Crossroads Mall

[Urbanized]

I think it would be fair to portray it as a RETAIL incubator, especially considering the location and the fact that a shop owner can move right out into a mall space owned/managed by the same landlord if successful. That said, metro is right that it bears little resemblance to a business incubator in the traditional sense.

[AP]

Looks like a new charter school, Lighthouse Academies, will be leasing space here next year in the old Montgomery Ward building.

[okclee]

Wow that is a great location for a Charter School. Much needed in SE Okc.
Primary or Secondary?

[AP]

K-8 I think.

[Dubya61]

Plaza Mayor has new electronic signage up. One along I-240 near Texas Roadhouse and the other along I-35 near the Fairfield Inn. The I-35 one is working fine and they're working today to get the I-240 one to work right.

[Martin]

checked in on the place about a month ago and they had the dillard's space partially opened. i don't want to be too negative but it was essentially a glorified flea market... the floors have been taken down to the concrete, the walls to bare cinder block. really disappointed given what that place could have been if it had been better managed in the late 80's and into the 90's. -M

[Zuplar]

checked in on the place about a month ago and they had the dillard's space partially opened. i don't want to be too negative but it was essentially a glorified flea market... the floors have been taken down to the concrete, the walls to bare cinder block. really disappointed given what that place could have been if it had been better managed in the late 80's and into the 90's. -M

Honestly a lot of us thought that's what it was going to be. It's a shame really but I know most people are turned off by that mall in general. I know I can't see myself ever going to it again.

[bchris02]

Honestly a lot of us thought that's what it was going to be. It's a shame really but I know most people are turned off by that mall in general. I know I can't see myself ever going to it again.

Crossroads Mall goes to show that once a place gets a reputation it can quickly go downhill and can be nearly impossible to truly revive. In the late 90s and early '00s, Crossroads wasn't on the level of Penn or Quail but it was holding its own. The mall remained pretty full with few vacancies. After the 2006 shooting the place went downhill fast. By 2009, it was all but dead. It's unfortunate because I think the south metro is large enough and has enough money to support a mall.

I wish the new owners well in trying to revive it and hope it one day ends up reaching its potential.

[Zuplar]

Crossroads Mall goes to show that once a place gets a reputation it can quickly go downhill and can be nearly impossible to truly revive. In the late 90s and early '00s, Crossroads wasn't on the level of Penn or Quail but it was holding its own. The mall remained pretty full with few vacancies. After the 2006 shooting the place went downhill fast. By 2009, it was all but dead. It's unfortunate because I think the south metro is large enough and has enough money to support a mall.



I wish the new owners well in trying to revive it and hope it one day ends up reaching its potential.

Yep you are totally right. I used to only go to crossroads. Now that the outlet mall exists I go there instead. Honestly I know several neighbors that actually don't even shop on 240 because of the reputation of crossroads. They associate the whole area with crime. My neighbor actually told me this the other day he won't let his wife go by herself. The drive to Moore or Yukon for most stuff now. Kind of a shame but it's just an area that has been let go. It gets some updates but the city doesn't even mow the grass off the interstate. I really just get the impression that the south side is the forgotten area and have given it up to Moore.

[AP]

Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads thrives two years after opening | Oklahoma Gazette

[jn1780]

Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads thrives two years after opening | Oklahoma Gazette

45 percent occupancy is certainly better than 17 percent. You can have a lot of success when you start out with a nearly dead mall and the bar is set lower. This will never meet the high expectations that a lot of people have, but it is a lot better than having a dead mall. It fills a niche in the community its in and its crazy to expect it to be anywhere on the level that Penn Square mall is.

[AP]

I really think the benchmark should be the 90% occupancy in FT Worth.

[SoonerDave]

checked in on the place about a month ago and they had the dillard's space partially opened. i don't want to be too negative but it was essentially a glorified flea market... the floors have been taken down to the concrete, the walls to bare cinder block. really disappointed given what that place could have been if it had been better managed in the late 80's and into the 90's. -M

Good or bad, I think that's more or less in keeping with the intent of how the new owners want to "reconceptualize" the mall - in the vein (at least to a certain extent) of an open-air market.

I think its clear the new owners are serious in their efforts to revitalize the place; they've sunk some decent coin into large video boards on the south and west sides of the facility. The one facing I-35 has been operational for some time; the larger one on the south side along I-240 was up for a time, but clearly had some technical issues, and has been off for a week or so. Looks like they had to do some trenching around the base of the sign; power or cabling issues, I presume..

