SW 104th and I-44 Construction

[xa3021]

I live near 104th and S. May, I've been hearing rumors of a Target going in near SW 104th and I-44. There has been a lot of construction around the area and was wondering if anyone else knew anything? Sorry if this is posted somewhere, but I couldn't find another post about it. Thanks in advance!

[jn1780]

I live near 104th and S. May, I've been hearing rumors of a Target going in near SW 104th and I-44. There has been a lot of construction around the area and was wondering if anyone else knew anything? Sorry if this is posted somewhere, but I couldn't find another post about it. Thanks in advance!

There were rumors of Walmart there a while back, but nothing came of it. There is no way a Target will go there in the near future with the 19th St Moore location nearby. A year is barely enough time for Target to get good data on how well the Moore store does on its own.

[ljbab728]

There were rumors of Walmart there a while back, but nothing came of it. There is no way a Target will go there in the near future with the 19th St Moore location nearby. A year is barely enough time for Target to get good data on how well the Moore store does on its own.

You could be correct but the distance from the location at 44th and Western isn't much different and the I44 location would attract shoppers from Newcastle and Tuttle, and eastern Mustang who likely wouldn't drive to Moore.

[SoonerDave]

You could be correct but the distance from the location at 44th and Western isn't much different and the I44 location would attract shoppers from Newcastle and Tuttle, and eastern Mustang who likely wouldn't drive to Moore.

Just as an aside, you might be (very) surprised at the number of people who WILL make that drive.

As an example that I realize constitutes only a data point, not a conclusion, my in-laws live in eastern Mustang, but they drive to the Crest at 104th and May for groceries, and are active members at the Earlywine YMCA at 119th and May. Given that, the jump of another couple of miles east to Target isn't so farfetched.

Now, that said, I agree it would be a little odd to see a Target go in right there at 104th given the "newness" of the Moore location, and this site was rife with rumors about either that or a WalMart in that area. In fact, WalMart originally planned to build on the site where Crest eventually built, but the economic collapse plus who knows what else killed that project (thankfully). OKC, however, is *very* interested in substantive retail that would stem the tide of sales tax dollars rolling down I-44 toward the Tri-City area, so some kind of retail development along that corridor wouldn't surprise me at some point.

[soonerliberal]

Based on the demographics of the area, it seems like Target would be much more suitable than Walmart.

[SoonerDave]

Actually, the more I think about it, the more I'd bet the construction on 104th may be indirectly related to the drainage work in advance of the Portland Avenue widening/shifting for the new retail corridor being developed on the Airport frontage property immediately west of I-44 and north of 104th.

But a big Target right there west of I-44 wouldn't break my heart, either...

[bchris02]

OKC doesn't need anymore Wal-Marts. There isn't a single part of the metro that doesn't have easy access to a Supercenter. Building more would serve no purpose other than to kill off competition. Every time a new Wal-Mart opens, a couple of nearby traditional grocery stores bite the dust.

[SoonerDave]

OKC doesn't need anymore Wal-Marts. There isn't a single part of the metro that doesn't have easy access to a Supercenter. Building more would serve no purpose other than to kill off competition. Every time a new Wal-Mart opens, a couple of nearby traditional grocery stores bite the dust.

Problem is near our neighborhood, there aren't any more traditional stores to kill off. And the closest WalSlum is about 20 minutes/8 miles away in start-and-stop traffic (74th and Santa Fe), or 20 minutes/15 miles away on a highway (Tri City). Neither is what I'd call exceedingly convenient. Not that I'm *wishing* for a WalMart, mind you...would be happy with a nice Target like the new one in Moore.

The WalMart neighborhood markets, ironically enough, I think *spurred* development of a new retail grocery like Crest @ 104th and May, because I know both my wife and my mom rapidly became sick to death of the poor selection at the WM's, but there was precious little alternative other than the sky-high prices at Homeland. Crest isn't always the cheapest, but it wins hands down for convenience, and if you know your prices, is precisely the kind of option we needed.

[Dubya61]

Agreed. I harbor a great deal of dislike for WalMart, but still shop there quite a bit -- the prices just can't be beat on a lot of things. Consequently, when I get the chance, I will shop elsewhere and especially like Crest (particularly the one out here on South May). I am also a big fan of the free market, though. If a traditional grocery store bit the dust due to a recently built WalMart, then they failed to realize the realities of the market (an untentional tongue-twister -- sorry). I don't know which came first, the south May Crest Market, or the south Western WalMart Neighborhood Market, but I'll bet you that as long as Crest maintains their south May Crest Market, WalMart won't put anything near it. My dislike for WalMart is great enough that I wouldn't put it past them to try to run out nearby traditional grocery stores that, like Brannons IGA in Midwest City, just weren't putting forth the effort to compete. I don't, however, think they will try to take on a successful store like the south May Crest Market.
BTW, Crest is usually very cheap on certain things (milk comes to mind) and has a good meat section -- especially compared to WalMart.

[SoonerDave]

Agreed. I harbor a great deal of dislike for WalMart, but still shop there quite a bit -- the prices just can't be beat on a lot of things. Consequently, when I get the chance, I will shop elsewhere and especially like Crest (particularly the one out here on South May). I am also a big fan of the free market, though. If a traditional grocery store bit the dust due to a recently built WalMart, then they failed to realize the realities of the market (an untentional tongue-twister -- sorry). I don't know which came first, the south May Crest Market, or the south Western WalMart Neighborhood Market, but I'll bet you that as long as Crest maintains their south May Crest Market, WalMart won't put anything near it. My dislike for WalMart is great enough that I wouldn't put it past them to try to run out nearby traditional grocery stores that, like Brannons IGA in Midwest City, just weren't putting forth the effort to compete. I don't, however, think they will try to take on a successful store like the south May Crest Market.
BTW, Crest is usually very cheap on certain things (milk comes to mind) and has a good meat section -- especially compared to WalMart.

