New Edmond developments??
Potential tenants consider retail sites at The Falls
Medical facility, restaurants also possible for location
By Tricia Pemberton
Staff Writer
EDMOND — American Eagle, the Buckle, Banana Republic and Borders Books are retailers that have talked to developers of The Falls — a mixed-use development being built on 28 acres south of Second Street on the east side of Vista Lane, between Bryant Avenue and Coltrane Road in Edmond.
Ed Martin, a retail specialist for NAI Sullivan Group and a spokesman for Oxford Development Corp. Inc., which is developing The Falls, said he's working on several different tenants but has no signed contract yet.
"We're talking to lots of people, including several new concepts that aren't in town yet,” he said. "We've also had a medical hospital approach us about doing a 13,500-square-foot surgery center. We're talking to restaurants such as The Mont in Norman.”
In addition, Martin said he's talked to several banks about locating there.
The list of possibilities for the site is long, Martin said, but it will be late 2008 or 2009 before any business is open in the center. Right now, the site is still dirt and felled trees.
Martin said dirt work started about three months ago but was delayed by January snow and ice storms.
"Winter weather messed up our schedule, and it's taking longer than we thought,” Martin said.
Still, infrastructure work should start in about 30 days and will take about four to six months to complete.
"Then we can start going vertical,” Martin said.
Leasing will be for 2008 and 2009, he said.
The Falls is almost a 30-acre project, with about 140,000 square feet being dedicated to retail, restaurant and class-A office space. The project in the future will include an upscale condominium complex. Plans also call for a 12-foot waterfall and cascading pools and streams.
The water features are being designed by Caviness Landscape and Design. The overall architect is David Payne of Bockus Payne Associates Architects, and the engineer is Mark Faris with Red Plains Engineering.
The Falls is being built to the northeast of E.C. Hafer Park, while Bridges of Spring Creek is being developed by Sooner Land Co. to the south of the park.
Unlike the hotly contested Bridges of Spring Creek, however, The Falls encountered almost no public resistance.
Edmond City Councilman Wayne Page said the project sailed through the Edmond Planning Commission and city council because it's on a commercial corridor.
"Route 66 has been a commercial corridor forever, and their frontage was a long time ago projected to be commercial,” he said.
Other projects
Oxford Development also is working on several other projects in Edmond, Martin said.
The company owns property next to the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority on the west frontage road of Interstate 35, just north of 33rd Street. Martin said the company would like to build an upscale hotel, restaurants, some retail, an underground parking garage and a medical tower on the site.
Oxford also owns property at Covell Road and Broadway, where it plans to build Grey Stone Galleria, a retail development with a restaurant pad and a bank pad. Behind that is 17 acres for a planned apartment complex, Martin said.
The company also recently signed a contract on the Ditch Witch property on the northeast corner of Second Street and I-35, where it hopes to develop 25 acres for commercial use, Martin said.
"We're working on the design for that right now,” he said.
Bookmarks