OAK (formerly Penn Central)

[Pete]

What is the small pavilion supposed to be?

It will be a restaurant; rumor is Shake Shack.

[Mississippi Blues]

It will be a restaurant; rumor is Shake Shack.

I went to Shake Shack at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga the other day and the structure it was in is very similar to the pavilion in OAK. Just going off of that, I could absolutely see the pavilion housing a Shake Shack.

[warreng88]

I went to Shake Shack at Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga the other day and the structure it was in is very similar to the pavilion in OAK. Just going off of that, I could absolutely see the pavilion housing a Shake Shack.

Went to one with a similar set up in NYC, same.

[Pete]

The last photo is Williams Sonoma.

[progressiveboy]

Shake Shack is a really good place to eat! Hope this is true. I am hoping when they demolish the Red Carpet CW, maybe a La Madeleine. Closest one is in Norman. This seems like it would be a good fit.

[Mr. Blue Sky]

Here’s the OAK sign. First time I’ve seen it lit up!
This was around 5:00 Wednesday (09-04) afternoon

[HFAA Alum]

Here’s the OAK sign. First time I’ve seen it lit up!
This was around 5:00 Wednesday (09-04) afternoon

So nice to see some verticality in the area with a modest amount of visual. Here's to hoping that more developments with similar height or taller gets put up in this area.

[warreng88]

Got an email from pottery barn announcing the opening of their new location on October 4th.

[Pete]

[OKCTalker]

I went into Pottery Barn today to find most of their smaller items already boxed up, and larger items marked down for final sale. I was looking for a smaller item, and while they offered to go through boxes, they clearly preferred that I order the item online (which I did). Their last day at Penn Square is September 19, and they’ll open October 4 at the Oak.

[Pete]

They are gutting the west half of what remains of the Registry building, which will be renovated and repurposed as office and commercial space. The east half will be demolished to make way for more restaurants.

Signs are up on Pottery Barn, but as the one photo shows, nothing inside as of yet.

The video board on the side of the Lively Hotel is now active.

The RH Gallery building has been topped out, complete with a flag and tree. The tree thing has become common and is believed to be based on this:

The practice of "topping out" a new building can be traced to the ancient Scandinavian religious practice of placing a tree on the top of a new building to appease the tree-dwelling spirits of their ancestors that had been displaced.

[bison34]

This all looks amazing! Great shots, Pete!

[progressiveboy]

Really looks like a "quality" development! This is stuff you see in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston. Any more updates on more retail and tenants? This development is close to where I live so hoping property values will increase too!

[OkieBerto]

Cloud Puncher Restaurant was posting about a soft open and they were doing photography for their menu items. They will be ready for October opening!

[Pete]

They are spending a fortune on landscaping and hardscape.

[soonerguru]

They are spending a fortune on landscaping and hardscape.

This is such a notch above the norm in OKC and greatly appreciated.

[warreng88]

They are spending a fortune on landscaping and hardscape.

When I went to the ULI walking tour several months ago, Ryan McNeil said they spent $1 million dollars in something you can't see and that is the area between the hotel and the apartments below ground.

[Rover]

If this development has the financial success it wants then it will go a long way towards other developers doing similar. OKC just hasn’t had a record of paying the costs, so will see if support is just rhetoric or whether it gets supported when people are asked to frequent the merchants, fill the apartments, and pay the prices needed to make it a success. I think they will, if for no other reason than there really is no other development like it in OKC.

[Urbanized]

I agree with everything Rover says above, and at the same time I strongly believe this will be a slam dunk. I think the combination of the location and the overall design - dense, walkable, and decidedly upscale - is going to blow the minds of the many Oklahomans who don't travel much if any, plus the appreciative loyalty of those who do. Much like Wheeler, I think this will be a model that will cause people to ask "hey, why don't we have more of THAT here?"

[bison34]

I love this development. But, having seen what has been allowed to change with the Alley North development, I hope it changes minds about these types of developments.

They are all over the place in cities smaller than OKC, so I hope this shows people these developments can be a good thing, even without oceans of parking.

[Pete]

I agree with everything Rover says above, and at the same time I strongly believe this will be a slam dunk. I think the combination of the location and the overall design - dense, walkable, and decidedly upscale - is going to blow the minds of the many Oklahomans who don't travel much if any, plus the appreciative loyalty of those who do. Much like Wheeler, I think this will be a model that will cause people to ask "hey, why don't we have more of THAT here?"

People really have to experience it in person to fully appreciate how nice and different it is.

I hope this is another in a long line of "why don't we have this?", then we get one and a bunch of others follow. Remember when we said this about breakfast places, dense apartment complexes, Brazilian steakhouses, and quality grocery options??

It's been proven time and time again in this market that once someone makes the first leap and has a successful track record, many more follow.

[Jake]

People really have to experience it in person to fully appreciate how nice and different it is.

I hope this is another in a long line of "why don't we have this?", then we get one and a bunch of others follow. Remember when we said this about breakfast places, dense apartment complexes, Brazilian steakhouses, and quality grocery options??

It's been proven time and time again in this market that once someone makes the first leap and has a successful track record, many more follow.

Have there even been examples of new to market type of concepts for upscale restaurants/developments/etc. in OKC that were massive failures?

[Urbanized]

Have there even been examples of new to market type of concepts for upscale restaurants/developments/etc. in OKC that were massive failures?

That's a great question. I can't think of any specific examples off the top of my head; most of the places that have come here with surrounding hype and eventually closed were failures across an entire chain. Usually when new-to-market and known/coveted places arrive in OKC the demand outstrips expectations. Sometimes it results in a place becoming the top performer in the region or even the nation for a while. OKC generally has tons of pent-up demand, which is probably a result of often being overlooked in favor of other markets.

[Rover]

I strongly believe this will be a slam dunk. I think the combination of the location and the overall design - dense, walkable, and decidedly upscale - is going to blow the minds of the many Oklahomans who don't travel much if any, plus the appreciative loyalty of those who do. Much like Wheeler, I think this will be a model that will cause people to ask "hey, why don't we have more of THAT here?"

Very much agree.

[Rover]

People really have to experience it in person to fully appreciate how nice and different it is.

I hope this is another in a long line of "why don't we have this?", then we get one and a bunch of others follow. Remember when we said this about breakfast places, dense apartment complexes, Brazilian steakhouses, and quality grocery options??

It's been proven time and time again in this market that once someone makes the first leap and has a successful track record, many more follow.

Which always begs the question, why are new concepts so slow to be developed here by local developers like this? Is it lack of capital.