Crossroads Mall

[amocore]

Tear it down and re zone the area for Residential or mix uses.

[citywokchinesefood]

Tear it down and re zone the area for Residential or mix uses.

This would honestly be for the best. I don't think anything meaningful will come out of this property in our lifetime otherwise.

[jn1780]

What's the status on the supermarket / Sam's club like store? If that is stalled than there is very little hope of success. There is no credibility at this point. I wouldn't want to sign into any kind of lease with an opening date that keeps getting pushed back. They misled store owners about the state of the mall. It obviously wasn't up to code to open otherwise why not open the doors? I feel bad for anyone who spent money to build out their store thinking the mall was going to actually open last October.

[Laramie]

Nothing is wrong with Crossroads Mall other than it needs good ownership and management.

[gjl]

Aren't there charter schools occupying some of the buildings there and Bob Howard Parts?

[jn1780]

Nothing is wrong with Crossroads Mall other than it needs good ownership and management.

I guess good owners and managers don't feel it's a good risk.

[Pete]

Aren't there charter schools occupying some of the buildings there and Bob Howard Parts?

Santa Fe charter schools occupy two of the old department stores (on the east and north sides).

The new Utah-based owner owns the remainder, including the west and south department stores and the mall itself.

He had proposed an Asian grocery warehouse and food court for the west department store (formerly JC Penney).

A local couple heavily involved in the cannabis industry (Carrie and Wallace Lawrence) is working to convert the south store (former Dillards) into a convention center. They are also the people working with the owner to rent out the mall spaces.


The best I can tell:

1. The Lawrences have been supervising the cleanup of the mall itself and serving as leasing directors. They have acquired a bunch of deposits from local businesses and there is restlessness because the mall reopening keeps getting delayed. They had originally hoped to open last November, then it was shifted to February. It doesn't seem like they have a firm open date.

2. Some of the businesses are now demanding their deposits back. The owner of Ragin Cajun (Latrice McMillian) is one and she has been posting all types of info to the R.C. Facebook page claiming the Lawrences are scammers. However, it does appear that Ragin Cajun did ultimately get their deposit back. Still, there is an on-going online feud between McMillian and the Lawrences.

3. The person that claimed to be representing the OKC Wranglers for the new outdoor stadium in the Crossroads parking lot appears to be a fraud. I don't know the status of the team in general, but it appears they will not be building the stadium at Crossroads. Carrie Lawrence claims that this guy (Joe McClendon) was charging people for a team tryout but has been merely pocketing the money.

4. The mall owner has started work on the Asian Friendship Arch on the north side of the property. I was told they were starting soon on the Penney's space but need to get down there and see if anything is happening. They filed for their building permits and operate a similar store in Utah.

[the michigander]

The charter school should have taken the rest of the property the could have built a auditorium in one win and a gymnasium and a pool in the other wing.

[jn1780]

Doesn't seem like the owner ultimately care what happens with the rest of the mall space. They have their vision of the Asian grocery warehouse with everything else just being 'filler' space.

[CatholicSooner]

Looks like crossroads mall is having issues , now the football team isn't going there and multiple tenants are demanding refunds and saying they got scammed and the mall is not opening anytime soon etc. The crossroads convention Facebook page is now bashing the football league and also if your type crossroads convention on Facebook you will see tenants complaining about the management and saying how there is a criminal history behind the management and demanding refunds. So it looks like the mall is done before it even opened

I'm not sure why but when I saw an interview of the lady running the mall, I got some odd vibes.

[gjl]

My post about some of the buildings being occupied was directed to the suggestion to tear it down and rezone it for residential.

[barrettd]

Santa Fe charter schools occupy two of the old department stores (on the east and north sides).

The new Utah-based owner owns the remainder, including the west and south department stores and the mall itself.

He had proposed an Asian grocery warehouse and food court for the west department store (formerly JC Penney).

A local couple heavily involved in the cannabis industry (Carrie and Wallace Lawrence) is working to convert the south store (former Dillards) into a convention center. They are also the people working with the owner to rent out the mall spaces.


The best I can tell:

1. The Lawrences have been supervising the cleanup of the mall itself and serving as leasing directors. They have acquired a bunch of deposits from local businesses and there is restlessness because the mall reopening keeps getting delayed. They had originally hoped to open last November, then it was shifted to February. It doesn't seem like they have a firm open date.

