The lawsuit continues, with both sides spending a lot of money on extensive motions and responses.

It doesn't seem like this will be resolved anytime soon.


The easy and quick solution would be for the majority owners to buy out the plaintiffs but not sure that is going to happen.

I don't buy that they 'overpaid' for the land given the increase in land values/development sites in OKC since they purchased it. I poked around and looks like they've acquired stuff around $30-50/sq ft. While that seems high for older people it's not for 2020's Oklahoma. Downtown sites in OKC and Tulsa are easily in the $50/sq ft range anymore for good development sites. For the most part if you can build 4-5 story Texas wrap apartments that translates to between $15,000 and $20,000 a unit in land costs. That's not a lot for apartments. It was 5-10 years ago but not anymore for CBD/urban sites and that rents are pushing $2.00/sq. ft. in Class A stuff or more on average anymore. Stuff in Dallas can go in excess of $65,000-75,000/unit for Uptown, Victory Park, Oak Lawn areas and they can make that work on projects with average rents around $3.00/sq. ft. Something like the West Village project or Steelyard would be more than feasible on these sites for what they paid for most of the land.

While $30 - $50/SF isn't high for downtown land, perhaps the large amount of land purchased plays into this. It's interesting that this board constantly bemoans Strawberry Fields for lack of development but never mentions the tract of land just west of Paycom Arena that sets undeveloped. In fact, you can find numerous tracts of land that are undeveloped around town. Demand is not infinite, contrary to popular opinion on this board.....

You can induce demand.

While $30 - $50/SF isn't high for downtown land, perhaps the large amount of land purchased plays into this. It's interesting that this board constantly bemoans Strawberry Fields for lack of development but never mentions the tract of land just west of Paycom Arena that sets undeveloped. In fact, you can find numerous tracts of land that are undeveloped around town. Demand is not infinite, contrary to popular opinion on this board.....

The idea this board has never bemoaned the lack of development on the land west of Paycom is comical. We beat the topic to death and still bring it up every now and then.

I'm not a developer so I am ignorant on a lot of points but I don't understood why Strawberry Fields doesn't pivot to a more Wheeler type neighborhood development. Build a walkable urban neighborhood that you you could sell as you go. Demand seems strong for these types of developments in OKC and strawberry fields already has built in advantages that Wheeler doesn't have. Throw in a few neighborhood retail storefronts and a couple of multifamily buildings in the mix and you would have a fantastic urban neighborhood that is already directly plugged in to all of the great amenities of downtown.

You can induce demand.

The public has induced demand. The landowners need to do the necessary work required of them by our economic system. They need to prove that they are up to task.

The public has induced demand. The landowners need to do the necessary work required of them by our economic system. They need to prove that they are up to task.

"The necessary work required of them by our economic system?" What the heck does that even mean?

They own the land and this is still America, so they can do with it what they want and when they want. Everything else is just yelling into the void.

There is plenty of other vacant land within a 1 or 2-mile radius of downtown that has yet to be developed. Are we to hold to task every landowner in that area, or just the ones who are easy targets?

All that other vacant land is also held by land speculators.

On the past 20 downtown developments it would be interesting to know how long the land was owned by the entity that eventually developed it versus how long the entity they bought it from owned it.

My guess is that the actual developer owned the land a lot less time than the preceding owner.

"The necessary work required of them by our economic system?" What the heck does that even mean?

They own the land and this is still America, so they can do with it what they want and when they want. Everything else is just yelling into the void.

There is plenty of other vacant land within a 1 or 2-mile radius of downtown that has yet to be developed. Are we to hold to task every landowner in that area, or just the ones who are easy targets?

There is plenty of fault to share between the landowners. The large landowners that have released conceptual drawings for the hype have made themselves a target.

The public has made the investments and the private landowners cheered the investments. Now it is their time to move forward and they have not for whatever reason. I think it is fear.

Just to be clear, I believe in our economic system. I believe in it so much I am placing the blame for the lack of development on the large landowners and not on the system.

There is plenty of fault to share between the landowners. The large landowners that have released conceptual drawings for the hype have made themselves a target.

The public has made the investments and the private landowners cheered the investments. Now it is their time to move forward and they have not for whatever reason. I think it is fear.

Just to be clear, I believe in our economic system. I believe in it so much I am placing the blame for the lack of development on the large landowners and not on the system.

