Two bits of information about Best Buy and Crossroads Mall.

[megax11]

First off, before the elitists think about coming in and biting my head off, because they know more and whatnot, this is only what I was told.

I will start with the Best Buy news. The new Best Buy on I-240 will be one of 22 stores in the nation, and the only one in Oklahoma, that is labled a "connected" store. What this means, is that they will be able to walk around with tablets, scan your items, and check you out, without having to wait in lines. Pretty cool, indeed.

Now for the CRM bit. I tried looking up the records on the county assessor site, but couldn't find a listing for CRM period.

Anyhow, someone told me that the chick I said who bought the mall, DID indeed buy the mall. However, her plans fell through, so she ended up selling it to two guys from out of state, who have purchased and flipped other malls.

Ironically, this person told me this, as I was driving to the store in which this person worked at and noticed something going on at JC Penney's building. At the old JCP building, I saw three semis docked at the docking bay, and three trucks parked right infront of the west JCP door, that faces the dinky community colleges.

Anyhow, this person told me that this year, Dillards entire first floor will be used as a haunted house. That should be cool if indeed true.

Back to the two guys, however. This person told me that the mall has indeed been sold, and when I asked are they trying to make it a market center or a mall, this person told me they're trying to keep it as a mall.

This person then told me that they may even hold a statewide competition where someone gets to rename the mall.

ALL OF THIS IS RUMOR, but the person I spoke to not only knew the lady I was always mentioning, but used to work at the mall recently as well, but now works at a business close to the mall.

I have no reason to call everyone liars, so it is what it is. I will believe this person for the time, until some time passes and nothing ever happens.

I just thought I'd share this info, incase it's true. So to summarize -

- Two dudes bought the mall from the chick who was going to turn it into a market center
- Looking to keep it as a mall
- Looking to hold a contest where people can choose the name of the mall
- Best Buy on I-240 will be one of 22 stores nationwide, that is a "connected store"

As for me seeing the trailers in the docking bay, as well as three pickup trucks parked on the west side of JCP, that's just that. I saw activity, but I don't know what. Not saying it has anything to do with what this person told me. Just thought it was interesting to see things happening in the old JCP building, when it's not even open.

Take this however you want.

[Thunder]

I believe you, sweetie. CRM isn't gonna be dead anytime soon.

[BBatesokc]

I find the 'connected store' idea odd and a novelty at best. Since when has anyone waited in line at Best Buy (other than some big promoted sale or Black Friday)? I've been in that location many times and the line is usually only 0-2 customers deep. I'd think that location has less traffic than any of their other area locations. Also, I get annoyed enough when I'm in Best Buy, I don't need people asking me "You ready to check out?" Seriously, I was in the MWC location over the weekend and must have been asked 6 times if I needed anything.

[megax11]

I find the 'connected store' idea odd and a novelty at best. Since when has anyone waited in line at Best Buy (other than some big promoted sale or Black Friday)? I've been in that location many times and the line is usually only 0-2 customers deep. I'd think that location has less traffic than any of their other area locations. Also, I get annoyed enough when I'm in Best Buy, I don't need people asking me "You ready to check out?" Seriously, I was in the MWC location over the weekend and must have been asked 6 times if I needed anything.

No idea, honestly, man. Just think it's a cool concept. Maybe it just speeds up the process.

I do agree with them hounding customers a lot, if they need help. I always feel as if they think I'm some kind of thief, and they're snooping on me, so I get a bit snooty.

Thunder, I know you'd believe me of all people. You and I seem passionate about the mall. However, this isn't news that comes out of my passion for the mall. It is just a rumor for now. I would like to see if the mall is indeed sold, through the assessor site, but I couldn't find a listing using CRM's address.

[megax11]

Or rather, Thunder, I am saying rumor to please those here who want to flip out over nothing.

I personally have no reason to think the person is lying. I never thought the person who told me the mall was sold the first time was lying. Plans change.

With that said, let's just "treat it" as a rumor, to please those who might point the finger and say "uh-uh. This and that. I'm right, you're not."

However, if someone can find info on the assessor site and post a link, that would be greatful.

[megax11]

Well, I found the listing on the Oklahoma County Assessor's site.

I don't know how to read it that well, but it looks like nothing's changed?

