Crossroads Mall

[ddavidson8]

Plus they wouldn't really "fit in" at Quail Springs, making it harder to escape.

[Kerry]

Plus they wouldn't really "fit in" at Quail Springs, making it harder to escape.

The best place to hide a needle is not in a haystack, but with other needles.

[ssandedoc]

Dillards dropped clearance sales again, only certain colognes are 40% off. Others things have dropped another 10%.

[megax11]

Hello, new to these forums...

Anyhow, I have super fond memories of Crossroads Mall, and it kills me everytime I enter it, only to see a dying mall.

One can only hope they get to doing something with it.

I dwell on my past a lot, that is because my life currently, isn't as good as it was then.

I remember dating this super nice girl, we got engaged, but my arrogance tore it apart. Anyhow, almost everyday, Chic-Fil-A was our number one eatery, and we sit on the old stage, eat, talk, then go to Frontier City. FC being during the summertimes that is. I always liked going to Babbages (now Gamestop,) for the latest games, and system launches like the Dreamcast at 5 am on 9/9/99 (I love that year.)

I also remember going to General Cinemas to see many many movies. Everything from Super Mario Bros. and Jurrassic Park, to films like Titanic, and Scream 2 (where my rougish butt blurted out who the killers were after leaving the theatre; hey I was ignorant back then.)

Another thing to remember was always shopping at the old Best Buy, for the latest games and movies, and going to the sneak preview of Regal Cinemas before the official opening, where I got to see 8MM before it officially opened, and for free.

So many memories of the place, and that nice girl, and her smile, and now that is all that will be left should that mall go anywhere, but up, is memories.

I keep checking the net, trying to find lots of pictures of Crossroads Mall during the nineties, but can barely find any. I also keep checking in hopes these new owners make up their minds and try and get people back with their talks of renovations.

Well, I will start posting here more often, as I love this city. It is just sad to see things go out like this. I wish this mall would flourish with life again, and I had hoped that having the NBA here, would help the owners understand that OKC is about to boom bigtime.

[ssandedoc]

Mobile Breaking Oklahoma News | NewsOK.com


Good article, Steve.

Crossroads Mall’s future remains anchored in mystery
after losing major retailers, some ask whether Crossroads can stay open
Comments Comment on this article0
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Published: December 7, 2008

The eye of the storm is calm enough at Crossroads Mall that 3-year-old Amari Trice is able to enjoy a carousel ride without any worries. But outside a slew of closing sale signs indicate the mall may never be the same again after its main anchors leave.

Dec 5 Several stores have recently closed at Crossroads Mall, but customers still enjoy the shopping experience.

A year after the 1.3-million-square-foot mall lost J.C. Penney Co. Inc. as one of its four anchors, the last two standing, Dillards and Steve and Barry’s University Sportswear, are set to close in a few weeks.

"There’s still plenty to do here,” said Bruce Denton, who spent his Friday morning enjoying a ride on the mall’s carousel with Trice, his step-granddaughter. "It wears me that they’re leaving. I love it here. But the young crowd is fading out and going to the strip malls.”

Standing in the heart of the mall, where the carousel and children’s play area were added five years ago, it looks as vibrant as any other shopping center. The aisles are filled with the likes of American Eagle, Christopher and Banks, Pacific Sunwear, Footlocker, Orange Julius, Zales and Kay Jewelers.

But stroll down the aisle toward the J.C. Penney store, the first anchor that went dark, and the storefronts are empty.

The parking lot outside the former Macy’s, which closed in March, was empty at mid-day Friday.

Retailers are afraid
Olga Castillo, manager at the Laughing Fish clothing store, is fearful of what’s next. She still recalls when she started at the store five years ago — the aisles were filled with people who hopped store to store after visiting the large department stores.

"The mall is slowing down,” Castillo said. "Now that Steve and Barry’s and Dillards are leaving, I think the mall is going down. I’m worried I’m going to be out of a job.”

Jim Swenson, the mall’s manager, is aware of the obituaries being written for Crossroads. The mall has even made an appearance on deadmalls DOT com, a Web site that tracks dead and dying malls.

When Midwest City’s Heritage Park Mall and Oklahoma City’s Shepherd Mall made similar appearances on the site, a majority of the non-anchor storefronts had gone dark and death notices followed the departure of major anchors. Obituaries like the one at deadmalls.com bewilder Swenson.

"I don’t pay a lot of attention to it — I know it’s not so,” he said. "We have 120 stores here, we’ve got the line-up. It’s not a vacant mall by any stretch of the imagination.”

Clientele lured away
The mall is losing customers like Judy Dennis, who once shopped at Crossroads’ stores while visiting J.C. Penney, but since has started shopping in Moore since the department store’s 2007 relocation there.

