Thread: Hwy 92

Ironically they just put a thin layer of asphalt/oil on that whole road. I know at one point they were talking about it becoming a 4 lane, but I think that has gone away since it lost it's State Highway designation. I can't imagine what all those homes are going to do to Mustang schools.

No road improvements because this ain't downtown.

Originally Posted by stick47

Up to 300 new homes will be built in the Sienna and Chisholm Crossing additions on HWY 92 near SW 29th St. Does anyone know of any plans for road improvement there?

Well IMO it's going to cost the stores in the Target / Kohls area some business. Those like me who live South of 44th St will do more of our shopping in Mustang rather than deal with the traffic to the North.

they just put a thin layer of asphalt/oil on that whole road

Asphalt as in old shingles I believe. Judging from the glitter on the road surface I think what they did was take some loads of ground up shingles from that site along Reno between Council and the river and overlay the road with it. Whenever I drive on that it sounds and feels like my tires are begging for mercy!

Problem is Mustang still doesn't have that much shopping. Other than the basics, you have to drive to OKC. One of these days Mustang will realize some decent retail might be good for the area.

Originally Posted by Zuplar

Problem is Mustang still doesn't have that much shopping. Other than the basics, you have to drive to OKC. One of these days Mustang will realize some decent retail might be good for the area.

One of the issues in Mustang will be how much prime real estate, i.e. highway frontage is taken up with churches. Those church properties do not generate a tax revenue. Another issue is the poor planning that already occurred and general feeling to want Mustang to have a small town feel.

Frankly my wife and I mostly joke about what nice ditches most of Mustang has.

Originally Posted by Zuplar

Problem is Mustang still doesn't have that much shopping. Other than the basics, you have to drive to OKC. One of these days Mustang will realize some decent retail might be good for the area.

I see. So the reason Mustang doesn't have more retail is because they don't know it would be good for the area. Now I understand.

Sarcastic Friend, Thanks for your valuable input.

Originally Posted by cxl144

One of the issues in Mustang will be how much prime real estate, i.e. highway frontage is taken up with churches. Those church properties do not generate a tax revenue. Another issue is the poor planning that already occurred and general feeling to want Mustang to have a small town feel.

Frankly my wife and I mostly joke about what nice ditches most of Mustang has.

That remark might pass the bigoted, intolerant smell test but for the fact that there are scads of prime real estate on highway frontage. Take a drive down any of the roads in and near Mustang to see that the comment was simply a slam on "religion." We've actually seen quite a bit of new businesses come into the Mustang area, recently, and there are tons of places where more could go. If you are seeing ditches (and I don't disagree - there are plenty), you completely undermine your argument that the churches are taking up too much space. Churches bring in consumers and I promise, there aren't businesses leaving the area because all the good spots are covered with churches. That's nonsense.

Originally Posted by ljbab728

I see. So the reason Mustang doesn't have more retail is because they don't know it would be good for the area. Now I understand.

I know you thought you were cute with your little reply, but yes the general consensus is that retail ends up bringing people into the town which in return can result in increased crime. Mustang has hardly ever sought retail like so many other cities in the area. Mustang has just always been a bedroom community, not saying I agree with it, but that's how the chamber has always handled it.

Originally Posted by PennyQuilts

Take a drive down any of the roads in and near Mustang to see that the comment was simply a slam on "religion."

i took it differently... i don't think it was a slam on religion, but a slam on the tax exempt status of churches... Sure there is real estate available, but some very prime real estate in towns all across Oklahoma are taken up by something that doesn't pay property tax.

^^
More retail=more crime? That's a bit of a stretch, don't ya think?

The way Oklahoma cities fund themselves is sales tax. Everyone wants to live in a nice, country town with all of the basic conveniences, like smooth streets or adequate water/sewage. The problem is when you get the bill for that stuff, suddenly the nice country lifestyle doesn't seem so practical with no tax base.

Originally Posted by adaniel

^^
More retail=more crime? That's a bit of a stretch, don't ya think?

The way Oklahoma cities fund themselves is sales tax. Everyone wants to live in a nice, country town with all of the basic conveniences, like smooth streets or adequate water/sewage. The problem is when you get the bill for that stuff, suddenly the nice country lifestyle doesn't seem so practical with no tax base.

I don't disagree. Sure the more people that frequent an area the possibility of crime goes up. If you are bringing in outsiders because you now have more retail to offer, there might be an even greater chance. But at the same time I wouldn't say it jumps up, but I know that has been a feeling in Mustang. Let Yukon/OKC have the retail and crime. I think recently as in the past 2-3 years this mentality has started to change but I haven't seen anything major. The hospital is pretty big, but then again the last big retail they got was Lowes. They have plenty of land around Lowes to build restaurants and what not, and anytime restaurants have shown interest, Mustang has just never really pursued them.

Originally Posted by Zuplar

I know you thought you were cute with your little reply, but yes the general consensus is that retail ends up bringing people into the town which in return can result in increased crime. Mustang has hardly ever sought retail like so many other cities in the area. Mustang has just always been a bedroom community, not saying I agree with it, but that's how the chamber has always handled it.

I wasn't being cute at all. While I don't live in Mustang now, I moved there in the late 60's and was there for most of the period until about 4 years ago. I was very involved in business and the chamber (I was on the board of directors for a while and was member of the year one year) and know that what you said was totally untrue. I certainly remember a time when everyone who moved there hoped they were the last ones but that was never reflected in the city's attitude towards businesses.

