Mall Downtown in Bricktown

[diesel]

What do you guys think?!? I think that would seal the deal for tourism downtown & Bricktown..

[mediapeople]

I think this would really secure a constant and strong flow of people in the Bricktown area.... Great Idea!!!!

[betts]

I don't know that we need a mall, but a shopping area would be nice both for us and for visitors.

[bandnerd]

Yeah, when I think mall, I think suburban sprawl. A nice outdoor shopping area would be cool.

[solitude]

An outdoors shopping plaza, something with retail concentration is definitely needed. But an indoor mall? That's so 80's.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Horton Plaza in San Diego.

Great place.

horton plaza mall san diego - Google Image Search

[John]

Horton Plaza in San Diego.

Great place.

horton plaza mall san diego - Google Image Search

It's such a great area and draws tourists and locals, alike.

This really should have happened at what is now Lesser, I mean Lower Bricktown.

[laokstate]

I think that a Dallas Galleria or Beverly Center type mall would benefit OKC much more. The winters are cold and the summers are hot there! Outdoor shopping is fun and cute but when you are suggesting that Southern California formatted centers will fit in Midwest America, the weather has to play a factor.

[jbrown84]

Why are we bringing this up again?

The horse is dead.

[venture]

How successful can this even be? The window of opportunity has already passed. Personally a lifestyle center type shopping setup would have been nice, but I don't think you will see many retailers sign up now. Penn Square has most of those who would sign, and they aren't very far from downtown...and UNP will have a similar batch when their lifestyle center opens up in a couple years. Downtown locations will pull from both of those, which retailers will likely try to avoid.

The boat has sailed for retail, at least on a grand (mall-sized) scale. It's time to think outside of the box and see what is lacking in the OKC market. I still say more large scale entertainment venues...a gaming center, casino, and even an indoor water park.

[metro]

What do you guys think?!? I think that would seal the deal for tourism downtown & Bricktown..

Forget about Bricktown, the Bricktown ship has sailed Hogan and Brewer sped it along. I'm with laokstate, outdoor lifestyle centers are great but we're not in Southern California. A Galleria would do wonders for downtown OKC and attract plenty of upscale retailers than Penn Sq. Mall can't just due to they don't have enough space left.

[Kerry]

I have posted this link before but this is what downtown OKC needs.

Atlantic Station® - Life Happens here.

Right now OKC is playing with nickels and dimes. Once the Sonics arrive we will start playing with dollars.

[venture]

Outdoor lifestyle centers are perfectly fine. They are actually the norm for most new developments even up north. However, like Metro stated...any large scale retail is likely out of the picture for Bricktown now.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Horton Plaza in San Diego.

Great place.

horton plaza mall san diego - Google Image Search

There's a Chinese restaurant in there that has windows overlooking the bay great view, day or night...They've got about the BEST spicy beef on the planet...AND they carry a great Gewurztraminer, which is hard to find in a restaurant.

[Kerry]

Any retail in downtown OKc is going to have to be combined with housing. Downtown will not be able to rely on people driving there just to shop.

[oneforone]

We do not need a mall downtown. We need a Night Trips Billboard that can be seen from the international space station.

[BDP]

I'm not necessarily convinced that we could support another mall, but I do think some of the points on this thread are worth taking a closer look at:

1) Weather extremes eliminate chance for outdoor shopping: OK, but there are plenty of urban cities around the US with weather extremes that have plenty of streetside pedestrian based shopping. In fact, two of the biggest I can think of, Michigan Ave and 5th Ave, are not neccessarily 80 degrees and balmy for 300+ days a year.

2) Not enough rooftops: I mean, this makes sense at face value, but it doesn't seem to apply anywhere else in the city. I know our malls, specifically Penn Square and Quail Springs, aren't packed by neighborhood traffic alone. We barely even have neighborhoods where businesses rely exclusive, or even primarily, on their neighborhood traffic. Why is downtown different? If the stores were exclusive to downtown, like some are to Penn Square, I can't imagine Oklahomans having trouble driving 20 minutes to shop. If downtown gets rooftops, wouldn't it then be the best location for retail in the city? I mean, it would not only have central location, it would actually have local pedestrian traffic. I think downtown would be good for the right retail now, and rooftops would only make it that much better.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

BDP, I think the primary reason people won't drive downtown for retail shopping is parking perception. Everybody I know thinks there's a parking problem down there. I try to tell them that there isn't...But they don't listen. I have a hard time getting people to go down there for the movies with me.

