Urban Walmart

[MichaelC]

From Tulsa World

quote: A mixed-use development that might include an urban-designed Wal-Mart is being planned on a downtown site that had been proposed for a baseball stadium.

Claremore real estate developer John Williams would neither confirm nor deny that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is included in the plans for his development.

Williams, the sole principal of Downtown Tulsa Developers LLC, said he hasn't "personally talked" to Wal-Mart, "but it would be wonderful to have it if it fits."

Williams would not say if others have talked to Wal-Mart on his behalf, but he did say that if Wal-Mart locates a store there, it would be in an urban-style development.

He said he has talked to other retail, office and housing developers but said disclosing any details would be premature.

"The project I have planned -- if it comes into fruition -- will be a tremendous asset for Tulsa," he said. "It will be done well. It will be done right, and it will be done architecturally compatible. It will be a class act."

Williams said he has contracts to purchase land owned by Bill White and aerospace component manufacturer the Nordam Group, as well as a few other properties in
the area called the East End.

The area is generally located between Detroit Avenue and U.S. 75 and between Eighth and First streets.

Nordam owns the most parcels in the area, with White next in line.

When Nordam Chief Executive Officer Ken Lackey was asked if Nordam was negotiating with Wal-Mart, he said, "It's not Wal-Mart directly."

The White and Nordam properties had been part of a larger mixed-use development proposed by Global Development Partners, based in Washington, D.C. That proposal included plans for a new minor-league baseball stadium to house the Tulsa Drillers.

But Lackey said Nordam's land purchase contract with Global was terminated in early January after Nordam asked a judge to release it from the agreement.

"They (Global) were never able to consummate the transaction pursuant to the terms of the contract," Lackey said.

He said Nordam's contract with Williams still depends on winning certain concessions from the city, such as tax increment financing.

White said Global "obviously got into financial difficulties and kept having delays."

"You know, a businessman can only wait so long," he said regarding why he opted to contract with Williams instead of Global.

Global Development's Tim Kissler said the level of complexity of what his company was proposing and the complexity of the financing made it a time-consuming process.

"We certainly gave it a solid effort. We came up with the financing, but albeit just a little too late for the sellers," he said.

Kissler said the proposed baseball field would have been on the White and Nordam properties.

"So, basically, you've taken the core of it, and we can no longer do what we planned with the stadium," he said.

The city's economic development director, Don Himelfarb, said that no matter what occurs with either proposal, "the city is committed to having the Tulsa Drillers in a downtown venue."

He also said the city has seen the proposed plans from both developers and that "we're confident either one would be a great addition to the East End."

Kissler said his mixed-use development proposal is on a wait-and-see status.

"We're still interested in doing a project like we proposed in Tulsa, and we'll be exploring our options," he said.

Tulsa Development Authority Chairman Carl Bracy said whatever is developed in the East End needs to be something that helps downtown grow.

"Wal-Mart could be a tremendous engine in terms of funds for a Tax Increment Financing District," he said.

But he questioned whether a Wal-Mart would affect locally owned specialty shops intended for downtown.

"We need to look five to 10 years down the road and decide what we really want downtown to look like and work towards building a key destination point for all ages," he said.

Bracy said Wal-Mart has redesigned its stores that are in urban environments.

"In Little Rock, there is one in an exclusive neighborhood. I drove past it, and I almost didn't recognize it," he said. "It's amazing how they can fit right into the environment."

Jim Norton, president of Downtown Tulsa Unlimited, said he can't talk about a possible Wal-Mart store until an actual deal is made.

But he did say that if any big-box retailer plans to locate downtown, the appearance, landscaping and parking cannot destroy the fabric of downtown.

[NellieBly]

As a downtown worker bee, I would like to see some sort of shopping close by. There is absolutely nothing to do at lunch down here except eat and visit the library, or perhaps visit someone in jail. A Walgreens or some type of similar store would be excellent. I am not sure we need a WalMart, but it would be nice for people who live in and near downtown to have some services besides bars and restaurants.

[Chris]

I think the benefit they're looking at as far as having a Wal-Mart there is its possibility of being a cash cow for the TIF. Which it probably would be, but I hope the decision makers think seriously about what we want our downtown to be 5 to 10 years from now. I personally hope they don't take the easy money here, another Wal-Mart is NOT what we need in Tulsa.

[Editor]

See already existing thread on this topic:
http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5967