http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/developer-of-proposed-mall-near-turkey-mountain-seeks-to-postpone/article_eebe1c25-4b5b-5d82-8b13-e1d0d36238c7.htmlThe proposed outlet mall near Turkey Mountain may well be built one day, but the project no longer seems to be on the fast track. For the second time in a month, the developer, Simon Property Group, has asked the Planning Commission to postpone a public hearing on zoning changes the company is requesting to make the project possible.
“We are requesting a continuance to address questions that have come up about the project,” Les Morris, a spokesman for Indianapolis-based Simon Property, said in an email. Simon’s hearing before the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission had originally been planned for March 18. But the developer asked that it be rescheduled to April 15.
The latest request, which must be approved by the Planning Commission, seeks to have the hearing moved to June 17.
Tulsa Premium Outlets would cover more than 48 acres of private property on the corner of U.S. 75 and 61st Street — adjacent to the River Parks Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area — and include more than 350,000 square feet of leasable space, according to the plans.
The only entrance to the mall would be off 61st Street. Many of the questions that Simon is attempting to answer were raised at a heavily attended public meeting two weeks ago at Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills. Few speakers favored the project at its proposed site, saying it would destroy a prized wilderness area while straining an already overtaxed public infrastructure system.
“We would love to see it go somewhere else,” said Laurie Biby, public relations coordinator for the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. “We have no bad feelings for Simon, we just wish they would look at another site.”
Biby said the coalition’s biggest concern is the potential damage that runoff would cause to the nearby Westside YMCA and the pristine Mooser Creek. “That is something we really need to take into account — the quality of life issue in Tulsa,” she said.
Simon, owner of Woodland Hills Mall, announced plans to construct the upscale outlet mall last year.
The developer is seeking to rezone most of the property to make it all corridor zoning and create an overlay district — called a corridor development plan — that would set out the specific development requirements. The YMCA of Greater Tulsa Board of Directors has said it would not support the construction of the proposed mall if the development does not include some of the board’s recommendations for the project, according to a letter the YMCA provided to city councilors.
The mall would be built directly north of the Westside YMCA summer camp, which serves approximately 3,600 young people each year. Biby said she hopes Tulsa residents concerned about the proposed mall will stay engaged in the process.
“Because by no means do we think we are done with this,” she said.