2. Some of the businesses are now demanding their deposits back. The owner of Ragin Cajun (Latrice McMillian) is one and she has been posting all types of info to the R.C. Facebook page claiming the Lawrences are scammers. However, it does appear that Ragin Cajun did ultimately get their deposit back. Still, there is an on-going online feud between McMillian and the Lawrences.

3. The person that claimed to be representing the OKC Wranglers for the new outdoor stadium in the Crossroads parking lot appears to be a fraud. I don't know the status of the team in general, but it appears they will not be building the stadium at Crossroads. Carrie Lawrence claims that this guy (Joe McClendon) was charging people for a team tryout but has been merely pocketing the money.

4. The mall owner has started work on the Asian Friendship Arch on the north side of the property. I was told they were starting soon on the Penney's space but need to get down there and see if anything is happening. They filed for their building permits and operate a similar store in Utah.

Are the people in this story the same Carrie and Wallace Lawrence? If so, I'd also be worried if I were invested in their business.

https://www.news9.com/story/5e3500e1...t-scammer-away

[Video Expert]

This whole thing sounds like a total disaster. Maybe not on the scale of the Custino's saga, but similar.

[Pete]

I did some research on the UFL which is just a slightly rebranded NGL.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation...United_States)

The main guy, Joe McClendon, has been trying to get this off the ground for years and by all accounts has been taking money from prospective players for tryouts, promising teams at various cities (recently OKC) and never playing a single down.

In fact, it looks like they sign coaches (like OKC's JD Runnels) and players then never pay them.


Also, Wallace (Wally) Lawrence was functioning as the GM for the local team while also trying to lease and promote the mall.



Now that the team or league is not materializing the Lawrences are seeking to expose McClendon. McClendon claims the league and OKC Wranglers are still happening and they will play their first games on April 1st, even though there are no stadiums.


What a mess. Then you mix in a bunch of disgruntled would-be Crossroads tenants and you basically have 3 factions feuding: 1) Wally & Carri Lawrence; 2) McClendon/UFL/Wranglers; and 3) Latrice McMillian of Ragin Cajun representing her business and some of the other upset tenants. All three groups are using FB and uploaded video rants to point fingers at each other.

The only thing that looks relatively certain is the UFL appears to be a scam dating back years. My impression is the Lawrences have been working hard to get Crossroads open but it's been a huge task with lots of delays; I met them at the mall and they were absolutely working away trying to get it leased and opened. I know there has been considerable work on the HVAC and general cleanup, so they seem sincere in their efforts, although it's entirely possible they are in over their heads. McMillian has posted that she did get her deposit back but now claims to be looking out for the other businesses that have signed leases at Crossroads.

And because the Lawrences were mixed up with the Wranglers while also serving as mall leasing agents and managers, it's possible they are relatively innocent in all this as they assert to have been taken in by McClendon themselves. Or were they in on the scam? My hunch is they were not but there is no way to be certain.

At the same time, McClendon claims (through the OKC Wranglers FB page) they are still trying to work a deal directly with the Crossroads owner, and effectively go around the Lawrences.

[jn1780]

Are the people in this story the same Carrie and Wallace Lawrence? If so, I'd also be worried if I were invested in their business.

https://www.news9.com/story/5e3500e1...t-scammer-away

If its them which I believe it is because his facebook age matches up to the federal inmate lookup age) then its a good thing Oklahoma voters passed Medical Marijuana, They made an honest living helping doctors and patients invent medical conditions to get their 'green' card.

[Richard at Remax]

Kind of a puff piece on KFOR last night.

https://kfor.com/news/local/semi-pro...stadium-lease/

[Pete]

It should be noted that independent of the issues with the lease, no permits have been filed to build the stadium at Crossroads or anywhere else. It sounds like they signed a lease, never came up with the money and never started the permitting process.

If you read through the Wikipedia article I posted about this football league, you'll see the same guy has been promising to start play for several years and absolutely nothing has happened thus far other than taking money from prospective players for tryouts.

[Boop]

It should be noted that independent of the issues with the lease, no permits have been filed to build the stadium at Crossroads or anywhere else. It sounds like they signed a lease, never came up with the money and never started the permitting process.

If you read through the Wikipedia article I posted about this football league, you'll see the same guy has been promising to start play for several years and absolutely nothing has happened thus far other than taking money from prospective players for tryouts.