"I grew up going to Crossroads,” Dennis said. "But this is just easier — I’m in and I’m out. And it’s easier on my budget if I’m not passing by those other stores.”

Alison Oshel, a retail analyst with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, isn’t convinced the lifestyle centers popping up along Interstate 35 in Moore provide the concentration of retail needed by Moore and south Oklahoma City. But she’s not so sure Crossroads can bounce back from the loss of its anchors, either.

"One mall was built in 2007 nationally,” Oshel said. "We’re seeing a change in real estate where people are choosing lifestyle centers instead of malls.”

Oshel said the chamber and city had talks with mall owners two years ago about possibly reinventing the property, but nothing followed.

"It’s a tougher climate now to reinvent,” Oshel said. "Eighteen months ago it would have been easier to get financing. And they’ve gone from having three anchors to four empty anchor spaces.”

Commercial real estate broker Mary Grace is more blunt in her assessment.

"These small inline stores need anchors,” Grace said. "There is a reason for having anchors at shopping centers — they draw people in who will then go to the small shops. Quite frankly, a shopping mall without anchors is doomed. And who do they get? It’s an awful time to get someone in.”

Some pledge loyalty
Denton insists he will remain a loyal shopper at Crossroads — the mall where he bought his first jacket 25 years ago.

And Swenson thinks the mall cannot just survive, but thrive as a community center where people don’t just go to shop, but also to visit Santa, ride the carousel and see church choir performances.

He said the mall is working with Dillard’s and Macy’s to lease out their buildings (Midwest Malls owns the Penney’s and Steve and Barry’s spaces). He doesn’t rule out the possibility of adaptive re-use for the anchor stores.

"It’s difficult to make bad real estate good,” Swenson said.

"But good real estate can be made better. And Crossroads has a great location at the intersection of two major highways. The future is bright for this property, and in the near future we will continue to operate as a retail establishment,” he said.

"I’m excited to see what’s ahead — will it be retail or will it be mixed use? It is a great location.”

[Bostonfan]

After reading that article, seems to me the management is clearly in the dark and unaware of what is going on. Quote from the article:

Jim Swenson, mall manager. -- "I don’t pay a lot of attention to it — I know it’s not so,” he said. "We have 120 stores here, we’ve got the line-up. It’s not a vacant mall by any stretch of the imagination."

I don't expect him to come out and say the mall is dying, but come on, he does need to be realistic.

[Steve]

I have to admit - it had been years (many) since I last stepped inside Crossroads Mall. What I found, quite frankly, did not match the gangland image given by some. True, I was there on a Friday morning, but really, it was at its heart a very nice mall. I'd even take my kids there if it were on my side of town. As I pointed out in the story, it doesn't look like Heritage Park Mall or Shepherd Mall. But the loss of all of the anchors is a challenge - I'm not sure any malls this size have survived without them.

[oneforone]

Swenson brags about the other 120 stores; however, I can guarantee some of those stores are going to close up shop after the holidays. The small store retailers tend to close stores if the store is not making sales or foot traffic numbers.

At the small store level it is easy to move the stock and employees to other locations in the metro. Worst case scenario laying off 5-10 employees and discounting merchandise for quick sale will not hurt the national retailers like Victoria's Secret, Gap, American Eagle and Journey's.

Bottom line when the cost operating becomes more than the income the store closes.

[Lauri101]

Great story, Steve - the picture of Patience Latting, etc, cutting the ribbon flashed me back to that very day.

The crowds were huge and those of us who worked at the mall had to park out on the very edge of the parking lot. I was assistant manager at Frederick's and we sold more in one day than we had sold in a month at the MWC location.

I wish they could revive Crossroads, but have very little hope it'll happen.

[bluedogok]

Here is a story that I ran across today in the St. Louis paper about the effort to save an older mall up there.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch - The fight to save a dying mall

[oneforone]

It kind of sounds like they have the same problems as Crossroads. Gangbangers running away the real shoppers and a crumbling neighborhood.

In my opinion the biggest mistake Crossroads ever made was building on the Old Best Buy shopping center which pretty much blocked the mall. I know of several people who have stated something along the lines of. "I thought that place was pretty much empty or closed."

They should have built the center on the backside of the mall in the large parking lots that have never been used since the mid 80's.

Then they could have recruited Wal-Mart, Target, and Sears. To come to the mall or build a new store.

Some of you may laugh at the Wal-Mart suggestion;however, the Mall of Louisana and Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge are booming because of all the big box retail they have dotted on the perimitter of the mall.

[PLANSIT]

I've been working on a class (individual) project to tackle the redevelopment of Crossroads into a TOD. Everything you see below is hypothetical. I'm also working on a SketchUp version to better illustrate massing, setbacks, layout, and overall site design. It's not 100% yet, but I felt it was close enough to post on here.