Originally Posted by stick47

Sarcastic Friend, Thanks for your valuable input.

And thanks for your normal valuable imput. Friend

Originally Posted by ljbab728

I wasn't being cute at all. While I don't live in Mustang now, I moved there in the late 60's and was there for most of the period until about 4 years ago. I was very involved in business and the chamber (I was on the board of directors for a while and was member of the year one year) and know that what you said was totally untrue. I certainly remember a time when everyone who moved there hoped they were the last ones but that was never reflected in the city's attitude towards businesses.

My dealings with the chamber over the past 7 years has led me to believe that they don't care to lure anyone in with any sort of assistance whether it be with taxes or some other financial means. They seem more content in supporting everyone that's existing instead. Maybe they tried 10 years ago to get new retail, but by what is present if that's true, they did a poor job as they have continued to lose out to Yukon, OKC in the I40 area, and even recently I know more and more people that are even going to the 19th St area in Moore. I don't see where there has ever been any major push to bring any significant retail to Mustang other than what I'd call the basics.

Originally Posted by Zuplar

My dealings with the chamber over the past 7 years has led me to believe that they don't care to lure anyone in with any sort of assistance whether it be with taxes or some other financial means. They seem more content in supporting everyone that's existing instead. Maybe they tried 10 years ago to get new retail, but by what is present if that's true, they did a poor job as they have continued to lose out to Yukon, OKC in the I40 area, and even recently I know more and more people that are even going to the 19th St area in Moore. I don't see where there has ever been any major push to bring any significant retail to Mustang other than what I'd call the basics.

You might want to keep in mind that you're talking about competing with cities on major interstate highways which can offer great visibiity for businesses with tons of traffic. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree about efforts to bring business to Mustang.

Originally Posted by ljbab728

You might want to keep in mind that you're talking about competing with cities on major interstate highways which can offer great visibiity for businesses with tons of traffic. I guess we will just have to agree to disagree about efforts to bring business to Mustang.

I'd be curious to see a list of such failed attempts. I completely understand that with what they competing with puts them at a disadvantage. Still I think they can support more than what's there. I feel as though people are just used to going elsewhere and maybe retail feels because of this they won't have the support.

Mustang, historically, has been a bedroom community and was never really an established town with a major downtown, a county seat or anything else, in decades. It has many nearby places to shop, eat out, the hospital, etc., but is far enough out to be relatively inexpensive to live with good schools and an infrastructure that allows easy commutes north, south, east and west. It has a very, very nice town center for families and older people.

An expensive push to offer tax incentives to bring in bigger businesses doesn't make a lot of sense, to me, given their location and the fact that even without them, the town is growing and business is coming in. I've been living just outside of Mustang for about three years and the growth of businesses heading east in my direction has been pretty impressive. We've discussed the fact that, eventually, it will catch up to where we live and we could make a very nice profit should we decide to sell and move further west.

I agree, PQ. Mustang will continue to attract new businesses but it makes no sense to try to offer incentives to the kinds of places that are attracted to Yukon and Moore to be near the interstate. When my mother was born there in the 1920's you really couldn't even call it a bedroom community. It was more like most typical small Oklahoma rural towns with a few businesses along Main Street.

Originally Posted by PennyQuilts

Mustang, historically, has been a bedroom community and was never really an established town with a major downtown, a county seat or anything else, in decades. It has many nearby places to shop, eat out, the hospital, etc., but is far enough out to be relatively inexpensive to live with good schools and an infrastructure that allows easy commutes north, south, east and west. It has a very, very nice town center for families and older people.

An expensive push to offer tax incentives to bring in bigger businesses doesn't make a lot of sense, to me, given their location and the fact that even without them, the town is growing and business is coming in. I've been living just outside of Mustang for about three years and the growth of businesses heading east in my direction has been pretty impressive. We've discussed the fact that, eventually, it will catch up to where we live and we could make a very nice profit should we decide to sell and move further west.

Sounds like we live in the same general area. I've been in Mustang for over 15 years and just recently moved out to a more "rural" area towards Moore. I've been thinking like you that one of these days property in out there is going to increase nicely one of these days.

Originally Posted by PennyQuilts

That remark might pass the bigoted, intolerant smell test but for the fact that there are scads of prime real estate on highway frontage. Take a drive down any of the roads in and near Mustang to see that the comment was simply a slam on "religion." We've actually seen quite a bit of new businesses come into the Mustang area, recently, and there are tons of places where more could go. If you are seeing ditches (and I don't disagree - there are plenty), you completely undermine your argument that the churches are taking up too much space. Churches bring in consumers and I promise, there aren't businesses leaving the area because all the good spots are covered with churches. That's nonsense.

The concept Mustang hasn't dealt with well is that while Hwy 152 through town, and Mustang Rd from 59th to Hwy 152 are already developed, the only areas left to develop commercially in Mustang proper is north of the Lowes and east of the WalMart. Sure there are some small parcels with highway frontage but most are not large enough for strip development or of the quality/location for large national chains. This is strictly a land use and tax base discussion.

Mustang needs a large infrastructure upgrade to the older areas of town especially around the high school. The baseball fields need to be moved away from the sewage treatment plant. Unfortunately I don't see how they can generate the tax revenue to accomplish this due to the limited commercially viable land left available.

This was in no way a commentary on religion.