Maybe it starts with a professional financial evaluation of the product mix requirements, the demand/price elasticity, and the costs of developing what many on this forum demand to see what is actually feasible at this time. Sometimes developers acquire sites and aggregate, and prepare them for future developments expecting future economics work in their favor even if they don't in the immediate time frame. I'm guessing there hasn't been much current demand shown for this land everyone seems to think is incredibly valuable, but should be low priced.

If this land is off the market as many on here think, then it should make the other undeveloped sites in and around downtown more available as it effectively shrinks supply. In theory the other sites adjacent to the Myriad Gardens or the ton of sites in MidTown. All those wonderful quality developments have lots of space to be built on.

If only there was some mechanism to separate the land speculators from the developers.

I don't buy that they 'overpaid' for the land given the increase in land values/development sites in OKC since they purchased it. I poked around and looks like they've acquired stuff around $30-50/sq ft. While that seems high for older people it's not for 2020's Oklahoma. Downtown sites in OKC and Tulsa are easily in the $50/sq ft range anymore for good development sites. For the most part if you can build 4-5 story Texas wrap apartments that translates to between $15,000 and $20,000 a unit in land costs. That's not a lot for apartments. It was 5-10 years ago but not anymore for CBD/urban sites and that rents are pushing $2.00/sq. ft. in Class A stuff or more on average anymore. Stuff in Dallas can go in excess of $65,000-75,000/unit for Uptown, Victory Park, Oak Lawn areas and they can make that work on projects with average rents around $3.00/sq. ft. Something like the West Village project or Steelyard would be more than feasible on these sites for what they paid for most of the land.

You know they overpaid for it as soon as they had to come ask for a ton of TIF money to help develop the area.

So, what is the TIF money ask to be used for? Streets, sewers, etc., or reimbursement of purchase price?
\

You know they overpaid for it as soon as they had to come ask for a ton of TIF money to help develop the area.

Lol, just going to ignore everything after the first sentence?

You're not correct either - just because they requested TIF doesn't mean they overpaid. If you can essentially get free money or cheap money are you not going to try and get as much of it as you can? That's the problem with TIF dollars being so accessible sometimes and not sure the city fully understands when developers really need it and don't need it.

So, what is the TIF money ask to be used for? Streets, sewers, etc., or reimbursement of purchase price?
\

I believe it was for infrastructure improvements, but essentially its reimbursement for the purchase price. Thats the thing about anywhere outside of downtown, if a plot of land doesnt have or has bad infrastructure, no water or sewer nearby, lots of dirt work required, the price reflects that. You cant sell for a premium if your land lacks those things. Downtown though, you still ask a high price and then direct the buyer to OCURA for help after that. You shouldnt be paying a premium if you cant get anything done without TIF money. TIFs have warped market prices and forces. Im not saying all TIFs are bad, but theres been many suspect TIF packages and/or ones that got way too high of an amount (Wheeler District, Boulevard Place).

You know they overpaid for it as soon as they had to come ask for a ton of TIF money to help develop the area.

If you’re a developer and you have the option to save money/increase your profit margin by applying for TIF…why the hell wouldn’t you do it? You’d be stupid not to. It’s not the developers’ fault that it’s available.

If only there was some mechanism to separate the land speculators from the developers.

There is…it’s called demand.

The last thing we need is more government intervention in the free marketplace.

Especially when it involves taxes meant to penalize and involves incredibly complex oversight by a small number of people.


Continuing to spend public money on truly public (i.e. not private) projects is all the stimulation that is needed in the core. We've already spent billions with billions more coming very soon (MAPS, TIF, GOLT, new arena).

There is…it’s called demand.

100%

Land value tax would not work very well in Oklahoma City. It works in places like an Austin with excess demand. Or Toronto for example that has been pointed out. You can't tax your way into demand. Toronto is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and the housing demand there far far far outreaches anything in this state even though we are growing pretty fast now. There is also not an excessive amount of developable land in Toronto and thus speculators can have a very outsized impact to allowing the city to keep up with housing needs. They can not afford to have 100s of acres not being put to use and can make that economic argument. Oklahoma City has too much vacant and underutilized land and a land value tax would be horrific to the overall development community. You'd be punishing everyone for the small handful of bad actors/speculators that just happen to have some very prime and visible locations.

Our state isn’t growing fast. OKC metro is growing at a decent clip.

The litigation regarding Strawberry Fields continues.