What does everyone think about the sites potential for TOD?

[metro]

After reading that article, seems to me the management is clearly in the dark and unaware of what is going on. Quote from the article:

Jim Swenson, mall manager. -- "I don’t pay a lot of attention to it — I know it’s not so,” he said. "We have 120 stores here, we’ve got the line-up. It’s not a vacant mall by any stretch of the imagination."

I don't expect him to come out and say the mall is dying, but come on, he does need to be realistic.

I agree. Of course he has to "promote" his business, but at the same time you need to be realistic and face the facts. He's either in denial or clueless. And the 120 tenants thing seems questionable to me. I've been in there about a month or so ago, and I sure didn't see 120 tenants. Maybe 30 or so. Maybe he meant they have 120 retail spaces (doesn't mean they are all occupied, there is no way I see how).

[Soonerman]

I don't know how any mall can survive without anchors. I guess we shall see what happens. Now that Steve & Barrys is leaving I really won't have any desire to go to that mall.

[bluedogok]

Well, Steve & Barry's leaving wasn't necessarily Crossroad's fault since they are closing all the stores. They are just another victim of that circumstance.

[sgray]

ptownsnwbrdr,

Nice work. Will be nice to see it when its done.

[kevinpate]

If a mall next to a busy rail line and an ever growing landfill is a bad idea, I'm uncertain how a mixed use office residential, with scads of green space, is a better idea. As far as fitting the available footprint, looks like a decent use of the property shape as it sits today.

But is it a better use of the space? That's a right interesting question. It also doesn't seem to take into account any significant changes down the road for an improved 35/240 connection, and that seems to ultimately be necessary, at least in some form.

[Jesseda]

i think it is a good place for dump hill number 2

[Martin]

i think it is a good place for dump hill number 2

ummm... excuse me... that's mount trashmore to you.

-M

[Jesseda]

so sorry mmm... to bad they cant shred some white paper or tear up some pillows at the top of trashmore (snow capped mountain) to make the holidays seem bright in that area.

[PLANSIT]

If a mall next to a busy rail line and an ever growing landfill is a bad idea, I'm uncertain how a mixed use office residential, with scads of green space, is a better idea. As far as fitting the available footprint, looks like a decent use of the property shape as it sits today.

But is it a better use of the space? That's a right interesting question. It also doesn't seem to take into account any significant changes down the road for an improved 35/240 connection, and that seems to ultimately be necessary, at least in some form.

Curious to know what would be a better use of space?

Walmart or TOD?

The site needs sustainability and the only way to do that is to get people to live and work in the same area. Malls are an incredible waste of space. If commuter rail is ever viable and corridors are identified, providing service to redevelop-able sites can be just as important in the long term as providing service to areas already built out. Doing both seems optimal. This site provides a unique opportunity to create a pedestrian oriented atmosphere teeming with retail, office, residential, and transit alternatives. Intensities and site layout can change, but a mixed-use approach could ensure a quality developments' future much longer than that of a typical mall.

[Generals64]

With as much concern as so many people have about Crossroads closing why doesn't everyone involved pitch in and buy the mall and do whatever the majority deems necessary. There are more things in OKC that need attention thatn Crossroads Mall....Don't you think?

[Jesseda]

well they alrady have te huge parking lot, i wonder if a auto mall would be good at that location, lets say bob howard rents out the old jcpennies building and half of the parking lot, the lot on the west sides, thats a thought?

[jbrown84]

I've been working on a class (individual) project to tackle the redevelopment of Crossroads into a TOD. Everything you see below is hypothetical. I'm also working on a SketchUp version to better illustrate massing, setbacks, layout, and overall site design. It's not 100% yet, but I felt it was close enough to post on here.

What does everyone think about the sites potential for TOD?

Nicely done. My only suggestion would be to have the boulevard coming out of the Rail station line up with/feed into the "gateway park".

[Chicken In The Rough]

I love the boulevard running to/from the commuter rail station. This would be a beautiful addition to South OKC. It would also be the type of development that may attract Class A office tenants. This is something else that is needed in South OKC.

I have a question, though. This is not meant as a jab. I truly would like to know. Which came first, the mall or the landfill? It seems severely short-sighted for a mall developer to build next to a landfill. Likewise, it seems really problematic locating a massive landfill next to a mall. How did this happen? Who was in charge? What were they thinking?

I think that this location will be difficult to redevelop as a commercial or residential site with that mountain of stinking, rotting, rodent infested garbage so close. Assuming there is a redevelopment, I think this site is destined to become a location for government service, a medical facility, or light industrial.