REI

[utulsadenverite]

Why is it theft to quote sell land to developers that will pay property taxes, use utilities, and increase sales tax? REI one of the best outdoor stores there is and treats their employees about as well as any retail establishment in America.  There are still going to be trails on the river. Stop crying.

[Townsend]

Why is it theft to quote sell land to developers that will pay property taxes, use utilities, and increase sales tax? REI one of the best outdoor stores there is and treats their employees about as well as any retail establishment in America.  There are still going to be trails on the river. Stop crying.

You live in Denver.  Concern yourself with what you see every day in Denver.

Try to comprehend the concerns listed by people who live in and thus have concerns in Tulsa before you post like an jackass.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Why is it theft to quote sell land to developers that will pay property taxes, use utilities, and increase sales tax? REI one of the best outdoor stores there is and treats their employees about as well as any retail establishment in America.  There are still going to be trails on the river. Stop crying.

Growth for growth's sake...??


Volume over substance.

Oklahoma versus most other states.

[dsjeffries]

OK, I'm confused about something.

Here's the contract again: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0BgaBXva60WSGlPUzQwVmowYWs/view?pli=1

Closing is supposed to take place 30 days after the expiration of the Inspection Period.
The Inspection Period is 30 days after the effective date of this contract (which was back in August 2015), and it can be extended for two additional 30 day periods.

Then it says: (See p. 8, section 6) "This contract...[is] specifically 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."

But REI says they won't sign a lease until the legal stuff is cleared up.

There's an interesting little sentence that follows this: "In the event that the foregoing condition has not been satisfied or waived on or before the expiration of the time periods set out above, then either Seller or Buyer shall be entitled to terminate this contract without liability upon written notification to the other party..."

So, we have this special clause to ensure we get something other than typical Dallas crap (oh, wait, the whole development is typical Dallas crap, but at least it would have an REI in amongst the crap).  But, actually, it doesn't really mean anything because this clause can be waived, and doesn't appear to be binding unless one of the parties wants it to be.

Cannon_Fodder...

Either party can terminate the entire contract now that the conditions were not met before or on the expiration of that timeframe, but that seems highly unlikely. CBRE has gone and added more renderings and built a new webpage around this development (of course, with no mention of the lawsuits) and are still soliciting retailers. They're not going to back out. TPFA isn't likely to back out either, since they've dug their heels in on the lawsuits. It's just an option.

[cannon_fodder]

Why is it theft to quote sell land to developers that will pay property taxes, use utilities, and increase sales tax? REI one of the best outdoor stores there is and treats their employees about as well as any retail establishment in America.  There are still going to be trails on the river. Stop crying.

- The land is being sold undervalue, when compared to all property sold nearby.

- The developer is receiving massive subsidies, including many tax kickbacks and more kickbacks for infrastructure.

- It is doubtful that there will be any realized increase in sale tax revenue. 90+% of the funds the store takes in will be funds currently spent at Academy, Bass Pro, Dicks, Gander Mountain, Midwest Sporting Goods or a group of local stores.

- And using utilities is utterly irrelevant unless you are Detroit and shrinking, such that your existing plants are not economical.  

I will be happy to see what REI has to offer. And I understand that they treat their employees well and do try to be involved in the community. That isn't my concern. My concern is giving away too much public money for a generic development that will detract from outdoor recreation in Tulsa.

Why can't they just build a store that embraces the trail, the volleyball courts, and the River? Seems logical. The vast majority of opposition goes away if the development is done well.

[cannon_fodder]

Looking at the new stuff on the website, http://ucr.com/property/riverside-parkway-development/ :

1) They have parking now listed at 316 spaces
2) The REI is now facing north, it does not entirely have its back to the river
3) The wall facing the trails is not a stark naked giant wall

Improvement...

Credit where do! I hope they keep moving in the right direction.

Also, the building is labeled "Riverfront Sports," which made me chuckle. Also also, HELMERICH PARK is labeled on their map... not a park.

Finally, and this is just making fun of their graphic designer to be mean, the rendering showing two cyclists next to each other on the trail shows a woman in a short sleeve jersey unzipped with a hot pink sportsbra, next to a man in a long sleeve jersey. Is it hot or cold  people. Hot or cold!

[DowntownDan]

What's so special about REI anyway?  I thought the appeal was that it was a unique outdoor focused business.  There's nothing unique about a generic strip mall design that fails to utilize the river bank and trails it abuts.