That doesn't mean I am going to call this person, who just recently left the mall a liar. I have no reason to judge people like that, when they're only trying to provide useful information.

I say we wait and see what happens. If his information is true, it will be cool to see the entire first floor of Dillards be a haunted house this year. That would be pretty big. As for the mall itself, if two dudes did buy it, with the intent on renovating the mall, then that would be awesome as well.

Only time will tell.

[Martin]

here's a link to the assessor's site...

-M

/edit: looks like i posted a minute too late. : ) -M

[Thunder]

Maybe it is not Dilliard's. It could be the JCP store being converted into a major haunted attraction hence the trucks.

And the lines at the Best Buy near CRM are always long every time I go in there. I'd wait about 15 minutes each time I want to buy something at the register.

[Martin]

i'm pretty sure that the haunted house was in the jcp property in years past... my guess is that it'll be there again this year.

the last couple times i've been to the crossroads bestbuy, it's been a ghost town... maybe that will turn around when they move to penn.

-M

[Larry OKC]

How can someone buy something from someone else if that someone else never owned it? In other words if there is no record of it ever changing hands (the sell fell through for whatever reason) and the lady never owned it, how can she turn around and sell it? IIRC, there was a story a while back that mentioned while the Feds still owned it, it was being removed from the official vacant occupancy lists for some reason or another. May be confusing it with something else, will try to dig it up and amend this post as needed.

I am not calling anyone I liar either. Just maybe they are operating on rumor or second or third or fourth hand misinformation as well.

ON EDIT here is the story form a month and a half ago...
http://www.istockanalyst.com/busines...roperty-survey
Federal Reserve-owned Crossroads Mall crossed off Oklahoma City retail property survey (Oklahoman, 7/9/11)

Price Edwards & Co. took it out of its regular survey of retail property -- all 1.1 million square feet of it, counting the almost empty mall itself and two freestanding vacant buildings, former Macy's and Dillard's department stores.
...
Price Edwards continues offering the mall for sale for its owner, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The asking price is $6 million for the 762,532-square-foot mall.
...
Price Edwards was enlisted to market Crossroads Mall by Maiden Lane LLC, a "special purpose vehicle" created by the New York Fed in 2008 as part of the Fed-led takeover of Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. by JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Maiden Lane took on a portfolio of Bear Stearns assets that JPMorgan found too risky even while acquiring Bear Stearns at a bargain.
Bear Stearns, then the Fed and Maiden Lane, got Crossroads because the former mall owner, Macerich Co., had refinanced $61.2 million with Bear Stearns in 2006. The mall was a rare brick-and-mortar asset acquired by the Fed in March 2008, at an early stage of the mostly paper Wall Street bailout.

In summary, the Feds still own it, it never sold and there is no indication that it has sold since the story was written (although they do offer the glimmer of hope that it is expected to sell in the next few months).

[Thunder]

Larry, I wouldn't trust the county assessor stuff. It wouldn't always list a sale.

[Larry OKC]

Thunder, think they are required by law to list all transactions (unless there is a legal exemption), it is a matter of public record. Those that have more knowledge about that kind of stuff, please correct.

I have emailed the appropriate parties for answers to my questions. Will post the response I get.

[Steve]

Larry, it's a conspiracy to hide the truth. Haven't you heard?

[megax11]

Larry, it's a conspiracy to hide the truth. Haven't you heard?

Well, I can say that out of all the properties my parents have owned, some of the information listed on the assessor site was false or incomplete.

Not to say that's the case with this. I'm just not going to be some dork who likes to find every reason to be a pessimist or negative and call everyone out as a fraud in terms of their info.

It's just info. Let's see what happens. If something happens, cool. If nothing happens, oh well. Not like words or info, wrong or not, blows up the world.

And as for the haunted house. Maybe it is in JCP. I never knew it was in there before, but any of those locations could make for a long haunted house. That's what I always like in my haunted house ventures, because it's impossible to scare me. So to make up for it, longevity rules.

[Larry OKC]

First off, before the elitists think about coming in and biting my head off, because they know more and whatnot, this is only what I was told....

