Cooper said. “But while we have about 15,000 sleeping residents, we have about 80,000 people that go up and down Alcoa Highway on a daily basis.”

For some longtime residents, the growth comes with mixed feelings.

Carolyn Christman, who lives in Blount County, said she moved to the area three years ago, before Springbrook Farm had the retail, restaurants and services it has today.

“I’ve just seen all this grow, all this area, and now that we are getting a Costco, I’m happy,” Christman said. “I do hate to see so many people coming to the area because it’s so beautiful, and I don’t want to get it overcrowded.”

Lydia Donahue, who bought Just Love Coffee a few months ago, said she has enjoyed watching more people visit the area.

“Being close enough to the airport, Springbrook Farms, this area, kind of brings people into Alcoa but then also spreading out through Tennessee to go see,” Donahue said. “I think it’s a great location. I think it gives people that feel of what is Tennessee and what is a hometown in Tennessee like, even if they are just stopping in.”

Cooper said the growth is also creating job opportunities. She said Swig, a soda shop, employs students from Alcoa High School and that Costco will pay cashiers more than other jobs in the city.

The development is expected to continue as more businesses and services come to the Springbrook Farm area.

Every high school football team in the country dreams of being called state champions by the time the end of the season comes.

It's a rare honor that not every high school athlete gets to feel during their four years of prep ball. At the high school level, there's almost no greater honor than being remembered by your town or community as being part of a team that won a state title.

However, while it is a rare honor in most cases, some programs have made a habit out of winning state championships. The national record for most state titles in a row is 14, held by Saint Louis (HI) and Washington (SD).

That record may hold for a few more seasons but there are some current streaks that may continue on to rival that streak in the coming years.

Here are the programs with the longest active 11-man football state championship winning streaks entering the new high school football season.

11 wins in a row: Alcoa (TN)

If there was ever a team that could rival the national record of 14 straight state championships set by Saint Louis and Washington, it would be Alcoa.

The Tornadoes are just the third team in history to have a state championship streak hit double digits. That streak began in 2015 and after winning 10 consecutive Class 3A championships, Alcoa moved up to Class 4A and won that championship. A seven-point win over Covington was the closest a team has come to beating the Tornadoes for a state title as they've won their 11 straight by an average of 19.5 points.

8 wins a row: Bixby (OK)

Bixby may not be the biggest school population-wise in Oklahoma, but they decided to make the jump up to Class 6A in 2010. That move proved to be the right decision as the Spartans have run the class, winning 11 state championships since 2014. They did not win it in 2017 but rebounded in 2018 and have not suffered a championship loss since, winning by an average of 25.9 points.

7 wins a row: St. Thomas Aquinas (FL)

Every year the Raiders are loaded with future Power Four talent and are in the national championship discussion. On the local scene, they're easily one of Florida's best, winning 17 state championships, including eight straight since 2019.

6 wins in a row: Royal (WA)

The Knights boast one of the nation's longest winning streaks, but it nearly came to an end in last year's Class 1A championship game. They held on to beat Cashmere 21-20 to extend both their overall and state title streak.

5 wins in a row: Bishop Gorman (NV), Garden City (NY), San Juan (UT), Sheridan (WY)

Bishop Gorman headlines the list of programs entering 2026 with five consecutive state titles. The Gaels are national powers and dominate Nevada's 11-man scene. During their current streak, they've scored more than 40 points in each of their championship wins.

Garden City dominates Long Island's high school football scene and also leads the nation in terms of consecutive wins at 66 straight. They escaped with a win in their last championship matchup, beating East Islip 10-7 to keep both streaks alive.

San Juan's had multiple eras of dominance, but the program is currently at its peak. The Broncos have dominated Utah's Class 2A landscape since 2021, winning the last five championships by an average of 28.2 points.

Sheridan is second on that list of consecutive wins in row, upping their total to 55 games and with a 17-10 win over Campbell County in last year's Wyoming Class 4A state championship. This is the sixth time in program history that they've had a multi-year championship streak.

4 wins in a row: Carl Albert (OK), Christian Academy of Louisville (KY), Dutch Fork (SC), Minneota (MN), Mount Carmel (IL), Star Valley (WY)

Bixby runs Oklahoma's Class 6A scene while Carl Albert runs the class below. The Titans have been the team to beat in the class for decades, but since 2016, they've captured nine of their 20 state titles. Last year they completed the four-peat with a dominant 48-7 win over Bishop McGuinness.

Since 2016, Christian Academy of Louisville has won six state championships. They've been on their best run over the last four years, winning three of their last four championship games by 25 points or more.

