Crossroads Mall

[brianinok]

I think a lot of this is location. Not accessibility, but location. As in close-by demographics and rooftops. Most of what is around Crossroads is lower middle class, poverty, and industrial. Sure, within a few miles you have plenty of middle class and upper middle class. But those people have to drive some further than just around the corner, and those people increasingly thought, "I'll drive to Penn Square. It'll only take me like 10 minutes longer, and I'll have a modern interior, higher quality and better selection. Plus when I park at Penn Square I look out over upper middle class houses and other shopping; when I park at Crossroads I look at industrial buildings." Crossroads never gave the right "feel" inside or out.

This has little to do with accessibility. Tell me that Penn Square is easy to get in and out of. Just try. If malls failed and survived based on accessibility, Penn Square would have failed long ago. It is a nightmare to get in and out of, especially from I-44. But at Penn Square you get a good feeling inside and out.

Other than not being updated and looking dated, Crossroads' neighborhood just doesn't project a good feeling to those who spend a significant amount of money at malls. Crossroads is not the only entity who has had a problem with this in that area. First Southern Baptist Del City has also struggled with it (though that area is getting better as more housing is built). A staff member there once told me that when they relocated there they saw it as an area that was growing with middle income new housing. But after they moved there industrial is what took off. They were left nearly in the middle of an industrial park. But there was still plenty of available land and that has since started to fill in with some housing. Not a great comparison, but perhaps some insight into that area that doesn't have that middle class or upper middle class "feel."

[Spartan]

I agree with your post Brian, but I think a lot of people are attributing that good feeling to a mall being successful in the first place--sort of a chicken and egg deal. Which comes first, success and business and resources to make a nice mall, or a nice mall that attracts business, etc.

That's just why location is so important because it can influence growth and get things going that otherwise wouldn't. There's nothing wrong with the southside for business and retail. There's everything wrong with Crossroads though--it's a bad location for the southside.

[bombermwc]

Matt......Why would Best Buy want to move to a location half the size of their current building?

[Kerry]

Matt......Why would Best Buy want to move to a location half the size of their current building?

I have been wondering the same thing but here in Jacskonville the two new Best Buys have been a reduced size with limitied merchandise. We have one large Best Buy near the Avenues Mall and if I can't find what I want at my new local Best Buy they tell me to go over there. It is the same with Staples now as well.

[Matt]

Matt......Why would Best Buy want to move to a location half the size of their current building?

You got me. Just repeating what I've heard from someone in the know.

[Bunty]

Matt......Why would Best Buy want to move to a location half the size of their current building?

Probably just a sign that more people are buying online and not just at the Best Buy site.

[Kerry]

Probably just a sign that more people are buying online and not just at the Best Buy site.

It seems to be a marketing strategy. Have one big store that carries the full line of merchandise with smaller store that only carry the best sellers. The Best Buy that just opened near me doesn't even have a full line of movies and video games. They ony have around 15tvs on display, and no more than 15 laptops to pick from. If I go to the fully functional Best Buy they have like 40 tvs on display and a full line of software titles, video games, etc.

[oneforone]

I am willing to bet the traffic flow for the Crossroads location has slowed down drastically since Midwest City, Moore, Norman and West OKC all have Best Buy stores. They really don't keep the Crossroads store if traffic has dropped. They have a distrubution center in Ardmore so anything they need to order can be here in usually no more than one-two business days. Not to mention having six stores in Oklahoma City makes it to were you no longer need a store with a huge warehouse on it.

I know at one time they were talking about moving the May Avenue store to better location because that store is usually one of the lower performing stores. If and when it does move it will likely relocate somewhere off of NW Expressway not to far from the current location. However, this was a few years back when Circuit City was still alive and kicking. Now that CC has closed, the store maybe doing fine right where it is at.

[Matt]

Not to get too far off-topic, but BB's also looking at opening a new store in Edmond next to the Walmart on I-35, from what I hear.

[Spartan]

What I have heard is that they wouldn't be in the old CC spot but that they would be in the expansion planned to the Odom development.

[bluedogok]

They opened up a new Best Buy here in Austin last week in the former Circuit City site at Southpark Meadows. Much smaller than many of their older locations which seems to be the trend in retail in general and especially for Best Buy. I remember an article a year or two ago about the downsizing of Best Buy stores.

[Bunty]

They opened up a new Best Buy here in Austin last week in the former Circuit City site at Southpark Meadows. Much smaller than many of their older locations which seems to be the trend in retail in general and especially for Best Buy. I remember an article a year or two ago about the downsizing of Best Buy stores.