Anyhow, someone told me that the chick I said who bought the mall, DID indeed buy the mall. However, her plans fell through, so she ended up selling it to two guys from out of state, who have purchased and flipped other malls.
...
Back to the two guys, however. This person told me that the mall has indeed been sold, and when I asked are they trying to make it a market center or a mall, this person told me they're trying to keep it as a mall.
...
ALL OF THIS IS RUMOR, but the person I spoke to not only knew the lady I was always mentioning, but used to work at the mall recently as well, but now works at a business close to the mall.

I just thought I'd share this info, incase it's true. So to summarize -

- Two dudes bought the mall from the chick who was going to turn it into a market center...
Take this however you want.

Please don't misread this as an attack on you. That is not the intent. But I am reading more of this second hand (or more info) with nothing to back it up. That is all people were trying to point out in previous threads. Yes, official records can be wrong and/or incomplete. As in the wrong price listed or wrong purchasing entity). No one is disputing that either. you even said it looked like nothing has changed when you did locate it on the site. But even this above post sounds like more of the same...even a working title for a sitcom (Two Dudes a Chick and a Market Center...and it becomes Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place).

When did the Chick buy the Mall? (everything indicates that the Feds have owned the mall since they took it over, see above post)
When did the 2 Dudes buy the Mall? Again, according to the info just a month and a half ago, the Feds still owned it.

While entertaining to read, this is more like the fodder at the checkout stand. Some of it may indeed turn out to be true. Most of it, not so much. As you concluded, "take this however you want", so why get ruffled if someone does just that?

[Questor]

Just curious megax11, are you talking about the Best Buy on I-240 at I-35, or the one at I-240 at Penn? Am I mistaken or isn't there one over there in the strip mall near Penn as well?

[megax11]

I'm not ruffled at all. I can't vouch for others, however.

I just know that my time on the OKCtalk forums has shown me that some here can act very immature at times.

I don't care who is right or wrong in the matter. It's just rumor. Rumors can go two ways. They're either true, or they're not.

Either way, having the subject brought up incase it turns out to be true, can make for very interesting discussions later on.

As for when this chick bought the mall to begin with. The "deal" was supposed to have been finalized 2 days before (trying to recall) I posted my first topic about the marketplace.

My friend who worked for Crane Displays knew some chick named Kristi Clemens (Klemens), who is her friend, but heads up the mall currently. They all had the 411. I just relayed what some person told me, who ran a sports merch store upstairs.

Now my new info is coming from someone who works near the mall, that used to work in the mall. I asked if he was for sure the mall was sold this time, having known that plans have fell through once. He said he was sure.

Who knows, honestly. Like I said, it is what it is.

Rumors aren't a bad thing, unless it's childish rumors. If this turns out to be true. Cool. If not, oh well. This thread will be lost into the oblivion that is the OKCtalk forums dead topics or the internet in general.

As for now, I'm going to give this person the benefit of the doubt. I have no reason to call everyone liars. Any human can be wrong, even those who run the government, whose job is to keep people (?) up to date on what sold and what didn't. Likewise, the guy could be wrong as well. In the event he isn't, it would be cool to use this thread to talk about what we would like to see if this mall is to shine again.

Hell, if anything, let's just talk about the haunted house. Maybe they will use the underground tunnel full of zombies? They will need massive insurance policies to cover all of the... accidents... :P

[megax11]

Just curious megax11, are you talking about the Best Buy on I-240 at I-35, or the one at I-240 at Penn? Am I mistaken or isn't there one over there in the strip mall near Penn as well?

Yeah, the "connected" Best Buy will be the one opening on Penn and 240 this October. Maybe they project having lots of business in that location. Lord knows it's easier to get to, unlike the Best Buy at Crossroads.

The Crossroads location will be up for sale as soon as they open on 240 and Penn.

[Larry OKC]

Mega, again how can the 2 Dudes have bought the mall from the Chick, when it wasn't hers to sell? The deal fell through. Wasn't completed. Right?

You obviously believe this "rumor" to be true. What fact-based, verifiable basis leads you to that conclusion?

[Questor]

Yeah, the "connected" Best Buy will be the one opening on Penn and 240 this October. Maybe they project having lots of business in that location. Lord knows it's easier to get to, unlike the Best Buy at Crossroads.

The Crossroads location will be up for sale as soon as they open on 240 and Penn.

