University Town Center

[Spartan]

It is obviously the developer not being held to the standard Norman voters expected. I've been to parts of the country that are deep in the recession still, yet they are building very successful lifestyle/community/village/whatever centers. I've been seeing where they are bulldozing classic malls for these type of developments.

I would say something that needs to be looked at is partnering with GGP and tear down Sooner Mall. Replace it with the village center at UNP and relocate all the vendors there. Then take the existing Sooner Mall plot and redevelop it with a mix office/hospitality development.

Norman almost has no right to even think big like that after the multiple letdowns lately, with UNP obviously being the biggest. I don't trust this council to hold anyone to a development standard that you'd see outside of Oklahoma. Or outside of Central Oklahoma, even.

[gamecock]

I still think it's too early to judge UNP, and the state of the economy explains part of the problem with that development. This is an interesting story from yesterday's Norman Transcript:

http://normantranscript.com/governme...Eye-for-beauty

I wondered why that Academy building looked like a poor fit...sounds like they blew that approval...

[Questor]

Yeah the Academy looks terrible, almost as bad as AMC Crossroads. The nicer parts of the development like the Target are respectable but nothing special. I don't understand why the OKC metro never seems to be able to get its act together when it comes to making things that don't look cheap. There's something wrong when you have to hope and pray that a new development here will look at least as good as the average outlet mall in Texas. Tulsa always seems to do a decent job... Why is that? What arc standards do they have that we don't?

[ljbab728]

Questor, you must not be looking at all of the average developments in Texas or Tulsa. There is crap everywhere. OKC does not have that market cornered.

[kevinpate]

We don't see much in the way of neighborhood association youthful artistic expression in Norman like one readily finds in other parts of the metro. However, if some association wanted to use AS as an advertising canvas, I don't know that it would up the ugly factor by much at all.

[Questor]

I was hoping that someone might have some facts on why developments in Dallas often look so much nicer. For example I know for a fact that the landscaping requirements for developments there are something on the order of triple what is required in OKC... that's not my opinion that landscaping looks denser there, that's a hard fact. So I wonder if there might be similar ordinances having to do with minimum standards on facades and things like that and how they compare to Norman and UNP. Does anyone know?

[progressiveboy]

I was hoping that someone might have some facts on why developments in Dallas often look so much nicer. For example I know for a fact that the landscaping requirements for developments there are something on the order of triple what is required in OKC... that's not my opinion that landscaping looks denser there, that's a hard fact. So I wonder if there might be similar ordinances having to do with minimum standards on facades and things like that and how they compare to Norman and UNP. Does anyone know?

As far as why Dallas developments look much nicer, could be the citizens and the municipality demand it! OKC has always lagged in this department. I believe it's also due to developers in OKC tend to go cheap and just do not want to spend the extra $$ for aesthetics and quality development. OKC is my hometown, however, I always thought of it as kinda dirty anyway. I just do not think that "most" OKC residents care enough to demand it or that they feel it is important. I hope the more forward thinking inhabitants step up to the plate?

[Questor]

After a lot of Googling I just realized that University North Park doesn't have its own web page. Closest I've come is some lame developer's website. Come on Oklahoma, get with the times.

[ouimguy]

Any idea what is being built to the NW of Target?

[ChargerAg]

Discount Tire is the rumor.

[ahlokc]

What is being built next to (East of) Logan's Roadhouse? Steel structure is already up.

[kevinpate]

What is being built next to (East of) Logan's Roadhouse? Steel structure is already up.

Mathis Bros. (or someone else) is putting in a Mattress type store there.

[ahlokc]

Mathis Bros. (or someone else) is putting in a Mattress type store there.

Ah, okay. Heard that was going in, just didn't catch where. Thanks.

[kevinpate]

Silly place for a matt shack in my opinion. I think another casual dining or fast foodie shack would be a better fit right there. But, I don't get to decide such things.

[ahlokc]

Yep, seems out of place. And it will be a Mathis Bros mattress store after looking it up. Apparently the land cost them $1.1 million.

[G22]

Things like the Mathis Brothers mattress store will bring people to Norman from smaller communities like Purcell, Blanchard, Lexington, and Pauls Valley. I wish they had put more stores like this in the middle of the development but the Mathis Bros store is a major anchor.

