City with a plan: Midwest City luncheon provides comprehensive

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), May 26, 2006 by Kevan Goff-Parker

More than a plateful of plans were dished up during Thursday's Midwest City and Eastern Oklahoma County Commercial Brokers, Bankers and Developers Luncheon at Rose State College in Midwest City.

Orchestrated by David T. Burnett, director of economic development for the Midwest City Chamber of Commerce, the luncheon offered 10 speakers who addressed topics from Tinker Air Force Base's ongoing reconstruction plans to Rose State College's newest offerings and construction projects and Midwest City's ongoing and upcoming commercial and industrial developments.

Tinker Air Force Base's Carmie Ashley, an architect, said the base is attempting to relieve safety and traffic congestion problems at its various gates by pulling the gates back into Tinker.

At Rose State College, President Dr. Jim Cook said the university would have a groundbreaking event on its new $7 million Technology Training Center on June 15.

He also briefed the crowd about the construction of the college's future $11.75 million Health Science Center, which is being designed by The Benham Group. He described the future health center as our ace card to help students studying health care to prepare for the growing influx of seniors who will need health care.

Billy Harless, director of the community development department for the city of Midwest City, discussed the city's involvement in the 29th Street Town Center Plaza, the new Wal-Mart Supercenter at NE 23rd and Douglas Boulevard, Hudiburg Drive's improvements, and the new 165-acre industrial park planned at NE 23rd Street and Air Depot Boulevard.

We've got projects spread around the four corners of the community, Harless said.

He said the goal of the 29th Street Town Center Plaza is to improve Midwest City's image, boost economic development and create a people place.

Audience members gave slight applause when he mentioned some of the commercial tenants that will be moving into the area, including Starbucks and Panera Bread.

Phase II is under construction but should be compete by fall, Harless said. Then we'll begin Phase III, which will be 203,000 square feet of retail space.

Overall, he said the commercial district is 629,000 square feet of retail.

He said the new Wal-Mart Supercenter at NE 23rd Street and Douglas Boulevard will offer new commercial development around the business and the Hudiburg Drive street improvements will improve access for those traveling to Rose State College and Midwest City's hospitality district. He said the industrial park is still in the design concept stage.

North Star Companies LLC's Joseph Atkinson said he learned the hard way about how to improve a community and is using his knowledge in the private-sector redevelopment of Midwest City.

I learned that when the tide comes in, all ships rise, Atkinson said.

He briefed the audience on the redevelopment of the Uptown Center, the renovation of the Journal Building at SE 15th Street and Key Boulevard, and Glenhaven Village, a private gated home addition.

Chip Carter, a Trammell Crow Co. vice president and project manager for MROTC, discussed the history and the future of the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Technology Center, which will stand on 210 acres across from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.

This is a stand-alone project, Carter said. It is not a U.S. Air Force Base project. It is an industry-led project.

He said after the July 4 holiday, Douglas Boulevard would be closed for construction until October.

Other speakers briefed attendees on an array of topics, including a new business park at SE 29th Street and Douglas Boulevard, which is in a HUBZone, improvements planned for the beleaguered Heritage Park Mall, a new housing developments, the Tinker Business Industrial Park.

After the luncheon, Louis Almaraz, one of the two brokers with Grubb & Ellis/Levy Beffort LLC, who represents the California-based investors who now own Heritage Park Mark, said his company serves as the leasing broker soliciting future tenants for the mall.

Until the current owner acquired the property about a year ago, very little money had been reinvested into the property in the way of general upkeep and maintenance, as well as continuing to seek out and improve the tenant mix, Almaraz said. Maintaining a good balance of tenant mix is an unending task because you have to continually replace and upgrade your tenants. This requires a financial commitment that the prior owner was apparently unwilling to commit to.

He said Heritage Park Mall still has one anchor tenant, Sears, but the new owners plan make improvements and redesign how the center works in an effort to entice more anchor tenants.

They plan to convert it from a traditional interior mall to one that has its anchor tenants facing the street with outside storefront, Almaraz said. Today, shoppers really prefer open-air centers and they are enjoying much greater popularity than enclosed centers.

He said he anticipates a renovation cost of more than $15 million.

We are working toward having some fashion-oriented retailers, house wares and a movie theater, Almaraz said. We're very optimistic.