The WM neighborhood mkt on Western predates Crest by a few (several?) years. They tore down an abandoned old Food Lion, and built that place directly across the street from a now-defunct Albertsons, which moved to the Homeland location at 104th and Penn, then closed, and reopened (again) as a Homeland a few years ago. The Albertsons there was actually kinda nice, but they finally gave up trying to make it a grocery store and rebuilt the whole thing into Palagio.

We really like Crest meats, and especially like having custom cut/wrapped meats available. You do have to know your prices, though. You walk in there assuming everything is cheaper, and you can get burned....

[bchris02]

Walmart gets green light | News OK

It looks like Crest is in for some competition.

[Zuplar]

You know what though, I'm sure there are going to be plenty of people upset over this, but the fact that they will be redoing that whole intersection as well as making it one of the nicer looking one's like in Edmond, is fine by me.

[Bobby821]

You know what though, I'm sure there are going to be plenty of people upset over this, but the fact that they will be redoing that whole intersection as well as making it one of the nicer looking one's like in Edmond, is fine by me.

I would rather keep the rural look and the stop signs. too much building going on and we are loosing the rural country feel on the southside

[jn1780]

I would rather keep the rural look and the stop signs. too much building going on and we are loosing the rural country feel on the southside

That's urban sprawl for you. Unless you want to live at least 40 miles away from a major city.

[SoonerDave]

I would rather keep the rural look and the stop signs. too much building going on and we are loosing the rural country feel on the southside

Yeah, nothing says "welcome home" like a line of cars awaiting an intersection that should have been light-controlled a decade ago, or the pothole-laden exit ramp off I-44, or the grisly remains of Portland that are getting a well-deserved burial.

I'm no fan of WalScum going in, but knowing its inevitable and that a long-overdue rebuild of that interchange was likely in the offing, I'm willing to put up with the trade-off. The CIty surely wasn't going to allow the hemorrhage of sales tax revenue down to the Tri-City area indefinitely.

Crest won't get any competition from WalScum. Crest has actual food for sale. WalScum....the lab reports haven't come back just yet. (intense sarcasm).

[Zuplar]

Yeah, nothing says "welcome home" like a line of cars awaiting an intersection that should have been light-controlled a decade ago, or the pothole-laden exit ramp off I-44, or the grisly remains of Portland that are getting a well-deserved burial.

I'm no fan of WalScum going in, but knowing its inevitable and that a long-overdue rebuild of that interchange was likely in the offing, I'm willing to put up with the trade-off. The CIty surely wasn't going to allow the hemorrhage of sales tax revenue down to the Tri-City area indefinitely.

Crest won't get any competition from WalScum. Crest has actual food for sale. WalScum....the lab reports haven't come back just yet. (intense sarcasm).

100% agree with this.

[Zuplar]

I would rather keep the rural look and the stop signs. too much building going on and we are loosing the rural country feel on the southside

That area really hasn't been 'rural' in quite some time. If you want rural you can go a few miles west and have lots of that, and most likely will for years to come since it's nestled in between Mustang and South OKC.

[traxx]

That area really hasn't been 'rural' in quite some time. If you want rural you can go a few miles west and have lots of that, and most likely will for years to come since it's nestled in between Mustang and South OKC.

Not sure how you define rural, but there's quite a lot of wide open space near I-44 and SW104. It's not rural in the same sense as Dill City, but for greater OKC, it has a fairly rural feel.

[Zuplar]

Not sure how you define rural, but there's quite a lot of wide open space near I-44 and SW104. It's not rural in the same sense as Dill City, but for greater OKC, it has a fairly rural feel.

The reason there is open space is cause of the airport mostly. I don't really consider the corridor along I44 in that are to be rural at all. Where I live is rural for OKC and more of the area I'm talking about. Basically the majority of the 73173 zip code.

[catch22]

Walmart also filed building permits for a new WalMart at SW 134th and Santa Fe, on the NE corner.

Walmart is Growing like a weed, and unfortunately they are a weed to local business.

EDIT: NORTHWEST a corner not NE

[bchris02]

Walmart also filed building permits for a new WalMart at SW 134th and Santa Fe, on the NE corner.

Walmart is Growing like a weed, and unfortunately they are a weed to local business.

EDIT: NORTHWEST a corner not NE

I am guessing this will be a Neighborhood Market?

I believe Wal-Mart is simply defending its turf now that OKC is finally on the radar of other grocers. They have little competition here and they want to keep it that way.

[Tavia]

Yes, the location at SW 134th and Santa Fe will be a Neighborhood Market.

[SoonerDave]

I am guessing this will be a Neighborhood Market?

I believe Wal-Mart is simply defending its turf now that OKC is finally on the radar of other grocers. They have little competition here and they want to keep it that way.

They're not making much if any $$ on me. And judging from the volume of folks I see in places like Crest on a regular basis, the idea they have little competition just doesn't bear out for me. Viva-la-non-WMNM.

[jn1780]

Not really related to this particular Walmart, but does anyone know if the city plans on installing another light on 134th street to support that new Neighborhood Market?

[Zuplar]

Looks like the new Walmart going in at SW104th and I44 is making some headway. I see a permit in review on the cities site.