As a nearly life-long OKC'er, Crossroads will always be in my heart what it was when I was a kid; an amazing, first-of-its-kind place in OKC, thriving with Orange Juliuses on the lower floor, LeMans Speedway blinking and racing with bumper cars, pinball machines, and video games; the annoying survey people on the west side near Penney's, and a center court with its fountain, switchback ramp, and varying kinds of performers along with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA telethon for many years. There are lots of reasons why it has become what it is now; some of it was/is perception, some reality, but to see it deteriorate into a ghost town is sad. They may well be successful in their idea of revitalization, but in my heart of hearts, it will never be "Plaza Mayor," it'll always, ALWAYS, be "Crossroads."

[SoonerDave]

45 percent occupancy is certainly better than 17 percent. You can have a lot of success when you start out with a nearly dead mall and the bar is set lower. This will never meet the high expectations that a lot of people have, but it is a lot better than having a dead mall. It fills a niche in the community its in and its crazy to expect it to be anywhere on the level that Penn Square mall is.

The thing to keep in mind was that, in its day, Crossroads was the benchmark the other malls, which included only Shepherd and Penn Square, tried to meet. Quail didn't even exist then. By the time Crossroads opened in about 1974, Penn Square was starting to show its age - it was an open-air mall that was starting to see a decline in tenancy, and Shepherd Mall was in an area of town that had started a slow but evident decline that eventually led to other retailers bailing out. It wasn't for something on the order of another ten, perhaps twenty years (?) before it was bought and overhauled into the indoor megacenter it has since become.

I think a *lot* of people held out hope that CR could regain its glory days in some measure, hence the first movie theater that went in, and the outparcel strip shopping center and old Luby's cafeteria. Unfortunately, the area around Crossroads kinda crept in from the north, and no one wanted to take the risk in redeveloping or resuscitating the mall when the inevitable decline of the area around it was manifest...

[Zuplar]

Good or bad, I think that's more or less in keeping with the intent of how the new owners want to "reconceptualize" the mall - in the vein (at least to a certain extent) of an open-air market.

I think its clear the new owners are serious in their efforts to revitalize the place; they've sunk some decent coin into large video boards on the south and west sides of the facility. The one facing I-35 has been operational for some time; the larger one on the south side along I-240 was up for a time, but clearly had some technical issues, and has been off for a week or so. Looks like they had to do some trenching around the base of the sign; power or cabling issues, I presume..

As a nearly life-long OKC'er, Crossroads will always be in my heart what it was when I was a kid; an amazing, first-of-its-kind place in OKC, thriving with Orange Juliuses on the lower floor, LeMans Speedway blinking and racing with bumper cars, pinball machines, and video games; the annoying survey people on the west side near Penney's, and a center court with its fountain, switchback ramp, and varying kinds of performers along with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA telethon for many years. There are lots of reasons why it has become what it is now; some of it was/is perception, some reality, but to see it deteriorate into a ghost town is sad. They may well be successful in their idea of revitalization, but in my heart of hearts, it will never be "Plaza Mayor," it'll always, ALWAYS, be "Crossroads."

Agreed. Sometimes it's just better to remember it as it was.

[bchris02]

Crossroads was the perfect, ideal 80s and early 90s mall. I really miss things like mall arcades and record stores such as Wherehouse and Camelot Music. I also remember Babbage's at Crossroads, which was FAR superior to present-day Gamestop. I also seem to remember a Native-American art store in Crossroads back in the late '90s that was very cool. Malls used to be a destination and offered so much more than clothing stores.

[Rover]

The thing to keep in mind was that, in its day, Crossroads was the benchmark the other malls, which included only Shepherd and Penn Square, tried to meet. Quail didn't even exist then. By the time Crossroads opened in about 1974, Penn Square was starting to show its age - it was an open-air mall that was starting to see a decline in tenancy, and Shepherd Mall was in an area of town that had started a slow but evident decline that eventually led to other retailers bailing out. It wasn't for something on the order of another ten, perhaps twenty years (?) before it was bought and overhauled into the indoor megacenter it has since become.

I think a *lot* of people held out hope that CR could regain its glory days in some measure, hence the first movie theater that went in, and the outparcel strip shopping center and old Luby's cafeteria. Unfortunately, the area around Crossroads kinda crept in from the north, and no one wanted to take the risk in redeveloping or resuscitating the mall when the inevitable decline of the area around it was manifest...

I think that the slide really began with the shrinking and closing of GM and the high paying jobs in the area.

