Downtown Wal-Mart

[MichaelC]

From Tulsa World

quote:A Supercenter will anchor an east-end redevelopment project.


An urban-designed Wal-Mart Supercenter is coming downtown as the anchor tenant to a proposed East Village mixed-use redevelopment project, developers confirmed Thursday.

Real estate developers John Williams of Claremore and Tom Seay of Arkansas have teamed on the project.

Williams, sole principal of Downtown Tulsa Developers LLC, has purchase options on about 15 acres of land owned by Bill White, owner of a former car dealership, and the Nordam Group, an aerospace component manufacturer.

The property sits roughly between Frankfort Avenue and U.S. 75 between Fourth and Sixth streets.

"Once the public understands the project and what it will do to the whole east end, I can't possibly imagine why they wouldn't come on board," Williams said.

Seay, a former Wal-Mart executive vice president for real estate construction, now owns the Seayco Group, which has developed many "big box" retail centers, including several in Tulsa and one in Owasso.

In addition to Wal-Mart, the tenants that Seay works closely with include Target or Super Target, Kohls, Belk, Lowe's
and Home Depot.

"Not only is Wal-Mart going to bring the goods and the services and all the low prices they're known for, they also are going to build a quality product so that they have something to be proud of," Seay said.

"This is very exciting for downtown," he said. "It represents the first step toward redeveloping downtown by taking what is a blighted area and transforming it into a place where people can shop and live in an urban environment."

Williams said the development will be the first in nearly 50 years to occur in east downtown.

The project also includes about 150 apartments "that fit into the streetscape fronting on Fourth and Fifth streets with a parking deck," Seay said.

Surface parking also would be screened with landscaping and metal fencing, he said.

Seay said the Supercenter would be slightly smaller, at 150,000 square feet, to fit the downtown site, and will have a different exterior.

"It will be urbanized," he said.

The single-story store will have a red brick facade with some stucco and will back up to Lansing Avenue near U.S. 75.

Seay said the final design plans are not complete for the project.

Both men acknowledge they still have a lot of bridges to cross and they are working closely with the city.

"We also know we need to go meet with various downtown groups that are interested in downtown redevelopment and the City Council," he said.

Williams said another positive for the project is that a downtown Wal-Mart "would create a great service to north Tulsa because it's so close."

Seay said any effort by the city's administration to get a Wal-Mart into the vacant Albertsons store at 1601 N. Peoria Ave. will not affect the downtown project.

"We have a commitment," he said about Wal-Mart going downtown.

Wal-Mart officials plan to join Seay and Williams when they begin the public education process.

Seay and Williams said they hope to have some activity on the project within the next year to 18 months.

[booWorld]

Without seeing the site plan or any design drawings yet, some points sound interesting:

- 150 apartments

- a parking deck

-an attempt to blend with existing streetscapes along 4th and 5th

I'd like to see the existing street grid preserved.  Also, it would be nice if 5th was opened between Frankfort and Kenosha.

[MichaelC]

Sounds about right.  And it would be nice for them to maintain the current grid.

I can put my general hatred for everything Wal-Mart aside, if the developer does something positive for the area.  Even if the WM isn't perfect, if it's surrounded by better designed residential, I probably won't complain too much.

[perspicuity85]

If the store doesn't front the street, I don't see how it can be called "urban."  Will this supercenter also have one of those awful 30-foot tall signs?  That will really kill the view from the east side of the IDL if that horrible blue and yellow Wal-Mart sign blocks the view of the skyline.  Are there currently any restrictions regarding tall signs in downtown?  I'm guessing probably not.....

You can call them snobs if you want, but those young professionals, every city's favorite target market, will ultimately think a Wal-Mart cheapens downtown's image.

[emersonbiggins]

Hi all; there's good reason to think that Wal-Mart may actually be turning over a new leaf with its urban store prototype.  Consider this gem, revealed to an absolutely BITTER public in Austin a few months back:





Downtown Tulsa could certainly herald this type of development.

[sgrizzle]

BF posted some concept drawings of a similar development. on the other thread:
http://tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7227&whichpage=2

[cannon_fodder]

Finger's crossed...

"minimal surface parking, minimal surface parking"

If everything is as it appears, I think it is a good step.  I would prefer 10 small entrepreneurs opening up quality shops, but that isnt happening.

[Friendly Bear]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

BF posted some concept drawings of a similar development. on the other thread:
http://tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7227&whichpage=2

Wonder if enough pollution abatement
CAN be done to the Nordam site that is part of this "East Village" development?

One of the apparent reasons that the influential Siegfried Family has been trying to unload this property on to the City of Tulsa at least as far back as the defeated 1997 The Tulsa Project $0.005 sales tax increase, was because if Nordam ever abandoned the site, then they would have to CLEAN UP THE POLLUTION.

So, they attempted to "clean" the property by transferring it over to a government entity to "WASH" the transaction, so to speak, and absolve themselves of the onerous pollution abatement.

[xx(]

[NellieBly]

Don't care how you dress it up, it's still a WalMart. Can't we do better? How about a Reasor's instead? Larry, are you out there???

[DwnTwnTul]

More details regarding this project from Tulsa Business Journal:  http://www.tulsabusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=45620

[cannon_fodder]

quote:Originally posted by NellieBly

Don't care how you dress it up, it's still a WalMart. Can't we do better? How about a Reasor's instead? Larry, are you out there???

In 50 years, the fact is we HAVEN'T done better.  The way the TBJ article talks it doesnt sound all bad.  I'm glad someone is willing to step up.

Are we to wait another 50 years for development in that area?

[sgrizzle]

I'm intrigued by the idea of living at walmart...

[RecycleMichael]

I'll make you some curtains out of the plastic bags they give out.

[cannon_fodder]

Just remembered, the Wal-Mart episode of South Park was on last night.  Remember:  the Wal-Mart is in all of us.

(translation, dont shop there and it will go away)

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by emersonbiggins

Hi all; there's good reason to think that Wal-Mart may actually be turning over a new leaf with its urban store prototype.  Consider this gem, revealed to an absolutely BITTER public in Austin a few months back:





Downtown Tulsa could certainly herald this type of development.

dude....if downtown gets something like that I'm buying lofts downtown and moving in with all the other smuggites down there.