$30 Million shops at Remington
Shops at Remington set for northeast Oklahoma City
Journal Record
April 11, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – Tom Parrish has been keeping a secret; but now he’s ready to talk. In August 2007 Parrish, as Remington Landing LLC, purchased two tracts totaling about 74 acres near the intersection of Martin Luther King Avenue and NE 63rd Street for $1.3 million.
At that time Parrish, of Parrish Interests, wasn’t talking, but did put up a teaser sign on the land – just south of Interstate 44 – that simply read “The Secret.”
Those with inquiries were asked to stay tuned. The two tracts were the last remaining property held by the DeBartolo family zoned for the Remington Park entertainment district. The DeBartolo family developed Remington Park.
Now Parrish has unveiled a plan to develop 19.28 acres of that land as a retail, office, restaurant, and hotel project called The Shops at Remington on the northwest side of Remington Park. Initial plans call for about 373,000 square feet of commercial space around a lake and an amphitheater on the south end of the development next to the Deep Fork River, which winds around the southern side of the property.
Parrish said investment in the project will likely top $30 million.
Mike Webb, with Grubb & Ellis Levy Beffort, is handling leasing and sales of the pad sites. But no plans are set in stone.“We’re really flexible,” Webb said. Webb said buyers can either buy their land and build, or Parrish will offer build-to-suit spaces. The proposed look of the project was inspired by the Southlake Town Center, in Southlake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth, that Parrish visited while attending an event at the Texas Motor Speedway.
The Southlake project has more than 850,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, hotel, and office space that opened in phases over the past 10 years. Parrish said he wants the kind of place where people are just as comfortable shopping as sitting on the patio overlooking the lake.“We’re bringing the new conceptual town center to Oklahoma City,” he said.
The tenant mix will include businesses to support the thoroughbred and quarter horse racing community. Webb said retail tenants will likely sell items such as western wear, western furniture and jewelry.
Two hotel sites are planned, and while Parrish said he has had some discussions and interest from hotel operators, there are no definite plans yet for specific hotel flags. With neighbors like the racetrack, the Oklahoma City Zoo, Science Museum Oklahoma, and the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Center Museum, in the area dubbed the Adventure District, Parrish said the project can benefit all of the entities in the area by providing food and lodging options.
Scott Wells, vice president and general manager of Remington Park, said the project will be a needed addition to an area that has been underserved by hotel and retail options.
Remington Park opened in 1988 and Wells said last year the track and casino had 1.4 million visitors. The Adventure District as a whole counted about 2.5 million visitors last year.
“The Shops at Remington Park is a great idea and it’s a great location,” Wells said. “It’s something that should increase business for all the entities of the Adventure District.”
Architecture, engineering and contracting for the project will be handled by JHBR and Cardinal Engineering. But Parrish doesn’t plan to stop with the Remington project. On the additional land he purchased to the east of the proposed project, he has his sights on eventually developing single-family and multifamily housing. Parrish said he would like to create a gated community with stables and horse trails, but that project is still a ways off.
Development and building of the Shops at Remington project will begin to move forward as tenants and owners are lined up for the available space and as the city approves the plans.
Parrish said he has been testing the waters and has had interest from office, retail and hotel entities. The plan to initially buy the two tracts for development was influenced by several factors, Parrish said.“What attracted me to that site is that the track is just doing phenomenal with visitors,” he said. “It’s a hidden gem in that part of the city.”
Tom Parrish is seen Thursday at the site of his future development on the corner of NE 63rd and Martin Luther King Avenue. (Photo by Jennifer Pitts)
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