The Future of Crossroads

[OKCitizen]

I have on good authority the future plans of Crossroads Mall. It will be bought and converted into State offices, like Sheppard Mall, for the sum of $7 million dollars. I've seen the paperwork.

[Patrick]

Interesting....I wonder what offices they plan on putting in there.

[oneforone]

I would love to see a central location for all city, state and federal offices.

They should move everything from Shepard to Crossroads. After that they could replace Shepard with housing, a city park and maybe even a small business corridor.

[Thunder]

If that will happen, then we will just have to accept it.

Is there anything in the plans that mention complete reconstruction inside?

[scootinger]

If it's true..that sounds like a great plan, and is exactly what I was hoping would happen to the mall. As much as some people like Crossroads, the mall has no viable future as a retail center. It's far better that this happen and someone put it to good use than demolishing the mall or letting it sit and rot.

But nonetheless...are they going to be able to fill the whole complex with government offices? (Are they buying all of the anchor store buildings too?) Or will they lease out part of it to other tenants? Is it going to be owned by a commercial real estate company, or will it be owned by a local/state government?

[OKCitizen]

I don't know all the specifics, but the whole mall will be bought and owned by the State. I don't know if they would consider using some space for Federal offices, but that is possible.
I believe the breakdown was $13/sq. foot.

[bbhill]

Where are all the government offices located now that will be moved to crossroads? Or are these all new jobs/offices? Seems like the entire mall would be more than sufficient for all government offices, so it would seem like the future of shepherd mall would be put into limbo right about now.

edit: $13/ft means the whole purchase was around $16.5 mil. Anyone else think this was kind of pricey?

[lasomeday]

Crossroads mall is a perfect place for Retail! If we can get a commuter rail from Norman to Edmond, then Crossroads is the perfect location for a stop with housing, retail, etc.

[Smokin Joe]

OKCitizen - Any idea how Soon until this is made public?

Joe

[grantgeneral78]

I have on good authority the future plans of Crossroads Mall. It will be bought and converted into State offices, like Sheppard Mall, for the sum of $7 million dollars. I've seen the paperwork.

Thats great news and a win /win for OKC with a existing structure.

[yukong]

Well, I know that this has some merit. I work for the state, and our agency was looking at moving to Crossroads back in the fall, but our move was put on hold because of the state budget problems. Also, there were concerns about safety with part of the mall being retail, and then some being offices. But we were looking at the viability of the mall. Now maybe we can move there. Get us out of the s#%t hole we are currently located.

[scootinger]

Where are all the government offices located now that will be moved to crossroads? Or are these all new jobs/offices? Seems like the entire mall would be more than sufficient for all government offices, so it would seem like the future of shepherd mall would be put into limbo right about now.

edit: $13/ft means the whole purchase was around $16.5 mil. Anyone else think this was kind of pricey?

OP said the price was $7M, which would mean that ~538K square feet were purchased. That would be the mall itself plus one or two of the anchor stores.

I don't think that it's pricey at all, especially given the location and that I'd imagine the building is in fairly decent structural condition. According to Leonard Sullivan Oklahoma County Assessor Real Property Detail Sheet the mall (~800K square feet: mall + 2 department stores I suppose?) is assessed at $10,229,671 so whatever part of the mall that they bought is about accurate to that figure. (Down from $48M in 2008)

But especially in this economy, I do figure there's a possibility it could go for lower if they went awhile without being able to find any interested buyers, and maybe if the mall were even to close (once they reached the point that it costs more to keep the mall open than the rent that they receive.)

[bbhill]

OP said the price was $7M, which would mean that ~538K square feet were purchased. That would be the mall itself plus one or two of the anchor stores.

I don't think that it's pricey at all, especially given the location and that I'd imagine the building is in fairly decent structural condition. According to Leonard Sullivan Oklahoma County Assessor Real Property Detail Sheet the mall (~800K square feet: mall + 2 department stores I suppose?) is assessed at $10,229,671 so whatever part of the mall that they bought is about accurate to that figure. (Down from $48M in 2008)

But especially in this economy, I do figure there's a possibility it could go for lower if they went awhile without being able to find any interested buyers, and maybe if the mall were even to close (once they reached the point that it costs more to keep the mall open than the rent that they receive.)

Yeah, I caught the 7 mil pricepoint after I edited my post, thus making my entire post irrelevant. lol What I don't understand is why the state bought any property so soon. I mean, stores are still in the mall and I'm sure the price would have gone down in the future. . . Anyhow, should be very interesting as we receive more details.

[Smokin Joe]

Somewhere I posted on that long arsed other crossroads thread.. Something about change...

Joe

[kevinpate]

@yukong

Got the HVAC back yet? Or is the hall still semi-hopeless with a hit/miss approach?

[yukong]

The hvac is back up and running. I was back in the office for the first time in over a week yesterday. It was quite cool. But we had about a week without air and it was unbearable. They sent us home on the first day it went out and told us to stay away till it was back on. That day when I finally left it was over 90 in my office and going higher. They had to shut down the servers because the were overheating and they were afraid they would burn out. That would kill. Computer ops for all the satellite offices. Ran by one day and it was about 96 in there. It was just brutal. This also happened last winter and we had no heat for a few days and it was very cold. But at least you could bundle up and get somewhat warm. But with no air in 100 degree weather there is no way to get cool. Especially when we are not allowed to open windows. We were closed a total of 4 1/2 days. Most of us just hit the road and visited clients. Or worked from home. But that is what happens when you office in a 75+ year old building that was abandoned for 15 or so years before you move in. That means the heating and cooling system is about 75 years old also.

[kevinpate]

Yeah, I was in that hall from mid 03 to mid 06, aka the longest decade of my life 8^)
We had the occasional outages as well.

Glad to hear it's up and functional, again. I may no longer be in the play, but I still likes many of the actors.

[megax11]

Um, okay...

Why would people be excited to see the mall be nothing more than a whole bunch of state offices?

I mean what does that do for southside? That doesn't scream to attract businesses around the area.

In anycase, from what I heard the mall ALREADY has new owners, and they are fiddling with the idea of remodeling the mall (hence my dreams.)

In anycase why would the state buy what has already been bought and the new owners are already in place? You telling me the new owners are already ready to sell?

I would like to see this paperwork or hear more info, but as of now, something doesn't add up.

[Shake2005]

Um, okay...
but as of now, something doesn't add up.

I'll tell you what doesn't add up, that you think your dreams predict the future

[metro]

maybe he's a precog

[oustud7]

OMG you need to stop talking about your freaking dreams like a crazy nut. Let it go, you're not psychic.

[Martin]

omg you need to stop talking about your freaking dreams like a crazy nut. let it go, you're not psychic.

i'll admit that treating dreams like premonitions of the future is a bit eccentric... regardless, let's not call other users hateful names over it. play nice. -M

[Thunder]

Don't forget the phone call that officials from the mall said the whole place is under new ownership and that remodelings is underway. Kinda conflicting to get this report about the state buying up the place.

[Luke]

Don't forget the phone call that officials from the mall said the whole place is under new ownership and that remodelings is underway. Kinda conflicting to get this report about the state buying up the place.

Yeah, wasn't it his mom that said she had called and asked about that? Not necessarily his alleged precognition.

[Thunder]

Yeah, wasn't it his mom that said she had called and asked about that? Not necessarily his alleged precognition.

Yes. Base on his dreams, his mom called and it was confirmed. The officials at the mall was surprised to know that his mom somehow know of the plans.