Crossroads Mall

[Pete]

Information & Latest News

We be similar to LaGranPlaza in Ft. Worth
4/25/13: To be redeveloped as Plaza Mayor
7/28/08: Le Mans (formerly Le Mans Speedway) closes
Summer 1974: John A. Brown opened
2/13/74: Grand opening
11/17/73: Dillard's & Ward's opened
Links

Official Website
County Assessor Record
Gallery

[bchris02]

Love the photos of the mall in its prime. Those were next to impossible to find before they were posted here on OKCTalk a few years ago. Here is another excellent article on the mall with photos of it during its later years but when it was still relatively full.

http://www.labelscar.com/oklahoma/crossroads-mall-okc

Any word on how successful the new owners have been?

[Pete]

Took me a while to put this together, but these were the original tenants when the mall opened in 1974:

[Mel]

These pics and maps really bring back some fond memories. My kids loved going there. A pocketful of quarters at Le Mans Speedway would keep them busy for hours.

[bchris02]

Wow Eastern Trasures really has been there since the mall opened and they are still there.

[PhiAlpha]

Wish that Penn Square could've been designed like this. Crossroads is/was a really cool mall.

[MWCGuy]

In my honest opinion, Maerich killed Crossroads. Had Crossroads been in the hands of Simon or General Growth, I think the mall would still be a major shopping destination. Simon or General Growth would have never allowed a shopping center to be built facing the mall blocking all view from I-35 with the backside of the shopping center. I believe the traffic numbers started dropping the day Crossroads Center was built. Had it been built on the backside of the mall I think major restraunts and hotels would have dotted the perimeter road.

Maerich did a horrible renovation that hid many of the malls most interesting features. Then to top it off they did nothing about the Security problems. When they finally got around to bringing the Sheriff's Office on site the damage was already done. Nobody cares to go to Crossroads anymore. It's an absolute shame because, that mall was a major destination and it still should be a major destination.

[Pete]

I worked at Crossroads all through most of college, at the very upscale men's store, Orbach's. This would have been from 1979 to 1982.

Orbach's did very well there at the time and there were plenty of quite nice stores there well into the 80's.

Quail Springs and the huge re-do at Penn Square had a lot to do with the downslide, but certainly the people that owned Crossroads could have done much more.


So many great memories of Le Mans Arcade, which was a revelation at the time.

[bchris02]

I worked at Crossroads all through most of college, at the very upscale men's store, Orbach's. This would have been from 1979 to 1982.

Orbach's did very well there at the time and there were plenty of quite nice stores there well into the 80's.

Quail Springs and the huge re-do at Penn Square had a lot to do with the downslide, but certainly the people that owned Crossroads could have done much more.


So many great memories of Le Mans Arcade, which was a revelation at the time.

You would think with all the middle and high income neighborhoods in far SW OKC, Moore, and Norman, there would be enough population to support a southside mall.

[Soonerman]

Wow, look at that parking lot back then. Sad to see that mall now especially without any anchors.

[kevinpate]

Speaking of the former CRM, how goes the renovation and new branding?

[Martin]

went about three weeks ago to check up on the place and there wasn't much, if any, progress in the mall space. however, it looks like they've removed a 20' x 30' section of floor on the 2nd and (i think) 3rd stories in the former dillard's space. -M

[Jesseda]

I live in Moore and I have been driving to quail Springs mall lately. My kids love it, my 9 year daughter said its like shopping in a city without the bad weather, she said she doesn't like the outside shopping strips she likes malls (but I think thats a girl thing that I think will never fall out of trend ) I also enjoy having dinner going to the movies and shopping all under one roof especially with my two kids, I hate getting in and out the car and having to drive to different locations around town when you can get it all done with one location. I hope the malls make a return, I hope that south okc/moore gets a good mall.

[Zuplar]

Crossroads used to be the only mall I'd go to in middle/high school. I hardly go to the mall now, but when I do I end up at the outlet mall.

[Plutonic Panda]

I live in Moore and I have been driving to quail Springs mall lately. My kids love it, my 9 year daughter said its like shopping in a city without the bad weather, she said she doesn't like the outside shopping strips she likes malls (but I think thats a girl thing that I think will never fall out of trend ) I also enjoy having dinner going to the movies and shopping all under one roof especially with my two kids, I hate getting in and out the car and having to drive to different locations around town when you can get it all done with one location. I hope the malls make a return, I hope that south okc/moore gets a good mall.

I couldn't agree more with this. I firmly believe enclosed large-scale shopping malls will make a return.

[Pete]

Just found about a dozen great photos from 1975, which have been posted to the article at the top of the page.

Here's a sample:

[Plutonic Panda]

Maaaaaaaaan do I have story about this mall.... will post later.

[Garin]

Which story had a hotdog and coke stand right at the front of their entrance? I think they were like .50 for a combo

[Soonerman]

They had a Baskin Robbins? Wow!!

[Roger S]

They had a Baskin Robbins? Wow!!

