Two bits of information about Best Buy and Crossroads Mall.

[rcjunkie]

You would have thought they would do this BEFORE buying the place. Doesn't sound like they knew what they were doing. This is much different than the little buildings they were doing previously.

Being the business men they are, I'm sure they did. Even if the mall is never updated/remodeled, the land is worth more than what they paid for the mall.

[megax11]

Link please?
From talking with the new owners, I think they are waiting to see what kind of interest there is from retailers to move back in before they throw a lot of money into the property. It would be pretty foolish to pour millions into the place and then find out no national retailers want to lease space there.

See, that's the thing. These flakes stated they were going to attract businesses back by showing them a newly renovated mall.

That makes sense, afterall. Why would businesses, new and old, want to come back when the mall looks the same? These guys need to renovate then use the mall's new look, to bring in some retailers.

However, these guys probably blew their waud cause they could get it for 3 mil, but really knew nothing.

[Bailey80]

See, that's the thing. These flakes stated they were going to attract businesses back by showing them a newly renovated mall.

That makes sense, afterall. Why would businesses, new and old, want to come back when the mall looks the same? These guys need to renovate then use the mall's new look, to bring in some retailers.

However, these guys probably blew their waud cause they could get it for 3 mil, but really knew nothing.

The mall is actually still in pretty good shape. I know they are doing a few small cosmetic things like putting in new carpet and things. Even if they decided to invest a lot of money into the property right away, what bank are they going to get to finance renovating a mostly empty mall?

[Patrick]

Only a major national redeveloper could pull this off. I just don't have a lot of faith in 2 local Oklahoma guys pulling this off.

[jn1780]

Here it is January now. Have they done anything at all?

[Thunder]

Here it is January now. Have they done anything at all?

Did you visit anytime during December?

[soonerliberal]

Did you visit anytime during December?

I did drive by it on I-240 and Bath and Body Works is on the sign where the anchors normally are placed. That is not a good sign.

[Jesseda]

I went to crossroads mall on december 23 to get something for my wife at victoria secret. well i got front row parking lol. The place did not decorate for christmas except for the little santa gretting area. they did not have any special holiday kiosk vendors or anything, the mall is dead store in the center of the mall are even closing or closed. i would say maybe a dozen stores are left maybe less

[oneforone]

I did drive by it on I-240 and Bath and Body Works is on the sign where the anchors normally are placed. That is not a good sign.

That road sign has been kind of a bad omen for them since the large anchors left. Every time they post a merchant, they leave. Bath and Body Works will stick it out for the long hall. They were open in Heritage Park until the last six months. According to the manger my wife and I talked to the day before they closed for good. They would have stayed until the very end however, the mall owner quit turning on the inside lights and they did away with their security guards.

[megax11]

Why did these clowns buy the mall, only to do nothing they said they were going to? I swear, humans can be so moronic at times. Makes me ashamed to be called a human.

[kevinpate]

Why did these clowns buy the mall, only to do nothing they said they were going to? I swear, humans can be so moronic at times. Makes me ashamed to be called a human.

Maybe they had some spare cash in a box and sitting around one night huffing cubanos and swilling cognac they were sitting there and decided, "Ok, heads we buy that lil island off the Florida coast & tails we snatch up the CR mall for a song and sit on it, just to muck up the dreams of someone over at okctalk ..... <coin flippin in air> Sweet! Dreamwreckers R Us!"

[Jesseda]

Why did these clowns buy the mall, only to do nothing they said they were going to? I swear, humans can be so moronic at times. Makes me ashamed to be called a human.

take it for what it is worth, but when i went to the mall dec 23rd a employee and victoria secret was havinga conversation with me about how empty the mall is, she told me the new owners plan to revamp it starting sometime spring of this year, also they are in talks with getting some new tenants in, but then again this has been going on for years now at this mall and yet nothing has came about, hopefully something good will happen in 2012 if not then this mall is doomed for good with no chance

[SoonerDave]

I dunno. I have to think even a superficial "re-treatment" of a place the size of CRM takes time to plan and get underway, so while it may be naive on my part, I'm willing to give these owners the benefit of the doubt. If it were truly a shell operation merely to get the land, and all the mall rehab talk was, in fact, just talk, surely we'd start hearing rumors about them shopping the land to prospective investors/developers.

I know the land on which CRM sits is bound to be worth a ton more than $3M, but I wonder how much it would cost to flatten the place for some entirely new development? Surely that would be a (very) significant chunk of change, not like tearing down an old 7-11...

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Why did these clowns buy the mall, only to do nothing they said they were going to? I swear, humans can be so moronic at times. Makes me ashamed to be called a human.

Well if I had that kind of money laying around...I'd have bought it too.

Just to race go-carts in.

Probably a good thing I don't have that kind of money laying around.

[Soonerman]

Hopefully they can get some anchors in there.

[G.Walker]

I think this is about to go under major renovation, saw a bid for a multi-million dollar renovation, about time!

