Stadium District (formerly Producers Coop)

[Canoe]

How much are they asking per square foot of raw land?

[Pete]

I don't think they've set prices; just generalities but it looks like about $1 million per acre.

BTW, production stopped at this location a couple of months ago. They laid off all their production people. Only thing left there are a few admin types, otherwise the facility is completely out of business.

I wouldn't be surprised if they never do production in Altus. They have seen less and less need for this over the years which is why they are selling off their storage facility at the old tire plant.

[bradh]

I wonder what drives that? I'll admit I'm naive to what they did and what they provided, but I thought it was processing cotton seed into oils and other byproducts for use in feed, pet food, etc. What is replacing what this plant produced?

[Pete]

There are other facilities that do canola processing and the coop doesn't need to provide it to their members any longer.

Not sure what changed but I think production within the coop is down and 3rd party refining capacity is up.

[Pete]

On other thing... When Don Hayes spoke before City Council today about the Coop, he said he represented Don Hayes brokerage on behalf of the coop.

Hayes has been involved with developments through Sooner Investments but also has his own brokerage company and he seems to just be trying to sell the property on behalf of the coop, as other brokers have in the past.

[BDP]

Not that they would, but if the COOP was willing to sell the required amount of land (including for expansion) for $13M minus the cost of the environmental remediation, how could the city refuse?

I think because 1) no one they have paid has told them to do this and 2) they would have to change their minds. And even if 1 happened, 2 isn't going to happen.

[Urbanized]

...and 3) because it puts downtown's existing full-service hotels between .6 and .8 miles away at its closest point and adds crossing a below-grade, freeway-like "boulevard" plus E.K. Gaylord to the walking route, taking those hotels out of the 10 minute walkability equation. Not that anybody here cares about that stuff. That site is a nonstarter. The lumberyard site would be closer, and better, but - oh yeah - it ain't free. And neither is the COOP.

[OKCRT]

Best of luck to the company and their future operations. May they succeed and prosper in Altus.

Moving forward, this land has been debated and sought after for so long. I would like to ask what we could do to try and ensure (as much as we can, if we can at all) that some good quality development(s) take it's place. We all know this is prime real estate between the river, BT, and the CBD. Which means a LOT of potential for something "game-changing." I hate to use such hyperbole, but seriously, let's put this to some seriously good use!

Perfect site to build a bunch of skyscrapers.

[mugofbeer]

hi rize housing.

[Pete]

Seeds of change: Bricktown co-op to sell property, plots move to Altus
Owners offer land as convention center spot

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record July 8, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – Producers Cooperative Oil Mill on the south side of Bricktown is changing its business model. It will be moving to Altus as soon as the property sells, President and CEO Austin Rose said.

Unfortunately, that may take a while, he said. This week, the City Council politely ignored the cooperative’s offer to open negotiations at less than $18 million to use the site for a new convention center.

“Until somebody who has a vision for development that will fit Oklahoma City steps up, then we’ll continue to operate here as-is,” Rose said. “It could be next month or two years from now.”

Contrary to rumor, he said, the mill on SE Fourth Street isn’t shutting down. Producers Cooperative ceased canola and cotton seed-crushing services about two months ago – downtown residents might have noticed the absence of the odor associated with that process – in response to a significant decline in crop production following years of drought in the region.

“We had planned to crush canola from the local harvest, and for the last few years we’ve been bringing in canola from Canada and North Dakota to supplement what we’ve got,” he said. “But the markets are such that we can’t make any money from that now. We had a short crop locally, and the logistics and pricing of bringing in canola from that far away didn’t work either.”

Cotton isn’t doing well either, Rose said, a point that Oklahoma Cotton Council Executive Director Harvey Schroeder confirmed.

“Four years of drought have hit us hard,” Schroeder said. “We’ve got farmers who have sat through three years of zero harvest.

“It’s safe to say that drought has actually altered the infrastructure of the cotton industry,” Schroeder said. “You’ll notice a lot of consolidation, like in the car businesses where you used to see several dealerships scattered across town and now most of them are county-centered.”

In 1925, a record of 5.3 million acres of cotton were harvested in Oklahoma, according to the state Department of Agriculture. In 2011, the crop hit its lowest harvest of just 70,000 acres. Given the state of the industry, Rose said, members of the cooperative – about 15 cotton gins across Oklahoma and Texas – decided it was time for a change of plans. Shutting down the seed-crushing side and laying off more than two-thirds of the employees was the hardest thing he’s ever done, Rose said.

“We’re transitioning the company into a merchandising businesses, so we’ll continue to buy cottonseed and canola from Oklahoma producers,” Rose said. “We’ll just receive, store and market those commodities near downtown and move to facilities in Altus as soon as we can.”