SF and Salame had filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's claims, and the court ruled to dismiss a couple of them but not all.

Considering that the plaintiffs are still actively pursuing legal action and the court's unwillingness to dismiss all their claims, it doesn't appear that this will be resolved anytime soon.

In the meantime, it doesn't seem there is any forward movement on this project.

I somewhat understand that they can't move forward with all their projects now, but to not be able to even develop land that is adjacent to millions of dollars of city development from citizens with Scissortail Park is so disappointing.

I somewhat understand that they can't move forward with all their projects now, but to not be able to even develop land that is adjacent to millions of dollars of city development from citizens with Scissortail Park is so disappointing.

I wouldn't assume that their lack of forward movement is due to this lawsuit.

In fact, it could be the other way around.

There is…it’s called demand.

That was a lobbed softball!

The lawsuit against Strawberry Fields and Salame was filed over 7 months ago and is still very much in contention.

Meanwhile, directly west in a location that is far, far less prime, the Industry project is moving quickly through design approval and hoping to start construction soon.


I have no idea what is going to happen with all this property but it's far more visible and important to OKC than the big stall at the Producers Coop.

The lawsuit against Strawberry Fields and Salame was filed over 7 months ago and is still very much in contention.

Meanwhile, directly west in a location that is far, far less prime, the Industry project is moving quickly through design approval and hoping to start construction soon.


I have no idea what is going to happen with all this property but it's far more visible and important to OKC than the big stall at the Producers Coop.


Agreed, I have always felt like this was of way higher importance than Producers Coop. What a huge bummer that this has been a nightmare of a process. I think about the view from the river that will be showcased globally in 2028 and that these two massive properties are in the front row of the cityscape, empty. This one being more embarrassing since it's the result of a huge lawsuit. It's a big deal and a bad look for our beautiful city. Really really hoping things get turned around. Thank you for the update, I had been wondering about it!

I saw the CC Cooke building and land is for sale recently. Just a casual $3.25MM price tag.

I saw the CC Cooke building and land is for sale recently. Just a casual $3.25MM price tag.

That property is not owned by the Strawberry Fields group; there has been some squabbling between the two parties over some minor issues.

Yea I just couldn't find a thread for that building, so I figured this would make the most sense to mention it.

I get the impression there is more than a little animosity of those structures towards SF.

This keeps getting worse:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/strawberry111923a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/strawberry111923b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/strawberry111923c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/strawberry111923d.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/strawberry111923e.jpg

Yikes

Absurd and saddening

This personal enrichment at the expense of other shareholders in Strawberry Fields is at the heart of the original lawsuit that was filed.

Salame denied any wrongdoing and that case is still tied up in court, so I suspect one or more of the plaintiffs notified the OK Department of Securities. ODS not only stepped in to put things right as outlined above, but now it's all public record by a government agency. Can't merely file another response in the larger civil case saying "I did no such thing and it's on you to prove it." Now it looks to be proven.

Beyond all this, there are other big red flags like zero forward movement after announcing a bunch of projects more than five years ago and being hit with property tax liens.

But the most concerning thing is why Salame and the majority partners -- who have claimed to support her -- have not bought out the long list of smaller investors; I'm sure they would all be happy to be made whole and walk away from this mess. If the deep pockets really believe in this project and Salame as manager, why wouldn't they put up additional capital, gain even more ownership, and remove disgruntled members at the same time?

Oh wow. Sounds like whatever might happen on these properties in the future it's not going to be by the Strawberry Fields people.

This is actually worst then I initially thought. This the solution to the problem is still the same. Develop or sell (at a loss if required) to someone that will.

I believe the $16 million in TIF is still in limbo which is another ominous sign.

Pete, what are the odds we see significant development on these properties by 2027?

I figure this will be tied up in court for 2 years. Do you think anything happens in the 2 years after that?

Considering that they are mandated by the City to redevelop the old Goodwill site on a timeline they keep missing, I'm not very optimistic anything is going to happen here anytime soon.

Something has to change as it appears things are going in the wrong direction.

Blast the Salames and Rick Dowell to outer space. Sucks so much to see these lazy "developers" let crucial/valuable parts of the city continue to sit vacant and lay waste.

These properties have so much value because of the potential and this has been squandered for years and looks to continue to fail.

BTW, remember that big splashy announcement in March of 2021 that Chicago-based JLL was going to partner with the local group and get things moving?

