Balliets expanding
Good news for 50 Penn Place. But it doesn't sound like the leasing agents for 50 Penn Place are too positive about OKC getting an upscale department store other than Macy's.
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"50 Penn Place store takes new form
By Tricia Pemberton
The Oklahoman
Balliet's in 50 Penn Place is undergoing a $250,000 transformation.
Bob Benham, who owns the store with his wife, DeDe, said the renovation, which began Monday, will allow for an expansion of the store's cosmetic and shoe departments, and a redesign of apparel and accessories.
Benham said shoes and cosmetics, up 27 percent and 12 percent, respectively, in year-to-date sales over 2004, are the top-growing segments in the store. Sales in general exceeded the $6 million mark last year, and Benham expects to hit $7 million next year with the store changes.
"The renovation will allow us to keep up with the trends in our business," Benham said. "We want this to be a fun store, not you're grandmother's Oldsmobile store."
Benham's excitement showed as he offered a tour of the 12,200-square-foot space.
"We're taking out all the front walls, to open the store visually and let the light spill in," he said. Carpeting and display cases throughout will be replaced.
Benham showed examples of bone-colored polished porcelain floor tiles to be bordered by black granite.
"This granite was in the ground in Brazil just six to seven weeks ago," Benham said.
Employees on Monday morning loaded cosmetics into little red Roadster USA wagons for transport to a temporary home in nearby space, formerly occupied by Williams-Sonoma.
To direct customers to the separate store, Benham will place footprints along the mall's second-story landing.
Demolition crews were set to arrive Monday evening, hoping to complete work by Aug. 29.
An anchor tenant
Randy Vallencourt of Trammell Crow Co., which handles leasing for 50 Penn Place's owner, Dallas-based Ranier Capital Management, has said he considers Balliet's an important tenant.
"For a mall our size, Balliet's, at 12,000 feet, is an anchor tenant. They're a real star in Oklahoma," he said.
And the renovation speaks of bigger changes taking place in Oklahoma City, Benham said.
"Oklahoma City is going through a renaissance. There have been so many good developments in the past 10 years. MAPS was our defibulator. It absolutely got our hearts pumping. We are now at a tipping point, where I decided to take this risk and make this investment.
"I finally decided the market is here. Why shouldn't Oklahoma have something comparable to Dallas or Chicago," he said.
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett said the city not only is seeing new investment, but also is seeing reinvestment, as in the case of Balliet's and projects such as the Skirvin hotel.
"The perception that Oklahoma City is a value-oriented market is outdated. What we notice is that higher end opportunities are doing better than they ever have, whether it be higher end concerts at the Ford Center, upper-end restaurants or higher-end retail such as Balliet's. A lot of tourism and retailers are seeing we've got to reinvest in what we've got," he said.
"When stores like Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom look here, they don't find strong enough demographics to support their stores. So we have a vacuum.
"We do, however, have very fashion-driven consumers, and we have enough customers to support such shopping on a smaller scale," he said. "
Originally Posted by scootches
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