Dutch Fork, meanwhile, has been the team to beat in South Carolina since Tom Knotts' arrival in 2010. Had it not been for a championship loss in 2021, they would have 10 consecutive state titles. During this current run, they're winning their championship games by an average of 21.5 points.

Minneota may play in Minnesota's smallest class, but they've proven to be nearly impossible for others to overtake with this run. They've been dominant in championship games since 2022, winning them by an average of 30.25 points.

Mount Carmel enters 2026 riding a 19-game winning streak and loaded with future Power Four talent. The Caravan lead the state in championship wins and have dominated over this recent run, winning their last four by an average of 20 points.

Another team from Wyoming boasting another long winning streak, Sheridan has controlled the state's Class 3A division since 2022. They won their first state championship during this run over Cody by a score of 14-7. That's been a consistent matchup as they've played Cody in three of their four state championship appearances, including last year's 26-21 win.

Follow Sports Reporter Joe Spears on X at @joe_spears7 or via email: JSpears@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow on Instagram and X.

What is South Plant?

A proposal for Blount County and the cities of Alcoa and Maryville to fund an estimated $20 million purchase by the Industrial Development Board of the former ALCOA South Plant is coming before the legislative bodies of those governments over the next week. With the sprawling assets the Aluminum Company of America held in the area before its split into ALCOA and Arconic it can be difficult to know exactly what property the IDB is pursuing.

When the company split, various properties in Blount County were divided between the two entities. Arconic Tennessee owns multiple properties, most tied directly to its current casting, milling and reclamation operations. ALCOA Corporation titled its properties into Alcoa Business Park LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Pittsburgh based company which no longer has operations in the area. The LLC is used to manage and hold more than 50 individual properties in the city of Alcoa.

According to Blount Partnership, the property the IDB is pursuing the 162.5 acre tract listed by the State of Tennessee as Aluminum Avenue 100 and owned by Alcoa Business Park. The tract is on the southern end of the former smelter site, bordered by North Hall Road to the west, East Lincoln Road on the south and North Wright Road to the east with a border against Arconic’s 172 acre reclamation and casting center to the north.

The property contains residual roads with AluminumAvenue and Old Main Gate Road on the site and has two sets of railroad tracks running from its southern tip back to the northeast corner owned by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern.

There are three other parcels on the other side of the Arconic property but they are not included in the current proposal. Listed as the Springbrook Road tracts they encompass 91.56, 16.86 and 10.56 acres.

Under the proposed agreement, the county would buy in at $8 million for a 40% stake. Each city would commit $6 million for 30% stakes. The Industrial Development Board would then develop and market the location as an industrial park, similar to how it operates several other such parks in the county. Because of its history and the proximity to rail lines, it has been suggested that the primary interest would be by industrial and manufacturing entities. In several videos posted by Blount Partnership in May and June, Bryan Daniels, president and CEO, has stated that the Partnership does not view data centers or crypto-currency as a good fit to the area’s economy.

According to information provided to the Blount County Commission on Thursday, the cities and county would split any future tax revenues from the site on the same 40-30-30 split as the funds contributed to the purchase.

Earlier this year, the ALCOA issued a memo that included the former smelting site in Alcoa as one of its potential locations to form a joint venture for an AI data center operation. That announcement prompted a vocal community pushback during public input portions of various city and county meetings.

The outcry against the possibility lead to Blount County Commission voting in June to request a series of zoning changes from the county’s Planning Commission to severely toughen the county’s regulations in regards to data centers or crypto-currency mining operations. Any future changes made by the county only impacts the areas outside of town or city limits. It would not impact the Aluminum Avenue 100 tract or the other Alcoa Business Park properties located within the Alcoa city limits.

County Commissioner Mike Akard, who represents the Alcoa area, informed commissioners on Thursday that his understanding was that Alcoa can not regulate the site with new data center restrictions of its own. With the company already announcing its intent to partner, any new restrictions from the city limiting the property’s use for that purpose could be grounds for a lawsuit seeking damages for lost value. Purchase of the property by the Industrial Development Board for a business park would allow the county and two cities to control what happens next on the site.

The current proposal, including the commitment to the agreement and funding, needs to pass the Blount County Commission, Alcoa City Council and Maryville City Council. Alcoa had the item on its agenda Tuesday night. County Commission advanced the resolution from its workshop session to its July meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 16, in Room 430 of the courthouse. Maryville City Council met July 7 with the item not on its agenda. The South Plant Acquisition Agreement is on the agenda for a workshop session scheduled for 8 a.m. Friday, July 17. The next regularly scheduled council meeting for Maryville is Tuesday, Aug. 4.