REI

[PonderInc]

I've been to REI stores all over the country, and yes, many of them are pretty nondescript and located in strip malls, big box shopping centers, etc.  However, several of them are not.  It seems that when the city demands something better, the developers can deliver.  We didn't demand something better.  We sold Manhattan for some beads and didn't demand anything in return.

Had REI announced plans to open a store in an existing shopping center, I wouldn't have batted an eye about it.  Lord knows, any existing shopping center in Tulsa would already have all the pavement any developer could possibly want. And they could have plugged their store template right in there without any effort.

My beef is that this was park land.  It's adjacent to the most important recreational trail in the region. But the proposed development is a sad, typical, suburban Dallas mediocrity that turns it's back to the trail and surrounds itself with an extra 200 parking spaces over and above Tulsa's ridiculously excessive parking requirements. The landscaping is paltry, as per usual in these giant parking lots in Tulsa. (Thanks, lame zoning code!)

Bland mediocrity is everywhere in America.  REI's are everywhere in America.  How does that set us apart?  How does that attract anyone to Tulsa? Why should we sacrifice park space when we have so much existing mediocre commercial space available for lease throughout town? 

(By the way, just because we weren't able to invest in the park during the past 15 years like we should have doesn't mean that future generations wouldn't have done so. Did anyone see the 1999 plans for what Helmerich Park was envisioned to be?  It could have been amazing!)

It matters that we demand high quality development.  We can't think that accumulating an assortment of national chains (that already exist everywhere else, remember) will make us a great place.  We certainly can't think that accepting the basic-level design template of those corporations is good enough. If that's all Tulsa has to offer, we should all move to Topeka.  I hear they have an Olive Garden there!

[cannon_fodder]

Exactly. Very well stated.

Our leaders have consistently failed to demand excellence. We have failed to stick to a coherent plan. WE are consistently behind the curve in adopting things that other cities already had success with  (OKC has success with a city revitalization project - 10 years later, Tulsa wants that too. OKC has success with a NCAA eligible arena, 10 years later Tulsa wants that too. OKC builds a new ballpark, 10 years later... OKC makes a plan to put in light rail, start the clock).

NEWS FLASH:  Tulsa will never "get ahead" but being slow to implement what everyone else is doing. We will never be the biggest city in the region. We will never be the capital city. We cannot build cheaper homes than Collinsville, or more new subdivisions than Jenks.

What we can be, what we should be, is a urban regional hub that has unique things to offer. QUALITY matters much more than quantity. In the last few years we've added a new Academy, a couple of Dicks, a Gander Mountain, and soon an REI... so what? Add 10 more big box outdoors stores. Lets put in a "Tulsa Hills East" and replicate that entire development. So what? That's not offering anything that any suburb anywhere in the US can offer. So why would a company, or an educated young professional, or a family man, or an entrepreneur choose Tulsa?

I have family and friends come to Tulsa all the time. I help out of town kids going to law school find their way around town. I take people NOT from Tulsa around Tulsa. They think Jenks is nice. They think BA is a great suburb. They are impressed with all the new shiny thinks in Owasso. But when I take the to Cherry Street, Utica Square, Brookside, and the Brady District - they are amazed that all this life is in Tulsa, OK. Things they associate with big, expensive, sprawling cities. Unique, interesting things. People who have been around the world, who have lived in major cities, and who expected to come to Tulsa and see nothing BUT bland, suburban development you can see everyone else.

But our policies are designed to add to the bland, suburban developments you can see anywhere else. When Bantonville, Arkansas has stricter requirements for new Walmarts than Tulsa... we've done something wrong. Development for development sake is a failed goal. Trading parkland for bland development is beyond failure.

[Ibanez]

We can't help it.

You can't expect excellence from a population of a state that had "Oklahoma is OK" on our license plates as an unofficial/official motto for years.

I fully expect our next plate design to say "Oklahoma, hey at least we aren't Mississippi"

   

[heironymouspasparagus]

We can't help it.

You can't expect excellence from a population of a state that had "Oklahoma is OK" on our license plates as an unofficial/official motto for years.

I fully expect our next plate design to say "Oklahoma, hey at least we aren't Mississippi"

   

Yeah...we ain't Mississippi all right... THEY put more money per child into education than we do!  We are #50!!  And Mary Failin' is darn-tootin' proud of that accomplishment....

[Ibanez]

Yeah...we ain't Mississippi all right... THEY put more money per child into education than we do!  We are #50!!  And Mary Failin' is darn-tootin' proud of that accomplishment....

That's an entirely different discussion. One that should begin with the waste at the admin level in our schools......but let's not get off topic here. 