Also included a statement that the first building would start before the end of the year. That never happened, representing yet another broken promise.

I searched the JLL website and found no reference to Strawberry Fields. Just emailed the guy from JLL that was quoted in that announcement, inquiring about his company's continued involvement.

Blast the Salames and Rick Dowell to outer space. Sucks so much to see these lazy "developers" let crucial/valuable parts of the city continue to sit vacant and lay waste.

Say what you want about Rick Dowell, but I don't think it is fair to lump him in this. At least he isn't being accused of fraud...

Say what you want about Rick Dowell, but I don't think it is fair to lump him in this. At least he isn't being accused of fraud...

This is correct. He's a contrarian. Perhaps even a borderline troll. His taste is questionable. He does unconventional things with which I completely disagree. But, he's not a fraud.

What a hot mess. I hope someone can develop that area especially when the new arena gets closer.

Oklahoman reported today that the $16 million in TIF is dead, another ominous sign:


“We negotiated for quite some time with Strawberry Fields, but there were a couple of contract terms we weren’t able to agree on,” said Joanna McSpadden, the city’s economic development programs manager. “We ceased negotiations. They are able to come back and ask for funding for individual projects as they come online. But the infrastructure request is not going forward.”

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2023/11/21/okc-developer-strawberry-fields-near-scissortail-under-securities-investigation/71654808007/

And as I suspected, it was investors who had blown the whistle that caused the OK Securities Department to step in regarding misdeeds by Salame.

Also, I have yet to receive a response from the JLL representative who was quoted in an announcement on March 11, 2021, stating that the Chicago-based developer would be partnering with SF to provide financing and development expertise.

I could not find anything about Strawberry Fields on the JLL website and there has been no forward movement since this announcement almost 3 years ago.

This is correct. He's a contrarian. Perhaps even a borderline troll. His taste is questionable. He does unconventional things with which I completely disagree. But, he's not a fraud.

Agree.

Pat Salame is easily one of my least favorite people I have every interacted with in my life. The amount of schadenfreude I would get from seeing her see some actual consequences for once in her life is off the charts. It sucks to see "Strawberry Fields" get derailed even more. If it costs her a significant amount of money, I am all right with it.

At this point, I'm not super optimistic that this ever gets done with the way this has gone. It was a pretty ambitious project to begin with, but with all of this shady stuff happening and TIF money being held up, we are trending in the wrong direction.

Strawberry Fields project stalls (https://journalrecord.com/2023/11/strawberry-fields-project-stalls/)
By: Kathryn McNutt//The Journal Record//November 28, 2023//

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Strawberry Fields development, touted as a $1.5 billion mixed-use urban neighborhood just west of Scissortail Park, has stalled.

“As of right now, it’s not going forward,” Kenton Tsoodle, president and CEO of The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, said Tuesday.

Phase 1 construction was expected to start in 2023, but a $16 million tax increment financing agreement fell through, and an Oklahoma Department of Securities investigation into developer Pat Salame’s management of Strawberry Fields is ongoing.

Salame did not return calls from The Journal Record seeking information on the status of the project, one of the largest single-land plays in the city’s urban core.

In October 2022, the Oklahoma City Council approved a $16 million TIF agreement for water, sewer and storm sewer infrastructure to support the project. The developer was to be reimbursed by the TIF allocation for the cost of building the infrastructure.

“That original deal stalled,” Tsoodle said. “They wouldn’t agree to contract terms the city wanted. We’ve not had any further communication with them.”

Joanna McSpadden, the city’s economic development program manager, said she is not aware of any infrastructure improvements underway at the site – generally bounded by Oklahoma City Boulevard to the north, Hudson Avenue to the east, SW Seventh Street to the south and Shartel Avenue to the west.

The aging infrastructure in the area was designed for single-family homes decades ago and is a barrier to more dense development, Tsoodle said.

The planned upgrades were expected to benefit other property owners in the area as well.

Tsoodle said discussions continue with other groups that have property in the general area, but no development plans are concrete yet.

Meleia Williamson at the Oklahoma Department of Securities confirmed there is an open investigation into the management of Strawberry Fields.

Under an agreement with ODS, Salame repaid Strawberry Fields $55,000 plus $25,920.82 interest to resolve a potential violation of the Oklahoma Uniform Securities Act of 2004 and she is barred from offering or selling securities for six months.

