Looks like the possiblity for more open air malls continues. Right now, Norman is considering the possiblity of buiilding an open air retail center at the Mt. Williams site on I-35 north of Robinson.

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"Mountain or Mall?: OU Foundation seeking approval in Norman for TIF district at Mt. Williams site for mall

By Dean Anderson


Driving back from medical school late at night during his college days, Dr. Harold Haralson always knew when he was back at home in Norman.

Just before the bustling streets of the college town, a large mound of dirt known as Mt. Williams sprang up out of a flat field that once housed a Naval installation.

To Haralson, and scores of Norman residents, the old Navy gunnery range was and always will be a local landmark.

Now, a couple of decades later, Mayor Haralson and city council members, as well as Norman citizens, want to know exactly what the University of Oklahoma Foundation is planning to do with Mt. Williams and the 585 acres it sits on.

Haralson and the Norman City Council are reviewing a request by the OU Foundation to appoint a committee to review a long-term plan to develop the two-mile stretch of property on Norman’s northern edge.

The committee would be charged with assessing the feasibility of using a tax increment finance district to fund development of the land, which the foundation already owns.

The finance district would enable the foundation to front the money to initiate improvements on the land to attract businesses. Chief among those improvements would need to be the removal of Mt. Williams.

Foundation officials have said they envision a mixed-use development, possibly housing an upscale, outdoor retail shopping center with restaurants. The site also could accomodate a hotel and perhaps residential housing.

The foundation’s proposal calls for a 50-percent split of the property tax money for up to 25 years and a guaranteed 4.5-percent growth in the city’s sales tax revenue base.

The land in question runs along the east side of Interstate 35 just north of Robinson Street to Tecumseh Road, and is just west of Max Westheimer Airport. It’s part of the old North Base naval site used during World War II.

The foundation already has pledged $100,000 to preserve the memory of Mt. Williams, perhaps by erecting some type of memorial on the site. City officials say the project could draw an emotional response from long-time Norman residents concerned that the foundation might raze the land.

A committee must first determine whether the property would be eligible for a tax increment finance district and then it also must determine whether the foundation’s mixed-use plan is the best possible use for the site.

Haralson, whose family has lived in Norman for four generations, is concerned with the clarity of the foundation’s proposal.

“The problem I believe that revolves around the issue is there is not enough vision for what currently is planned there,” Haralson said. “My discussions with the foundation and other folks that have development ideas for it, their thought is to take business from the current Sooner Fashion Mall and move those across the street.

“My concern is using public funds in a manner that might adversely impact other business in the city,” he said.

Haralson said the buzz word that has been tossed about is the development of a “lifestyle mall” much like the posh Utica Square in Tulsa.

“It sounds good, but the problem we have on the city council is if they’re going to do something on that piece of land, we would like to see something that is totally different,” said Haralson, who practices medicine in Norman. “(Something) that doesn’t take away from other businesses in town, that complements them and adds to our retail base.”

The mayor would not characterize the nature of the talks, but said he has had recent discussions with General Growth Properties, the real estate investment trust that manages Sooner Mall, which is located about one mile south of Mt. Williams but on the west side of I-35.
Norman City Manager Brad Gambill said, too, he doesn’t have a clear picture of what the proposed development might look like.

“I think what needs to happen is a good common understanding by the citizens of Norman what the OU foundation is proposing for the 500 acres,” Gambill said. “We’ve seen a general plan, but not much detail. We’ve seen a request for infrastructure with not much detail.

“Before we go out and ask the rate payers and the citizens who pay taxes for $30 million ... we need to know in more detail what’s happening,” he said.

Gambill called the foundation’s stretch of land “the prime piece of land between Dallas and Kansas City on interstate access.”

The OU Foundation — which according to its most recent audit by Ernst & Young, had assets totaling more than $600 million at the end of fiscal year 2004 — is an independent not-for-profit corporation that encourages and supports giving for the benefit of the university. It acts as the principal organization through which private gifts are made and administered for the benefit of the university.

The foundation was established in December 1944 to offer private donors the means to invest their philanthropic dollars in the future of the University of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma state law mandates the separation of state-supported universities and colleges and their foundations, and the 21-member OU Foundation staff oversees the intake and distribution of private funds to the university.

Haralson said the city needs more information before it can proceed.

“I’ve not been able to find a way to this point to bring a variety of people to the table to work out a solution where the city’s concerns are addressed,” Haralson said.