By the way, I was downtown Saturday night, and Bricktown was GORGEOUS with all the whiteness. The streets were a sheet of ice, but still...Awesome. G/F and I got some hot cocoa from Sonic and walked around a bit, checked out a (sadly) fairly empty Red Pin, and looked at the beautiful canal area. I was kicking myself for not having my camera with me. I've been working on my night shooting with some pretty results lately.

[okcitian]

Great Idea....

I've been to several urban indoor malls before. A year ago I was in Madrid, Spain, and by accident I walked into a mall which was right above the Principe Pio station in the inner city. The mall was built out of an old city railroad station.. similar to what i've heard that St. Louis has. Another example was a mall in Mexico City which was in a very urbanized area. All the parking was in a garage in the bottom and side parking garage of the mall. The mall was 4 stories high and happens to be bigger than Penn Square Mall but with designer stores like Gucci, Prada, Georgio Armani all the way to retail stores like Zara (european equivalent to Express) and Lacoste. Both examples were in areas that were heavily populated and not far from tourist areas.... If downtown were to have something like this I would hope they use the newest concepts for American or even International Malls. Something like a Mall with open spaces, kinda half indoor and outdoor malls like that outlet mall outside of Austin but think more bricktown and even a very postmodern look to it. Bricktown needs that postmodern cosmopolitain look to it while still keeping its roots. Think of Dubai with how they embrace thier Middle Eastern culture by showing architectual elements in thier new flashy skyscrapers and low rises. A mall would be great. If theatre were big here as it is in Europe, it would be great to add a theatre to it. Maybe an art gallery or two. There still needs something unique to a mall in bricktown. Something innovative, something that this country is currently missing.

[plmccordj]

The perception of those that I know including me is that there is not a parking shortage but that the parking is over priced. I get outraged every time I go down there and see the parking is $5.00 and then two hours later it is $8.00. Why would I go shop where I am out five dollars before I even go in the store? As much as it is an inconvenience, Walmart doesn't charge to park at all. Charging to park your car may be okay if you are forced to go down there to work or if you are an out of town tourist but it is not okay for day to day shopping. As long as they continue to allow people to extort $5.00 to $10.00 to park your car, this perception will not go away.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Every city I've ever lived in or around has paid parking downtown, and it's NEVER only $5. More like $15 and $20 on event nights.

[HOT ROD]

I like the idea of a retail galleria style mall, but not in bricktown. Enough with bricktown. What about the rest of downtown!!!

Let Brewer and Hogan and those other landgrabbers who are just sitting there hoping to flip for profit - let them continue to starve. I dont want the city to do ANY more investing in Bricktown other than what has already been announced. Nothing More at this point.

We need to move our investment to AAlley, Midtown, Triangle, the CBD, Arts District, C2S, West Downtown, and Deep Deuce!!! Bricktown should be WAY PAST needed a helping hand to survive - it should now fend for itself, after all - isn't it the MOST EXPENSIVE real estate in the state??!!

Bass Pro is the BIGGEST JOKE!!! I dont want to see any more mistakes like that and Bricktown has had it's run in the sun as far as Im concerned. What about the rest of downtown. ...

[bombermwc]

I've been really dissapointed in Bass Pro myself....the only good thing is the free parking to walk to the rest of Bricktown.

I actually prefer Academy over Bass Pro anyday. They don't spend money on all that decorating and stupid crap like an aquarium in the store so you get a better price. And have you seen how big the shoe selection is??? I haven't bought a pair of shoes anywhere else since the South OKC Academy opened! Doc Martens, Sketchers, Nike, whatever you want!

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I've been really dissapointed in Bass Pro myself....the only good thing is the free parking to walk to the rest of Bricktown.

I actually prefer Academy over Bass Pro anyday. They don't spend money on all that decorating and stupid crap like an aquarium in the store so you get a better price. And have you seen how big the shoe selection is??? I haven't bought a pair of shoes anywhere else since the South OKC Academy opened! Doc Martens, Sketchers, Nike, whatever you want!

Not whatever

I like Born shoes lately. VERY comfortable and wide.

[El Gato Pollo Loco!!!]

Why are we bringing this up again?

The horse is dead.

A lot of us like beating dead horses around here. There's no cans to kick.