Okay that is what I was thinking, that makes sense to me because that area seems so much busier anytime I have driven by. I can see where the mobile checkout would be a lot more convenient for people buying big ticket items. As it is right now at Best Buy for big items you 'select' something in the (for example) PC area, have someone else go to a store room and get the actual item, then have the original dude walk you up to the front counter with the item to make sure you aren't going to steal it (LOL), then wait in line, then check out with a third person, then leave (sometimes while a fourth guy mildly accosts you for 'security reasons' on your way out). On the flip side, when I bought an Apple a while back at the Apple Store the guy I was casually asking questions to about the product, when I said let's do it, just pulled out his iPhone and swiped my card right there, and that was it and I left. I didn't even have to wait for a receipt because I was on file and it just emailed me automatically, and my iPhone chirped letting me know I had the receipt before I even walked out the door. It was really nice.

[Thunder]

Mega, again how can the 2 Dudes have bought the mall from the Chick, when it wasn't hers to sell? The deal fell through. Wasn't completed. Right?

You obviously believe this "rumor" to be true. What fact-based, verifiable basis leads you to that conclusion?

Larry, you misread. The lady did bought the mall, but the plans to convert it into the market center fell through. She then sold the mall to two dudes (maybe they are gay?).

[rcjunkie]

Larry, you misread. The lady did bought the mall, but the plans to convert it into the market center fell through. She then sold the mall to two dudes (maybe they are gay?).

Why do you always feel the need in insert such BS

[bombermwc]

Thunder, that's compelte stupidity, I'm sorry. And because it's two guys, that means they're gay? The crap that comes from your mouth man.....

No "chick" and no "dudes" have bought the place. Your opinion of the assessor is totally incorrect. I have yet to see anything not posted the same week it happened. They are updating that site daily and it's correct. There may be some data entry errors every once in a while on figures or LLC names, but the sale itself is there. Crossroads does not have any sales on it. You can clearly see the last sale was in 2006. Don't misread the page for Notice of Values or non-sale documents. So unless a new owner came about through purchasing the LLC, then the same folks own it that have owned it since 2006.

Sorry to burst the bubble, but the place is still falling into a pit of dispair.

[easternobserver]

At the risk of encouraging Thunder --- the County site is only updated after a deed is recorded (and sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks before a deed gets from the County Clerk over to the Assessor and actually gets run through the system). Many times a deed is not recorded until well after a sale, for a number of reasons.

[Larry OKC]

...I have yet to see anything not posted the same week it happened. They are updating that site daily and it's correct. There may be some data entry errors every once in a while on figures or LLC names, but the sale itself is there. Crossroads does not have any sales on it. You can clearly see the last sale was in 2006. Don't misread the page for Notice of Values or non-sale documents. So unless a new owner came about through purchasing the LLC, then the same folks own it that have owned it since 2006.

Sorry to burst the bubble, but the place is still falling into a pit of dispair.

At the risk of encouraging Thunder --- the County site is only updated after a deed is recorded (and sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks before a deed gets from the County Clerk over to the Assessor and actually gets run through the system). Many times a deed is not recorded until well after a sale, for a number of reasons.

I got a very rapid reply reply (have asked a follow up and will post when I get it) here is what the Assessor's office had to say...

All property records are open to the public and accessible through our website. Once a new deed of ownership is “Officially” recorded with the County Clerk’s office we update our records. An average timeline is 3-4 days upon the initial filing with the Clerk’s office.

In looking at the current ownership of Crossroads Mall (4 separate account/owners) they are all private entities. I’ve included links below to each account.

ACCOUNTNO
ACCTTYPE
NAME1
LINK

R132164090
Commercial
CROSSROADS MAIDEN LANE LLC
http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assess...tno=R132164090

R132164080
Commercial
CROSSROADS/150 LLC
http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assess...tno=R132164080

R132165000
Commercial
DILLARD DEPARTMENT STORES INC
http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assess...tno=R132165000

R132164070
Commercial
CROSSROADS MAIDEN LANE LLC
http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assess...tno=R132164070

Not really familiar with these types of records and have asked for clarification. That said, it looks like the Feds (Maiden Lane) have continuously owned the Mall itself since they acquired it. Certain tenant-owned anchor building title(s) has passed from one of their own corporate entities to another.