Yep.... Conned my grandfather into buying me many scoops of praline and cream there. It always came with a "Don't you let your grandmother know I bought you that." and a wink..... Grandma never found out. =+)

[OKCMallen]

I worked at Crossroads all through most of college, at the very upscale men's store, Orbach's. This would have been from 1979 to 1982.

Orbach's did very well there at the time and there were plenty of quite nice stores there well into the 80's.

Quail Springs and the huge re-do at Penn Square had a lot to do with the downslide, but certainly the people that owned Crossroads could have done much more.


So many great memories of Le Mans Arcade, which was a revelation at the time.

IMO, that arcade was the last great mall arcade in all of OKC.

[Plutonic Panda]

Update on this:

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jose Legaspi with the Legaspi Co. is in the business of revitalizing old malls and making them into Hispanic retail destinations. He is working with Raptor Properties to turn Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads into a Hispanic shopping center.

The revitalization of the mall will not include an anchor tenant, Legaspi said during the Commercial Real Estate Council luncheon Thursday at the Devon Boathouse. He said his malls don’t use the model seen at other malls, such as Von Maur moving into Quail Springs.

“We don’t rely on a specific anchor,” he said. “We invite an anchor to come and join us so they can learn about the Hispanic community.”

He said when a mall depends on an anchor, it is reliant on one type of customer.

“We take each mall on a very consumer-centric approach,” he said. “We are trying to understand the community factor that may be specific to that mall.”

To help attract the community, Legaspi’s malls have weekly entertainment and host festivals on holidays celebrated by the Hispanic community. Every Sunday, Plaza Mayor hosts live entertainment on its stage in the center of the mall, as well as other events throughout the year.

Also, the malls each have a small marketplace area. At Plaza Mayor, that will be in the former Dillard’s space. Mall Marketing Manager Robert Ruiz with Raptor Properties said construction is underway. The demolition is complete and electrical outlets are being installed for individual booths. The exterior has been repainted a bright yellow, with more bright colors expected on the exterior of the entire property.

Legaspi said the mall is now 37-percent occupied with 57 stores, and he expects it to be 60-percent occupied within a year. He said he expects the center to attract people from outside the area, even the state. He said he is working on a deal for the mall that could make it an even bigger game changer for the city.

“Hispanics tend to travel farther than any other demographic, especially if they feel invited,” he said.

After the mall has been complete for two years, he will evaluate the tenants in regards to the customers to see if changes need to be made. He said a continued evaluation process will help with the health of the mall.

Ruiz said the mall has been experiencing a lot of tenant growth and is planning for more. Raptor Properties has hired Johnny Mila, who will be a leasing agent for the mall.

Mila will work on a local level, while the Legaspi Co. is striving nationally to help the mall reach its goal of 60-percent occupancy in one year, said Kristi Cole, Plaza Mayor manager.

Besides the colors, the next noticeable change will be a large electronic marquee along Interstate 35. The landmark signs on the property are completed.

- Anchors away: Mall makeovers set sail sans traditional model | The Journal Record

Very glad to see this is moving forward! I really think this will be a huge asset to OKC and the hispanic community and will become a regional draw. I just wish some of the parking would be consolidated and the remaining lots, leveled and tiered with landscaping and have a carnival type set-up all year round(adjusting to the seasons) in one of the lots.

BTW, shouldn't the name of this thread be changed to Plaza Mayor at Crossroads?

[DammitDan]

PluPan, is this the story you alluded to in post #16?

[Plutonic Panda]

PluPan, is this the story you alluded to in post #16?

Oh no.... I forgot all about that lol.... I will post a bit later tonight. I am at work right now haha.

[Plutonic Panda]

I am getting more and more excited about this mall. Seems like it really has potential and a good owner.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Robert Ruiz wants to mark the path to better health and more sales. The marketing manager for Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads is working on a public service campaign to encourage physical fitness. He said he expects dozens of regular visitors can indirectly help boost sales in the mall.

Ruiz has partnered with the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s Shape Your Future campaign to create trail marker-type signs around the mall. One lap around the upper and lower perimeter of Plaza Mayor is 1 mile. He said he hopes the signs, as well as tabletop ones in the food court area and a wrap for the escalator, will encourage people to exercise more regularly.

“A lot of mall walkers tend to be older adults who come here because it is a free place to exercise,” Ruiz said. “There is no admission and most people we see every day. They make it part of their regular routine.”
The signs aren’t yet in place, but Ruiz said he expects all the material to be up in one to two months.

Leslie LeClaire of Cookies By Design said she nurtures the relationship with mall walkers, but not because she expects more sales at her business. She said she developed a relationship with the regulars when she worked the early shift. LeClaire said she was glad to see elderly people getting regular exercise and maintaining communication with others in a safe environment.

She wanted to foster fitness and community involvement, so when she and her husband, Nathan, took over the business in January, they began opening the store early. They make coffee and sell it on the honor system specifically for the regular, early-morning visitors.

- read more here: Paths to fitness: Mall encourages walkers to improve health, business | The Journal Record