The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Video Gaming Technologies is proposing to buy and renovate the former Walmart in Broken Arrow for an Office/Warehouse facility.  It will house 150 full-time employees.  VGT is currently in Tulsa and spread out among various sites.  This will allow them to consolidate to one location.  This site has been vacant for more than 10 years so I am glad to see it being renovated. 

Meh.  Better than it sit vacant I guess.

It seems to me like most abandoned Wal-marts never turn into anything decent looking.  At the risk of hijacking the thread, I must ask, are there examples out there where a former shell of a Wal-mart actually turned into something good for the area it abandoned?   Examples of the building actually being modified enough to look visually appealing instead of depressing?

71st is like a graveyard of Wal-marts.  The one being talked about here (71st & County Line) was actually the replacement for the one at 71st & Elm I believe.  2 generations of abandoned Wal-marts in 2 miles.  Then of course there is one at 71st & Riverside, which is now Open Bible Fellowship.

What limits does Wal-mart place on the property when they leave?  Do they own the properties indefinitely until someone comes along with a bland non-entertainment non-retail idea that serves their purpose of keeping that area a dead zone?  And while QuikTrip is viewed as a darling among local businesses, could you say it is starting to follow the same practice, just with smaller buildings?

A quick google search to get me started on the topic of repurposing old Wal-marts found me this article which I found pretty interesting:
 Once A Wal-Mart: The New Lives Of Big Boxes (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95788156) (npr.org)

One thing that really agitated me was this quote:

To think of all of that infrastructure wasted by Wal-marts just moving along like a hermit crab annoys me.

I have been wanting to buy an old Wal Mart, but haven't quite been able to get there from here.  Would make a wonderful little manufacturing plant - light industrial.

Kind of like what McElroy did to the old Kmart on Admiral.  (Haven't been there in a while, so don't know for sure if they are still there, either.)

The abandoned WalMart in Jenks on Peoria-Elm just north of the turnpike was turned into a Reasors.  Now it is an abandoned Reasors since the new Reasors was built just a bit south of the old one.

The ex-WalMart in Bixby at 151st & Memorial is now a Sutherlands. 

The best redevelopment example I have personally seen is in Edmond, OK at 33rd and Broadway.  Hobby Lobby is the anchor tenant.  Here is the rendering and the actual project looks a lot like this. 

(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1322/4723453032_6ebb1e911e_b.jpg)

This is happening in a lot of area's around the country. There was a WalMart Super Center, minus the grocery store section, at 7th Ave and Bell Road four miles from where I used to live in north Phoenix. They closed that store when they built a true Super WalMart and a Sam's Club together a mile west of the 7th Ave location and right next door to the Turf Paradise horse track. (There is some irony there somewhere) The old location was left with a Staples and Pet Smart, and a small strip center in the parking lot, and the only places left are Staples, Pet Smart, an Asain food resturaunt and a pool supply place. WalMart has a habit of building new and bigger places near former places, and when they do it kills the old location and anything that was around it. Having watched the documentary "WalMart: The High Cost of Low Prices" there is a lot of truth to there current business model. They have on several occasions in the Phoenix metro area built new locations, killing the area around the old locations that they abandon and nothing goes into the old location.

Off topic but related, I am curious as to any TNF members that are familar with Costco as compared to Sam's Club and their thoughts on the similartities and differences compared to both of them. Please do not include the liquor department and the optical department as I understand the laws, Oklahoma does not allow eye exams in places such as WalMart, Sam's Club, Sears, etc, and most of us know the liquor laws in OK as well.(And I do not want to go there on the liquor laws)

The old Wal-Mart in Owasso looks pretty good sectioned out like they did. The one at 71st and County line has just been a used car lot for so long, Im glad to hear something is going to go in there. With all the other retail surrounding it. Its hard to believe it has taken this long.
The new Wal-Mart just up the street at the Creek Nation just does not seem to attract that much business. And I dont see a whole lot of other retail beating a path to join them at that location.

Now if someone can be found to go into that empty Albertsons.

Is the old Wal Mart at Admiral and Mingo still empty? I remember it was for sale forever and I have not been by there in a long time.

No, some company is housed there and has been for some time.  It's more of a mini-industrial park now.  And all jacked up because they're doing resurfacing along the circle so traffic is a bear out there.

Sam's: Ripoff customers, screw their employees

Costco: Sunshine and rainbows.

Love me some sunshine and rainbows

Screw their employees probably.  Customers?  Tires I buy cost $3.75 more at Sam's than Costco, same install/balance/warranty fee and the membership is 30 for Sam's and 50 for Costco.  Other quick checks I have looked at on the web sites show they are very close.  And since there is no Costco nearby, I am stuck.

Have OFTEN found the same item at Wal Mart cheaper than at Sam's, so one must know what one is buying.  After that, Sam's is ok for pricing - pretty good but not always the best.

The new Walmart at the Creek Turnpike and 71st gets a steady flow of traffic and will only see its sales increase as the population increases.  Walmart built that location because the Walmart at 71st and Aspen was so busy that they needed to relieve some of the traffic at that location while also plan for future growth in the northeast side of Broken Arrow.  Sales tax has steadily increased in BA and the new Walmart is part of the reason, as is the new Target shopping center.  Sales will also increase once other business locate here. 

Wagoner County gets the sales tax from the new Wal-Mart. Thats one of the problems with anything up 71st. The tax is even higher than Tulsa.

I think by .03 cents so driving further to save .03 cents isn't worth it. 

Where exactly is this?  I'd like to find a Wal Mart that isn't busy all the time for the occasional times that I shop there.  The one on 81st and Lewis is awful.  I spend more time in line there than I do shopping.

Sand Springs would probably fit that bill...

Bugo,
You don't want the 71st store they are talking about.  It is about 263rd east avenue.  Right next to the Creek Turnpike where it crosses 71st.  East of Broken Arrow.

The store is located at 209th E. Ave and and 71st.  The Walmart Supercenter at 121st and 161st. E. Ave (Elm) in south Broken Arrow is never over-crowded either. 

Doesn't take a crowd to get in a long line at Wal-mart.  They love to only have one or two registers (out of 40?) open, manned by the slowest person they can possibly find.

That one at 121st always seems to be busy when I go there.  Must be hitting the wrong times.  Often frustrating.  And then the close down the checkout aisles!