Which probably helps explain why the new Best Buy in Stillwater isn't nearly as big as the ones in OKC, other than being in a much smaller market.

[megax11]

HAHA! I wouldn't dog on smaller Best Buy stores and them not having as much merch as the bigger stores.

I am a huge gamer, and I have been looking for a Wii game from SEGA, based on two of their old arcade games, called Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack.

Here is the funny part. NOT ONE SINGLE big Best Buy store got them in, but the Moore store did. You know... the smaller store.

I don't know if that's the case now, but when it first came out, it landed in the smaller stores first.

I hope BB takes over the old C.C. location, because then, it's only 1 mile away from my house.

As for Crossroads, I still believe in my dreams. I believe in astral projection, and I think that on three seperate occasions, I seen that mall in the future.

The first dream was from outside... Well wait a second. Let's make that at least 5 dreams. 2 Inside. 3 outside.

The first 3 I had were all on the outside, going in. I remember the outside looking very different, but familiar. I remember walking through the east side of the old Ward's parking lot. It looked so different, but felt familiar. I knew where I was. The parking lot was insanely full.

The second outside dream was me walking from the west side Penny's entrance (which I don't know what store was there), to the north side Penny's entrance. I was looking for something outside. The mall looked different, but yet again, familiar. It looked more modern.

The third dream was walking around the mall on the NE corner, around the Macy's building. It was more rounded. I remember looking inside, where I could see a section of the mall covered in black tarp, due to remodeling.

Then there are the two inside dreams.

First dream, was inside the north entrance of the mall, where Braums used to be. It was much brighter. The floors were white and black marble, with each divided by a triangular diamond that was green and white marble. Pillars between each store were Green and white marble, like the diamonds in between each set of 4 white marble tiles.

Second dream, was in the middle. I remember telling a friend who I told about my first dream, "see, told you my dream was right," when we went near a store, and looked at the pillars dividing each store. The middle of the mall felt more open, and stores weren't as deep as they are now, rather wide.

I just want southside to flourish as much as Moore, northside, quail and MWC.

I hope my dreams about the mall come true, and I hope it starts with Dillards coming back.

As for the surrounding areas outside of the mall. They need to demolish the plaza blocking the malls view on I-35. It's nothing but useless community colleges anyway. They should destroy and rebuild a smaller plaza, or build buildings that aren't all tied together.

The old tire centers across from Toys R Us and the dollar theatre, need to be demolished, repaved, and build new plazas there, or maybe a restaurant or two. The empty parking lots where the lots are empty and in bad shape, need to be redone and buildings built, to house new retail or restaurants to co-exist with the mall, should it be rennovated.

Who knows. Only time will tell. The area is so massive there, it is ripe for retail. I venture to guess, though, that anyone wanting it to turn into another community college, or government agencies, are wanting it to do so, so stores will move to their areas, and not southside, where we seriously need retail, in place of all the cell phone businesses, community colleges, and bingo halls.

[gen70]

megax11, I believe in dreams my self...Saw my 3 kids in dreams before they were born...Hope your right about CR's.

[Larry OKC]

Odd thing about some smaller stores....for some reason when the Wal-Marts went SuperCenter sized, the selection decreased over what was available in the smaller stores. When asked was told repeatedly that the "extra" sf of the SuperCenter I "thought" I was seeing was being taken up by the Grocery. Didn't buy it, because if you have the grocery to your back, the distance to the back of the store exceeded the regular one and same going the width. Now maybe the aisles were wider or the shelves not as tall or a couple of other things, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the Grocery. I would even drive out of my way to shop at a regular Wal-mart, knowing that the SuperCenter might not have it.

[Thunder]

Odd thing about some smaller stores....for some reason when the Wal-Marts went SuperCenter sized, the selection decreased over what was available in the smaller stores. When asked was told repeatedly that the "extra" sf of the SuperCenter I "thought" I was seeing was being taken up by the Grocery. Didn't buy it, because if you have the grocery to your back, the distance to the back of the store exceeded the regular one and same going the width. Now maybe the aisles were wider or the shelves not as tall or a couple of other things, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the Grocery. I would even drive out of my way to shop at a regular Wal-mart, knowing that the SuperCenter might not have it.

I will never forget the Walmart in MWC. Grew up going to that store. It just does not feel the same as going to the new one in DC.

[bombermwc]

Now now Thunder, as you say, "don't get off topic".

[megax11]

Well this is odd. Someone said in this thread, or another thread, that Best Buy was interested in the old Circuit City building. Well it seems to be that a Halloween store has occupied the building.