[heironymouspasparagus]

That's an entirely different discussion. One that should begin with the waste at the admin level in our schools......but let's not get off topic here.  

Wait a minute...did I logon to the wrong forum??  This is TulsaNow, isn't it??   Isn't "off-topic" one of our ways of life....??  Need bumper stickers with the TN Logo that say something like, "Thread Drift Rules..." !!



Kinda related, almost - goes to the whole 'demanding excellence' idea.  Which sadly, we don't way too often...

[Conan71]

It matters that we demand high quality development.  We can't think that accumulating an assortment of national chains (that already exist everywhere else, remember) will make us a great place.  We certainly can't think that accepting the basic-level design template of those corporations is good enough. If that's all Tulsa has to offer, we should all move to Topeka.  I hear they have an Olive Garden there!

Topeka?  Isn't that where things that suck go to feel better about themselves?

One thing about Ft. Collins is there were no pole signs along the stretch where the REI was and their centers were better landscaped than ones commonly found here.  Until you drive through an area without pole signs, it's hard to imagine what an improvement that really is!

[TheArtist]

Topeka?  Isn't that where things that suck go to feel better about themselves?

One thing about Ft. Collins is there were no pole signs along the stretch where the REI was and their centers were better landscaped than ones commonly found here.  Until you drive through an area without pole signs, it's hard to imagine what an improvement that really is!

Bravo.  When I started noticing that in other cities, how nice one area looked and how trashy another did, and wasn't exactly sure what the difference was building wise, store wise, etc. but then someone pointed out that the nice area had no pole signs it clicked, "Ah, your right, I somehow didn't notice that, but it does make a difference."

[Conan71]

Bravo.  When I started noticing that in other cities, how nice one area looked and how trashy another did, and wasn't exactly sure what the difference was building wise, store wise, etc. but then someone pointed out that the nice area had no pole signs it clicked, "Ah, your right, I somehow didn't notice that, but it does make a difference."

When you are used to the idea there are no pole signs, it totally scotches the notion that you can't find a business without that eye clutter.  That should have been worked into the latest zoning change.

[PonderInc]

Can anyone verify whether or not the developer has actually signed a lease with REI?  The sales contract was contingent upon that.  We also need to see how many days they had to finalize the lease with REI before the contract becomes void.

In related news, here's a petition you might want to support...

https://www.change.org/p/mayor-of-tulsa-develop-71st-amp-riverside-in-a-responsible-manner

[Conan71]

Can anyone verify whether or not the developer has actually signed a lease with REI?  The sales contract was contingent upon that.  We also need to see how many days they had to finalize the lease with REI before the contract becomes void.

In related news, here's a petition you might want to support...

https://www.change.org/p/mayor-of-tulsa-develop-71st-amp-riverside-in-a-responsible-manner

Shaming editorials might get further with the mayor than the petition would. 

[carltonplace]

Shaming editorials might get further with the mayor than the petition would. 

Really? He seems kinda Trumpy.

I still signed it though.

[sgrizzle]

It seems like anyone who would care about a petition has no say in this at this point other than maybe REI and they don't seem real responsive.

[PonderInc]

Does anyone have any updates on REI?

The sales contract was "conditioned upon Buyer, on or before Closing, entering into a satisfactory Lease or Purchase and Sale Contract pursuant to which Buyer leases or sells all or part of the Property to a high-end outdoor retailer that offers its own line of high-quality sports and outdoor gear and apparel, in addition to products from other top brands."

I've been trying to find something in the TPFA minutes, but it's hard to find approved minutes online.

The Oct 12, 2015 agenda includes the following intriguing statement:

"Consider a motion and vote to enter Executive Session...to discuss pending and potential litigation regarding the Purchase and Sale Contract for land owned by Tulsa Public Facilities Authority at 71st and Riverside, for the purpose of allowing confidential communications between a public body and its attorney concerning a pending claim, investigation, or litigation."

So, it sounds like they haven't signed a lease yet.  Does anyone know how the "pending an potential litigation" is going?

[BKDotCom]

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3scce7/i_am_jerry_stritzke_ceo_of_rei_and_were_closing/cww1b3t

I am Jerry Stritzke, CEO of REI and we're closing all of our stores on Black Friday. Ask me anything!

I have become a huge fan of the bike trails around Lake Washington in Seattle. Turkey Mountain in Tulsa Oklahoma Bear Mountain north of NYC. I loved sneaking off to the High Line in NYC.

I responded that the proposed store in Tulsa sucks.

Edit:   confused what's going on with the /r/tulsa thread