In addition, she must return 357 units she owns in the development to Strawberry Fields as remediation and must see to it that Strawberry Fields offers a refund of any investment made from Jan. 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016, in exchange for the cancellation of the investor’s units.

A lawsuit filed this month by investors Rick McCormick and Lounita Capital Management shows Salame used $55,000 from the Strawberry Fields bank account on May 15, 2015, to purchase property for herself that she subsequently sold to Strawberry Fields on May 31, 2016, for $412,000.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to order Strawberry Fields to provide them access to Strawberry Fields records for inspection so they can assess the company’s financial health and ensure that Salame is acting in the best interests of the company.

Cathy O’Connor with COalign Group presented the TIF request to the City Council in 2022. At that time, she said the master plan estimates $1.5 billion in investment in the area with an estimated total increment of about $262 million.

O’Connor said Strawberry Fields is to be developed in three phases, with four projects in the first phase:

• The Lucy, a five-story office building at SW Third Street and Walker Avenue that will be about 55,000 square feet and cost $25 million.

• The Marketplace at SW Third and Lee Avenue involves the renovation of existing buildings plus new construction at an estimated cost of $7 million. It will be mostly retail and restaurant space.

• Ten condominium units are planned at SW Sixth Street and Dewey Avenue at an estimated project cost of $11 million.

• The Abbey, a $61 million multifamily residential development between SW Sixth and SW Seventh at Lee, will have 266 units. The goal is for 20% to be workforce housing for people earning 80% of area median income.

O’Connor did not respond Tuesday to an email inquiring about the status of the development.

Well great.

It appears the best thing that could happen would be Pat Salame rotting in a jail cell, for defrauding the public. But I doubt that will truly end up happening. It stinks that this land will just sit vacant and continue to be decrepit, right next to Scissortail Park.

Lost in all of this was the Oklahoman printing yet another splashy puff piece about JLL of Chicago partnering with SF to help them with development and financing.

That was almost 3 years ago, and the JLL partner that was quoted in that story has not returned my email and there is nothing about Strawberry Fields on their website and vice versa.

The Oklahoman has run a whole series of one-sided articles, basically serving as PR and marketing for Strawberry Fields, without doing any research, providing context, asking any real questions, or conducting any follow-up apart from just printing propaganda from Salame after OKCTalk had done actual work and revealed lack of movement, lawsuits, unpaid taxes, and other hard information.

I wonder how many people invested in SF due to their shameless promotion and defacto endorsement.


There is a tried-and-true playbook to execute a scam in OKC: 1) come up with a grandiose plan for development or job creation and get a bunch of pretty renderings and flowery projections; 2) hire a PR firm that goes to the Oklahoman resulting in an 'article' on the front page of the paper or business section; 3) rely on the fact they will print exactly what you tell them without doing any research or asking any questions; 4) know the Oklahoman will never follow up or monitor progress or lack thereof until... 5) when problems surface through the work of others, keep repeating #2; 6) finally, complete collapse with investors and vendors losing a lot of money.

Chesapeake, TEEMCO, Farmer's Bank, Urban Farmhouse, Relax Park, Block 405, Strawberry Fields... All exact examples of this and there are a bunch still in progress.

Chesapeake, TEEMCO, Farmer's Bank, Urban Farmhouse, Relax Park, Block 405, Strawberry Fields... All exact examples of this and there are a bunch still in progress.


https://www.oklahoman.com/story/business/columns/steve-lackmeyer/2014/08/07/something-you-didnt-know-about-the-stage-center-development/60807222007/

Chesapeake, TEEMCO, Farmer's Bank, Urban Farmhouse, Relax Park, Block 405, Strawberry Fields... All exact examples of this and there are a bunch still in progress.

This made me think of that mysterious lndonesian financier (Sapta?) who came out of nowhere to buy and start to renovate the Skirvan hotel, buy real estate and throw lavish parties until he got into a bunch of shady schemes and fled back to lndonesia.

Strawberry Fields and developer offers refunds to investors, but with a caveat. Article from today’s Oklahoman;
Check out this article from The Oklahoman:

Strawberry Fields developer offers refunds to investors, but with a caveat

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/01/25/strawberry-fields-oklahoma-city-development-investors-criticize-refunds-investigation/72341525007/

I can't believe she is still playing the "oh-so-innocent" card. She is nothing more than a thief.

Probably going to have to wait for her to die before anything happens, and even then it might just be a splitting up of everything and selling it piecemeal.