How can Best Buy move there, if it's occupied by a seasonal Halloween store?

I wish something permanent would move there, and it was called Best Buy.

[Soonerman]

Which CC building? As for Dillards I have a friend that works for them and he says if Dillards returns to Crossroads it will be a clearance center. It would be better than an empty building especially that size.

[Jesseda]

i still say turn one of the old department stores into a huge haunted house for the season.. i think it would be neat if they turned the old steve and barrys into a haunted house..

[Soonerman]

i still say turn one of the old department stores into a huge haunted house for the season.. i think it would be neat if they turned the old steve and barrys into a haunted house..

They could also do that to the JCPenney building. Can you imagine a 200,000 square foot haunted house?

[Thunder]

Well this is odd. Someone said in this thread, or another thread, that Best Buy was interested in the old Circuit City building. Well it seems to be that a Halloween store has occupied the building.

How can Best Buy move there, if it's occupied by a seasonal Halloween store?

I wish something permanent would move there, and it was called Best Buy.

Umm.... LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The latest CC store in the shopping center a bit more west.... We all knew this.

[scootinger]

Well this is odd. Someone said in this thread, or another thread, that Best Buy was interested in the old Circuit City building. Well it seems to be that a Halloween store has occupied the building.

How can Best Buy move there, if it's occupied by a seasonal Halloween store?

I wish something permanent would move there, and it was called Best Buy.

Those leases are temporary. For instance, BB recently opened a location in Stillwater in a vacant space that had been occupied by a seasonal halloween store last year. If a real estate company can lease a space out to a permanent tenant, they would almost certainly rather do that than have seasonal tenants for a couple of months each year.

[Spartan]

HAHA! I wouldn't dog on smaller Best Buy stores and them not having as much merch as the bigger stores.

I am a huge gamer, and I have been looking for a Wii game from SEGA, based on two of their old arcade games, called Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack.

Here is the funny part. NOT ONE SINGLE big Best Buy store got them in, but the Moore store did. You know... the smaller store.

I don't know if that's the case now, but when it first came out, it landed in the smaller stores first.

I hope BB takes over the old C.C. location, because then, it's only 1 mile away from my house.

As for Crossroads, I still believe in my dreams. I believe in astral projection, and I think that on three seperate occasions, I seen that mall in the future.

The first dream was from outside... Well wait a second. Let's make that at least 5 dreams. 2 Inside. 3 outside.

The first 3 I had were all on the outside, going in. I remember the outside looking very different, but familiar. I remember walking through the east side of the old Ward's parking lot. It looked so different, but felt familiar. I knew where I was. The parking lot was insanely full.

The second outside dream was me walking from the west side Penny's entrance (which I don't know what store was there), to the north side Penny's entrance. I was looking for something outside. The mall looked different, but yet again, familiar. It looked more modern.

The third dream was walking around the mall on the NE corner, around the Macy's building. It was more rounded. I remember looking inside, where I could see a section of the mall covered in black tarp, due to remodeling.

Then there are the two inside dreams.

First dream, was inside the north entrance of the mall, where Braums used to be. It was much brighter. The floors were white and black marble, with each divided by a triangular diamond that was green and white marble. Pillars between each store were Green and white marble, like the diamonds in between each set of 4 white marble tiles.

Second dream, was in the middle. I remember telling a friend who I told about my first dream, "see, told you my dream was right," when we went near a store, and looked at the pillars dividing each store. The middle of the mall felt more open, and stores weren't as deep as they are now, rather wide.

I just want southside to flourish as much as Moore, northside, quail and MWC.

I hope my dreams about the mall come true, and I hope it starts with Dillards coming back.

As for the surrounding areas outside of the mall. They need to demolish the plaza blocking the malls view on I-35. It's nothing but useless community colleges anyway. They should destroy and rebuild a smaller plaza, or build buildings that aren't all tied together.

The old tire centers across from Toys R Us and the dollar theatre, need to be demolished, repaved, and build new plazas there, or maybe a restaurant or two. The empty parking lots where the lots are empty and in bad shape, need to be redone and buildings built, to house new retail or restaurants to co-exist with the mall, should it be rennovated.

Who knows. Only time will tell. The area is so massive there, it is ripe for retail. I venture to guess, though, that anyone wanting it to turn into another community college, or government agencies, are wanting it to do so, so stores will move to their areas, and not southside, where we seriously need retail, in place of all the cell phone businesses, community colleges, and bingo halls.

Please seek help now.

[Jettmiester]

I heard a New Anthony's is moving into Crossroads Mall....lol