Both OU Foundation President Ron Burton and the foundation’s legal counsel, Harold Heiple, did not return phone calls from OKCBusiness News requesting interviews."

thanks patrick, i meant to post this a few weeks ago but forgot

Mayor Haralson is right on. Whatever is developed on that land must bring something new to Norman; otherwise, it's just rearranging deck chairs. Norman will develop economically and in reputation if this project brings in something new.

I think Mt. Williams offers a terrific opportunity to do something unique to Norman, the way it overlooks the property and the rest of the city. Wouldn't you think developers would kill for such a view? They could work with the university to bring its planetarium there? Share the peak with a restaurant with expansive windows or patio? Bore a passageway through and up the mound for an elevator ride to the top? Have telescopes for viewing the streetlife below and the airplanes at the airport? There are so many possibilities.

Whatever is done with Mt. Williams, the OU Foundation ought to be ambitious about the project. An open-air lifestyle center/mall with upscale stores such a Z Gallerie and and Crate and Barrell, surrounded by dense multifamily and single-family housing and corner commercial space would make great use of this land.

Here's an update from today's Oklahoman:

http://www.newsok.com/article/1533527/?template=news/main

I don't know how to copy things from the newsok website-- it does not appear to allow you to do so.

"OU land development could be new hot spot


By Robert Medley
The Oklahoman

NORMAN - If done right, a proposed development on University of Oklahoma Foundation land in north Norman could prove to be "a destination magnet" for the city, OU President David Boren said.
Developing the 585 acres of prime property on the east side of Interstate 35 "in the right way" could create economic opportunities and enhance residents' lifestyles, Boren said.

He said the development must be carefully planned, designed and be so aesthetically pleasing "that it is the type of gateway to Norman that says to everyone, 'this is a special place.'"

Boren urged city council members at a study session Tuesday to form a committee to examine a proposal to create a tax increment financing district to fund development of the land.

The property fronts I-35 on the east side between Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road, west of Max Westheimer Airport and is part of the original North Base established as a naval site during World War II.

A tax increment financing district would allow for about $20 million in infrastructure improvements to the land so an upscale, mixed-use retail center could be built on about 285 acres of the property, foundation attorney Harold Heiple said.

The remaining acres would be developed later as economic growth occurred, Heiple said.

Without formation of a tax increment financing district, the land will remain undeveloped, Heiple said.

By using a special tax district, the OU Foundation would pay for infrastructure improvements up front, then recoup its money by receiving a portion of all taxes generated on the property for up to 25 years.

Under the proposal, the foundation would guarantee that an annual 4.5 percent growth in the city's tax revenue base occur before the special district took any portion of the money.

Boren is a member of a design review committee that must approve of any proposals.

"I have a vision of something similar to Utica Square in Tulsa that gives people a hometown feel, that enhances the community and creates a more cohesive community," Boren said.

"This would be Utica Square-plus," said Randy Stone of Sooner Investments of Oklahoma City. Utica Square is an upscale retail district in midtown Tulsa.

Stone gave a visual presentation to the council of what potential investors want to see built on the land.

The design the company is proposing uses building materials and architectural styles similar to what is used on the OU campus.

The development would include a high-end mall, a large hotel/conference center and an entertainment district that surrounds a heavily landscaped "Main Street" of small retail shops, common open space, fountains and a memorial to the World War II training site that used to be there.

The entertainment complex would be anchored by a theater and include cafes, "lots" of outdoor dining and other recreational opportunities such as a skate park, bowling alley, water sports and maybe an amphitheater. Boren told council members he was not recommending approval of Sooner Investment's plans.

"That would be premature," Boren said.

The city council will consider appointing a review committee at its July 28 meeting. "

It seems Norman already has too much retail and chain restaurants for a city it's size.

Could certainly use a hotel and convention center but otherwise I think they'll have a hard time finding tenants and even if they do, this development would have to cannibalize the massive amount of retail and restaurants recently constructed near I-35 and Main.

They appear to be wanting a more outdoor mall-type place, not a shopping center. I would be interested in what you all think this would do to Sooner Mall and Crossroads Mall.

Sooner seems to be doing well with it's mix of family-friendly tenants, similar to those found at Quail Springs Mall. I'd imagine that this new open air center would be in a more upscale league, more comparable to Spring Creek Plaza in Edmond. I think Crossroads is too far gone and out of the question of even dicussing, although it has more low end discount stores as well, in addition to more traditional mall stores that would probably stay there and at Sooner.

I also worry that such a development would also detract from Campus Corner, which has recently made a very nice comeback and is now pretty full with local up-scale tenants and restaurants.


I just don't see the demand for such a huge development. OKC needs to get out of the habit of over-building... All that happens is that the older projects (or neighborhoods or building) are abandoned and quickly become run-down eyesores.