[kevinpate]

... the Mathis Bros store is a major anchor.

My oh my. I suppose UNP has completely jumped the shark if folks start to see it as group of shops near where the mathis family sell mattresses. Wasn't target being a major anchor humbling enough?

[gamecock]

I don't have strong feelings for or against the Mathis Bros. store, but the location is awful. It's too large for that space, and it blocks the other restaurants. Clearly, a restaurant should have gone there to complement Logan's and Cheddar's. I don't know why they allowed it there.

In a recent Transcript article, they mentioned that Chuy’s and Ted’s Cafe Escondido were denied locations in UNP because "marketing and architectural models desired by those companies did not match with the North Park project." I'd really like to know what they mean by that because it seems like having those restaurants there would be a better than the Mathis Brother's store. It's hard to believe their architectural models were less appropriate than Logan's (which is fine, but it certainly doesn't look like it was custom built for UNP).

[venture]

The oversight board for UNP is worthless anyway. They sold out years ago and haven't really done anything to keep things on task...especially with the developer who is holding the land hostage for the new park.

[G22]

I see your point...

[vaflyer]

I have heard that Mathis Brothers wanted the specific property that they purchased because it was directly across the street from Mattress Firm. I would have preferred that a restaurant go on that property but that obviously did not happen. Mathis Brothers has a picture of their completed building on sign on the construction site and from the picture the building looks very nice.

As for Crest, an individual asked Crest on their Facebook page when they would be opening a store in Norman (this was a mid-January post). Someone from Crest replied the Spring of 2013. Based on revised UNP plats going through the city of Norman committee process, it appears the Crest store will be directly behind the strip plaza with the Zios in it.

I have also heard from a manager at Homeland (in Norman) that Sunflower Farmers Market has leased the old Hobby Lobby space on Main St. (confirming a previous post on the issue)

[rjstone208]

I have also heard from a manager at Homeland (in Norman) that Sunflower Farmers Market has leased the old Hobby Lobby space on Main St. (confirming a previous post on the issue)

As I said in previous post, nothing is official yet. We were Sunflower about two hours ago and an assistant manager said he'd heard nothing about when or where in Norman. I think Sunflower will eventually open in Norman and the old Hobby Lobby space would be ideal but all I've heard so far seem's to be wishful thinking.

[kevinpate]

If Mathis truly wanted to play pharm shoppe line of sight with the discount mattress folk across the way, I wish they had crossed the street and bought up the space between Matt Firm and IBC. I absolutely agree with you it would have been a better play overall to plop another food shoppe there by Cheddar's and Logan's. Of course, were I king for a day, both the mattress houses would have ended up to the west by the tire house or somewhere else they weren't front and center. Oh well.

[Questor]

Norman planning is horrible. I'm surprised they haven't approved yet another car lot for the lot adjacent to IBC.

[jedicurt]

I just got back from a Norman Chamber meeting in which the current state of UNP was discussed...

First of all, just south of Embassy Suites is going to be a large Holiday Inn Express, and Embassy Suites is thrilled about this because they have had issues lately with people complain that there isn't nearly enough hotel rooms for all attendees of conferences there

Secondly, just north of Rock Creek on the East side of 24th will be an office park that is scheduled to start ground work soon.

Crest is coming and they think it should break ground before the end of the fiscal year (June 30th), it will be behind Zio's and 5 guys burgers.
a second strip mall is going to be built just north of Vallance bank, and the known tenents for it are Select Comfort (cause we need 3 mattress stores in this area), GNC, and Weight Watchers.

The park is still coming, this issue right now is trying to work out a deal for the City to get the land between Wing Stop and Academy, once the land is owned by the city, they think construction on it will go rather quickly. It will have a pond and a 250 seat amphitheater.

The I35 frontage road is going to be connected on the south side to Robinson where the current light is for the on ramp on the east side (the on and off ramps will be moved to the frontage road in a project that is supposed to start in March and last no longer than 150 days (haha, yeah right). and then the frontage road will be extended all the way up past rock creek and then eventually connect back up with 24th just before Tecumseh rd