[bombermwc]

I would disagree Rover. I think the decline of crossroads lined up with the development of massive strip developments in the suburbs. As MWC and Moore developed more and more of this stuff, the economic draw simply went away....same thing that happened with Heritage Park. Both malls had more "average joe" shops compared to Penn, which one could argue was one step up. The NW side has always had enough of a population concentration and nearby old money, to keep Penn going. But CR stands at a junction that's, economically, never been strong. And it's sort of in-between two larger population centers (eoc and moore/norman). And if you're in Moore/Norman, you've got Sooner Fashion nearby as well. Far EOC'ers actually are closer to Shawnee Mall than CR too. It just wasn't a great location because the SE section of that intersection never had the population boom they had hoped for.

[SoonerScot]

I believe that Crossroads will never work as retail again. My kids and I started talking about Crossroads a few weeks ago as we drove past it. What we came up with is out of the box thinking, however I think it could work if done right. Turn that bad boy into an indoor amusement park. I'm not talking about an indoor Frontier City either. Turn one of the old box stores into a lasertag course, and another one into a piantball course, while you could put a small roller coaster in the old dillards (since it was 3 stories). There would be plenty of room for some typical rides like bumper cars and tilt a whirls. Also have an indoor skydiving tube and a bowling ally. I think for it to work best it would need to be a pay for each ride and not one big admission fee like a normal amusement park though. The biggest plus would be to get us out of weather. Are we crazy?

[kevinpate]

Dave n Busters and Frontier City to the North
Heyday a ew miles south

I think the former Crossroads likely missed that ship.

[hoya]

That's where we put our NFL stadium.

[SoonerDave]

I think that the slide really began with the shrinking and closing of GM and the high paying jobs in the area.

No, don't think I can jump on that train. There are still plenty of high paying jobs in that area; look at the expansion of areas like Rivendell, Vine Haven, etc to the SW and long-term success of areas like Chatenay and Greenbriar; something is keeping those areas thriving. Crossroads fell into disrepair and the disinterest of its owners combined horribly with the deterioration of the area immediately surrounding it. In its forty years, I think it has received arguably one substantive "facelift" in its history. I recall one general, rather superficial, treatment many, many years ago, but nothing of the scope that (for example) Quail Springs entertained many years ago, or certainly Penn Square.

The story I recall quite vividly hearing from more than one source during that time was that the ownership group over Crossroads was a warring bunch, apparently over issues unrelated to the mall or anything else except their apparent bent to fight (for whatever reasons). It was explained to me that the partnership deteriorated so thoroughly that it had reached a point of one partner saying "black," the other said, "white," merely to be contrary. Crossroads paid the price for the resulting stagnation. I had once heard a plan to restructure the mall such that a center food court would go in the lower staging area, but that obviously never saw the light of day.

I obviously will never be able to prove that, but I also have/had no reason to doubt the people who relayed it to me, so take it FWIW (which is basically nothing).

[ljbab728]

Brianna's update.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/544...C%20businesses

I'm thinking it might be time to change the name of this thread.

[Kemotblue]

I visited last week and I was not impressed with the El Perrian Market or whatever it is called the new owners I guess are trying to right a sinking ship but it to much submerged. They only used a small portion of the first floor for this El Perrian Market. The work that was done was cheaply done. You have to throw your weight against the door to exit the market. It is really bad the shape of the new space. Also The signs they put up at all the entrances into the mall area are in extreme poor condition trashy looking shredded and torn. Not much noticeable work in the mall has been done with the new owners. There is so much potential. The mall is clean and lighted but the restrooms were in poor disrepair non working sinks and hand and soap dryers. I visited the Malls website it has not been updated in 2 years still looks the same now their social media page FB is active. Looks like the mall is not getting the care or work done that was promised for the mall. Looks like this mall will finally see its last days. Its a shame I have good childhood memories from the 80's.

[bombermwc]

I'd agree that the place seems to be structurally in good shape, just needs some cosmetic help.

That I can say, is that there are more businesses in there than have been there in quite some time. It's very family oriented and there are a LOT of kids in there. I don't go there often, so I don't know what a normal day is like. Last time I was in there was at Christmas. I had been at Penn and wanted to go to Bath and Body Works and saw the hour long line and walked out. Since I live near 240, I decided to give Crossroads a try and only had 3 people in front of me in line there. The store definitely looks like it hasn't been touched and doesn't turnaround a lot of cash, but it is very convenient compared to Penn.

The place is still struggling for sure. It's got a LOOOOONG way to go. The Market is a total crap flea market. If you want to do an outdoor market, we need more food vendors there and the place needs to be active daily. It's an opportunity to offer items that an outdoor market wouldn't be able to here, because of the winter. In Latin America, it would be THE market in the village. If it's convenient for people and the options are good, they'll go there. So far, they're failing on the quality part. And where are all these clinics/dentists/etc that were supposed to come in and take up mall space to make it a Latino Community Center?