Moving to Altus will bring the mill closer to its producers and save on transportation costs. Also, more unprocessed cottonseed is now used for livestock feed, which is more profitable than full processing in Oklahoma City.

Rose said he was disappointed that the City Council didn’t consider the cooperative’s offer. He wouldn’t discuss a target price, but confirmed the cooperative was willing to sell the property well within the MAPS 3 budget of $17.8 million.

The cooperative sits on three parcels totaling nearly 20 acres, according to Oklahoma County assessor records. The latest market value of the three together is about $5.3 million, according to assessor records. The grain elevator and most other buildings on the site were built in 1960.

[bradh]

I have to believe that they knew back when council was going to address other sites a month or so ago that they were going to sell, they could have thrown their hat in the ring then.

[Pete]

I have to believe that they knew back when council was going to address other sites a month or so ago that they were going to sell, they could have thrown their hat in the ring then.

They did, but just as now, the consultants and committee have shown little interest.


I hope something changes here soon but I have the feeling this is just more of the same: Trying to sell without a clear marketing plan or price, just with a new broker involved.

The property has effectively been for sale for several years now.

[Eddie1]

Just eliminating production (and thus the smell!) will be a welcome change. There are some nights that I actually feel sorry for people that live within 'nose-shot' of it.

[bradh]

They did, but just as now, the consultants and committee have shown little interest.


I hope something changes here soon but I have the feeling this is just more of the same: Trying to sell without a clear marketing plan or price, just with a new broker involved.

The property has effectively been for sale for several years now.

I'll start with saying I know little about commercial real estate, but perhaps their plan is "we don't need a plan, we have a location."

[Pete]

That location is far from great.

There is zero frontage on any through street; one side is completely blocked by the railroad and another by I-40.

Unless the Lumberyard property is developed soon, this whole property just isn't very desirable.

[bradh]

Good point, so if I'm right and that IS their "plan" then you just proved why it's wrong.

Perfect place for a soccer stadium

[AP]

Perfect place for a soccer stadium

Without a doubt. I hope that what comes of it.

[BDP]

...and 3) because it puts downtown's existing full-service hotels between .6 and .8 miles away at its closest point and adds crossing a below-grade, freeway-like "boulevard" plus E.K. Gaylord to the walking route, taking those hotels out of the 10 minute walkability equation.

You're right. I do forget that .6 and .8 miles is an issue for OKC. I think we're building a full service hotel next door to this thing, so that shouldn't be too big of an issue.

Everything in downtown is walkable to me and is closer than most CC settings I usually encounter.

The boulevard is an issue for sure, but that's an issue for anything that goes here. It's gonna be a barrier for anything south of it. I guess I'd rather see the CC deal with it and use the good real estate above the blvd. for something else. At least in that case the CC could be a catalyst for bridging the blvd. I think private development is going to have a harder time doing that. We might actually get a little public improvement out of this project.

[bchris02]

Just eliminating production (and thus the smell!) will be a welcome change. There are some nights that I actually feel sorry for people that live within 'nose-shot' of it.

I agree. Some nights in late summer it gets so bad its hard to enjoy a nice drink on a patio, even as far north as Deep Deuce. This will be a welcome change. As for the future of the property, I personally think the best use is as a new urbanist development a-la Wheeler.

[Pete]

Smell is a funny thing. Some people are very sensitive to it but I'd say most people are not.

I worked downtown for years and it never bothered me at all; don't remember even noticing it.

Same with the comments others have made about the Wheeler District and the stockyards. For years I played softball at Wheeler Park and don't remember an offensive smell at all.

However, I am extremely sensitive to smoke, but that's only because I hate it so much.

[Dustin]

I have a really bad sense of smell (allergies), and the smell is even too much for me.

[LakeEffect]

Without a doubt. I hope that what comes of it.

Yes!

[jccouger]

The Smell from the COOP was strong, but it wasnt that bad to me. It even had a hint of sweet to it sometimes. It will be a huge improvement removed though.

I also don't think that the limited access from through streets is that bad of a problem. For something like a stadium, or convention center, that has high loading & unloading traffic for short amounts of time then yes it would be bad & would cause nightmares for those short amounts of time. But for living units that had small steady stream of traffic I think would actually be a benefit, due to improvements in walkability from limited car travel. It could essentially become Deep Duece #2.

[shawnw]

Ooooooooo.... I rescind my previous preference for this site to be the CC location in favor of a soccer stadium...

[BDP]

I think a stadium would be nice, too, but how big of one would we need? MLS stadiums are about 20k (or reduced to that in bigger venues). I'm not sure if we're on major league soccer's radar right now, though. I think it would need to be justifiable from a multi use standpoint, since the Energy doesn't even fill Taft at this point. I think it would be great just to have something for larger outdoor events, but I'm not sure what size makes sense for the market.