That is good news! Building a football stadium next to the mall seems like a terrible idea

[catch22]

With the rough Valley Brook neighborhood directly north, the trash dump directly east, and the railroad yard directly south I just can’t see this area really taking off without a significant public investment in the hundreds of millions. It will take a grand vision and a long term, uphill pull on multiple fronts to make work: like the Wheeler District. Maybe not that same style of development but that same dedication. There are so many problems with that property the only thing really going for it is the amount of vacant land at a critical highway junction with potential commuter rail access. Otherwise it’s a crapper of a property. That’s the unfortunate reality. If it was a shining star the market would have found a way to make it work through one of the many attempts at revival. I think the best case scenario is a Midwest Wrecking spray paint on this structure unfortunately.

[Libbymin]

There also seems to be a history with this Joe McLendon character from this football league scamming other people in other cities. All of this doesn’t exactly bode well for the revitalization of this area.

[jedicurt]

i mean the Idea was ridiculous in the first place. playing indoor arena rules in an outdoor temporary cheaply put together stadium in spring all across tornado alley.

[KTB]

It's sad because I grew up going to Crossroads Mall, but it'll never be revived as a small. Maybe a flea market but it's too big for that too. I know the owner wants to make it an Asian destination but that's still questionable because of the location and conditions. I knew the Wranglers would never play a down there because of the costs involved to build a stadium and this is college football territory. Now it appears to just be a scam league that's been going on for years. I don't think the Lawrences were involved in the scam. They're just hoping it'd be real so maybe Crossroads would succeed. They do have a sketchy background that puts a target on them.

I do think they're in way over their head in the remodel. I watched some of their Facebook videos and they don't come across very professional. Some of their videos have themselves and friends tearing down walls and painting. You can't remodel something like this with friends. It takes an obscene amount of money and labor and I don't think the money is there. I've been involved in many retail remodels and I've built houses, I couldn't imagine undertaking something as big as a mall without a proven general contractor and a team of experienced contractors.

[Boop]

It's sad because I grew up going to Crossroads Mall, but it'll never be revived as a small. Maybe a flea market but it's too big for that too. I know the owner wants to make it an Asian destination but that's still questionable because of the location and conditions. I knew the Wranglers would never play a down there because of the costs involved to build a stadium and this is college football territory. Now it appears to just be a scam league that's been going on for years. I don't think the Lawrences were involved in the scam. They're just hoping it'd be real so maybe Crossroads would succeed. They do have a sketchy background that puts a target on them.

I do think they're in way over their head in the remodel. I watched some of their Facebook videos and they don't come across very professional. Some of their videos have themselves and friends tearing down walls and painting. You can't remodel something like this with friends. It takes an obscene amount of money and labor and I don't think the money is there. I've been involved in many retail remodels and I've built houses, I couldn't imagine undertaking something as big as a mall without a proven general contractor and a team of experienced contractors.

After the mall closed, I just did not understand why it has not been bulldozed and build something new, it would have been a better option and more useful

[Bill Robertson]

It's sad because I grew up going to Crossroads Mall, but it'll never be revived as a small. Maybe a flea market but it's too big for that too. I know the owner wants to make it an Asian destination but that's still questionable because of the location and conditions. I knew the Wranglers would never play a down there because of the costs involved to build a stadium and this is college football territory. Now it appears to just be a scam league that's been going on for years. I don't think the Lawrences were involved in the scam. They're just hoping it'd be real so maybe Crossroads would succeed. They do have a sketchy background that puts a target on them.

I do think they're in way over their head in the remodel. I watched some of their Facebook videos and they don't come across very professional. Some of their videos have themselves and friends tearing down walls and painting. You can't remodel something like this with friends. It takes an obscene amount of money and labor and I don't think the money is there. I've been involved in many retail remodels and I've built houses, I couldn't imagine undertaking something as big as a mall without a proven general contractor and a team of experienced contractors.

Two other friends and I rode our bikes from the NW36th & May area to Crossroads once a week during summer break when we were 14 and 15. We hung out in the AMAZING arcade for a few hours. It was a special time so I have special memories of the mall. I'm very sad to see the state that it's in now.

[Pete]

Anything resembling what that mall once was has been gone for 30 years.

It's sad for me too as I worked there (Orbach's) for 3 years in college, but I mourned the loss a long time ago.

Having recently walked through there and watching what they have been doing, I can assure you whatever happens going forward will not rekindle any feelings of nostalgia. It's always going to be a sad place for anyone who remembers the glory days.