[dsjeffries]

Looking at the new stuff on the website, http://ucr.com/property/riverside-parkway-development/ :

1) They have parking now listed at 316 spaces
2) The REI is now facing north, it does not entirely have its back to the river
3) The wall facing the trails is not a stark naked giant wall

Improvement...

Credit where do! I hope they keep moving in the right direction.

Also, the building is labeled "Riverfront Sports," which made me chuckle. Also also, HELMERICH PARK is labeled on their map... not a park.

Finally, and this is just making fun of their graphic designer to be mean, the rendering showing two cyclists next to each other on the trail shows a woman in a short sleeve jersey unzipped with a hot pink sportsbra, next to a man in a long sleeve jersey. Is it hot or cold  people. Hot or cold!

Nothing has changed, unfortunately.

1. The parking spaces listed are only for development area "A" (the part north of the cul-de-sac/loading docks). The south part also contains roughly 300 spots.
2. The store has always faced north.
3. The 35 foot tall wall that faces the trail is still completely blank except at the NW corner.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

- The land is being sold undervalue, when compared to all property sold nearby.

- The developer is receiving massive subsidies, including many tax kickbacks and more kickbacks for infrastructure.

- It is doubtful that there will be any realized increase in sale tax revenue. 90+% of the funds the store takes in will be funds currently spent at Academy, Bass Pro, Dicks, Gander Mountain, Midwest Sporting Goods or a group of local stores.

- And using utilities is utterly irrelevant unless you are Detroit and shrinking, such that your existing plants are not economical.  

Thank you for the great response!

If a deal is made which sells public property which has not been offered to the general public and greatly undercuts the value, that is basically stealing from the City of Tulsa. Potential taxes will not make up for that huge of a loss (millions of dollars as discussed earlier).

They should've opened up the land for proposals like they did with the PAC parking lot. You get many ideas and can choose the best use of land for the public. If this were among many proposals, it is highly unlikely it would it be the best use of space.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Nothing has changed, unfortunately.

1. The parking spaces listed are only for development area "A" (the part north of the cul-de-sac/loading docks). The south part also contains roughly 300 spots.
2. The store has always faced north.
3. The 35 foot tall wall that faces the trail is still completely blank except at the NW corner.

So  basically the same thing but meant to mislead anyone looking. :/

This developer and those involved are really looking like scoundrels.

[Conan71]

Why is it theft to quote sell land to developers that will pay property taxes, use utilities, and increase sales tax? REI one of the best outdoor stores there is and treats their employees about as well as any retail establishment in America.  There are still going to be trails on the river. Stop crying.

Apparently those of us you consider whiners don't think Tulsa should show such a lack of self-esteem in terms of development.  Again, there is nothing about this development which is dripping with "cool factor" that would make someone like you move back to Tulsa, now is there?

[Ed W]

We have a finite amount of public space. If we allow it to be nibbled away, there's no way to replace it. What's next, Turkey Mountain?

James Watt, Reagan's Interior Secretary, proposed "improving" wilderness areas by building hotels and golf courses in them. If anything, the pro-development crowd has become even more tone deaf since then, or perhaps they're more openly greedy.

[BKDotCom]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/big-plans-led-to-big-dispute-over-best-use-of/article_f2605f6d-dd54-565d-a74a-a778b5f10abe.html

"One, it's the city's land because the city paid for it, and Oklahoma law is clear on this.

"Two, the land is an active public park in use by the public ... and cannot be sold."

"Three, the land has never been declared abandoned and has never been declared surplus. That can be done only by the City Council."

This deal / transaction / development smells worse than the river.

[PonderInc]

The glamorous new color sketches are funny.  The approved landscaping plan shows exactly 6 trees along the back of the building: 2 redbuds and a swamp white oak in one cluster towards the north, and a loblolly pine and two shumard oaks in another cluster towards the middle of the building.

I'm also curious what all those cyclists are doing back by that area at the back of the building that isn't a door.  Are they window shopping?  They're certainly not taking their bikes into the store for a tuneup... since there's no door there.

[patric]

The glamorous new color sketches are funny.  The approved landscaping plan shows exactly 6 trees along the back of the building: 2 redbuds and a swamp white oak in one cluster towards the north, and a loblolly pine and two shumard oaks in another cluster towards the middle of the building.

I'm also curious what all those cyclists are doing back by that area at the back of the building that isn't a door.  Are they window shopping?  They're certainly not taking their bikes into the store for a tuneup... since there's no door there.

...And no lighting in the parking lot whatsoever.  Im sure thats a totally honest representation of exactly what they are planning.

/s