[jn1780]

I think this is about to go under major renovation, saw a bid for a multi-million dollar renovation, about time!

Good, hopefully we will here some details soon.

[oneforone]

No matter which way they go rather it be demolition or renovation it's going to cost millions. I think the retail days are pretty much over unless IKEA takes over anchor spot. I don't think IKEA would move there. I think there choices would be I-40 West between Yukon and I-44, Edmond on I-35 or Norman on I-35. They are going to want a high traffic area and they will want an area that has a tall crop of their target customer.

I think it will become an office park and event center. In my opinion the best use would be to convert to a convention center. It could be used for small group conventions, weddings, concerts and other group functions.

[ljbab728]

[QUOTE=oneforone;499157I think it will become an office park and event center. In my opinion the best use would be to convert to a convention center. It could be used for small group conventions, weddings, concerts and other group functions.[/QUOTE]

Unless they tear it down and rebuild, it's much too large and ill suited for that.

[Thunder]

oneforone, retail are not close to being over. lol

As for IKEA, if they are something special that people will always go out of their way to get to their store, then it doesn't matter where they locate. Crossroads Mall is such a prime location, I think IKEA should move in. If they do that, then watch the flock of retailers rushing in, because people are gonna be flocking in.

[soonerliberal]

For all the Crossroads patriots who still believe in the place, I would strongly suggest that you find an example of a "dead mall" or near-dead one that was magically brought back to life in a different form. It has happened, but the places where they survive a second life are areas with MUCH more favorable 5-mile demographic data than Crossroads. You would be hard pressed to find a mall having a dramatic rejuvenation with similar demographics of the Crossroads. Good luck though!

As for Ikea, if you look at where most of the American ones are located (Dallas, Houston, Colorado, Virginia, Atlanta, and Maryland are the ones I am familiar with), they tend to be located in suburban, trendy, or college areas, making Norman or Edmond the likeliest places, IF one comes to OKC.

[SoonerDave]

For all the Crossroads patriots who still believe in the place, I would strongly suggest that you find an example of a "dead mall" or near-dead one that was magically brought back to life in a different form.

Penn Square comes to mind for one, and it came back quite vibrantly as retail. Shepherd Mall came back as repurposed business space.

PSM back in the roughly eighties era was a desolate wasteland, an open-air mall stuck with 60's painted brick veneers, empty stores, a few anchor tenants, and not much of a future. Business was being drawn away by Crossroads to the south and Quail Springs to the north. Investors came along with this ridiculous plan to enclose it, add a second floor, overhaul the interior, and the rest as they say is history.

Shepherd Mall was, in its day, a somewhat "suburban" mall in that it was north of downtown (although by today's standards it isn't that far away), and it started dying a slow death very much in the vein of Crossroads. It was particularly distinctive for the fact that it featured a movie theater, some rather eccentric shops, along with traditional anchor tenants like what was then called Dillards Brown Dunkin and the old JCPenny. As that area faded economically, so did Shepherd Mall, and a walk through was a sad tour through a cavernous empty space, until it was "re-imagined" as a commercial space rather than retail. Last time I checked, its still there.

Now, before I get blasted by the "plow-down-Crossroads-its-a-gangbanger-wasteland" crowd, I am NOT, repeat NOT predicting that the same thing is possible with Crossroads. I am replying to the query that sought examples of revived malls presumed dead and unrestoreable. It can be done. Crossroads represents perhaps the biggest rehabilitation project of any in this region, and I would say the probability of failure is high, but if someone's willing to give it a shot, power to 'em. Maybe it will work. Maybe it won't. I'm not at all smart enough to make an absolutist prediction either way. We'll just have to see how it works out.

[soonerliberal]

Let me clarify... try to find a similar mall situated in a similar location with similar demographics in a different city.

[oneforone]

Honestly, I would love to see the place comeback however, I am looking at the situation with a realstic attitude. The mall is old and likely cost more to operate then a store that can be built from the ground up. You also have to look at the fact the customer base is gone. Even if you could revamp the place and bring quality tenants back it will never do the traffic count it used to bring. You have to factor in that people have switched back to driving just a few miles from home. People are no longer drive all over the place to do their shopping. Gasoline cost too much to blow through it like it's candy. In Crossroads prime, $20 is the most people paid for a tank of gas. Now people are averaging $50-$75 a tank. Not to mention malls had the bulk of the stores. Today you can shop most of your favorite store in less then 10 minutes from your house.

[ljbab728]

You have to factor in that people have switched back to driving just a few miles from home. People are no longer drive all over the place to do their shopping. Gasoline cost too much to blow through it like it's candy. In Crossroads prime, $20 is the most people paid for a tank of gas. Now people are averaging $50-$75 a tank. Not to mention malls had the bulk of the stores. Today you can shop most of your favorite store in less then 10 minutes from your house.

I think if you did a survey at the new Outlet Mall you would find out that that's not true.