Mayfair Shopping Center

[cinnamonjock]

Good to see they are limiting curb cuts and their directionality

[Brett]

Does anyone know if Panda Express has opened yet?

[pickles]

Does anyone know if Panda Express has opened yet?

It hasn't.

[Pete]

Panda is very close.

Landscaping is in... I suspect they need some time to hire and train and I go by there almost every day, so when I see they've set a date or opened their doors I'll post about it.

[Pete]

Panda Express is finished but not yet open. Should open any day now.

HTeaO has started work directly south of Panda.

[Brett]

I-beams are being placed for the new Taco Casa. Concrete work has been laid with new egress points on NW 50th &NW 52nd streets.

[Pete]

I-beams are being placed for the new Taco Casa. Concrete work has been laid with new egress points on NW 50th &NW 52nd streets.

That's actually for a small stip center that will have a Starbucks.

Taco Casa will be north of that.

[Bullbear]

That's actually for a small stip center that will have a Starbucks.

Taco Casa will be north of that.

we saw movement and were excited for vertical progress, then I was like I don't think that type of construction is for Taco Casa. we are anxious..lol

[Pete]

[Pete]

Panda opened today (Tue 3/12):

[Pete]

[irishtate]

I still don't 100% know what's supposed to be going in next to Panda on the adjoining pad sites?
*I'm sure I could thumb through this thread to find something, but Its more fun to just ask and an answer magically appears.

[Pete]

I still don't 100% know what's supposed to be going in next to Panda on the adjoining pad sites?
*I'm sure I could thumb through this thread to find something, but Its more fun to just ask and an answer magically appears.

South of Panda, HTeaO is under construction.

South of that will be small strip center with a 5 Guys.

[irishtate]

South of Panda, HTeaO is under construction.

South of that will be small strip center with a 5 Guys.

Lol. Thank you for obliging my laziness.

[soonerguru]

I'm excited that there is development happening here, but it demonstrates a frustrating lack of imagination. This could have been a bang-up mixed use community.

[onthestrip]

I'm excited that there is development happening here, but it demonstrates a frustrating lack of imagination. This could have been a bang-up mixed use community.

Zoom out a couple of blocks more and you already have mixed uses. Its going to be retail surrounded by a variety of housing and office users.

[Rover]

I'm excited that there is development happening here, but it demonstrates a frustrating lack of imagination. This could have been a bang-up mixed use community.

LOL. Takes no imagination to build a building, put shops on the first floor, offices on the second, and apartments on the third. There you go, a cookie cutter mixed use building.

I agree with the last poster. It is a mixed use neighborhood already. There is a grocery store, a bank, a pharmacy, a department store, gas station, coffee shop, and multiple types and styles of restaurants (including arcade restaurant) within easy walking distance to many, many houses, not to mention offices, hotels and apartments. The stretch up May has lots and lots of varied businesses.

If you want more upscale and easy to stroll on Saturdays, then take a place at Oak. But every development site isn't going to be that.

[Pete]

As I've posted many times, I live near Mayfair and take a long walk through the neighborhood -- and often the shopping center -- almost every day.

The area around Mayfair is about as eclectic and mixed as you can get in OKC. Directly east are the Mayfair Village apartments, and it's a really cool mid-century complex that stays very full. Directly next to that is Miller Street, which has a bunch of small mid-century modern homes, mostly with carports. To the south is Mayfair Heights which is a historical district with a lot of older, traditional two-story homes. Nearby are some very expensive homes while along I-44 (which was the old Route 66) you have some quiet small and older homes. In the middle is a good elementary school (Monroe) and an underrated park (Smitty). We also have sidewalks on almost every street.

At NW 50th & May, you have a 10-story office building on the NW corner, more apartments including the recently renovated Tiffany and tons of shops with a great Target. I have literally walked to Baptist Hospital in the past (to retrieve my car after an out-patient procedure).

Within Mayfair itself, you have Aldi, Empire, Summer Moon, Rockler, Michaels, a pretty great Domino c-store and a few others. Just to the south are two excellent local restaurants: Sheesh Mahal and Azteca. It's great to have Lowe's and Sam's so close (I've walked to and from both). And of course very nearby is OAK.


I chose this neighborhood specifically because it is so well-located and because there is so much within walking distance. Not only Mayfair and OAK by also the Gayborhood and Braum's. On snowy days I've walked to Casey's. And I love the very wide variety of housing types and the diversity of people living here.

I use the stores in Mayfair all the time and it's already a million times better than the horrific eyesore (I would see it up close and personal almost every day) that had been rotting since the 80s. They did a great and thoughtful job of relocating and giving brand new space to the tailor, barber and the UPS store.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why people who live nowhere near insist on running down a project that has seen the investment of many millions and the return of a great grocery, several restaurants, and other businesses that are well patronized. Still to come are Starbuck's, Taco Casa, HTeaO and 5 guys. I'd like to see more sit-down places but that's not a reasonable expectation and I'm just thrilled we have Empire.

I think the next step for the area will be lots more flip houses, some tear-downs and rebuilds ala south of Classen Curve, renovating the few nearby apartment complexes, and perhaps converting several nearly dead churches to more housing.

[Mississippi Blues]

What others say is true and the aesthetic/activity is better now than what it has been in years past, but I don’t think what soonerguru said is entirely unfounded, at least if we’re talking about design which is how I understood that comment. I see the focus has been on the neighborhood aspect of it and I think “mixed-use community” terminology is the reason for that, and if that’s how soonerguru intended it then I would also disagree as it’s obviously a fairly diverse area in both residential and commercial uses - especially if you start to include nearby neighborhoods that connect it to “cooler” areas - but its design is something you can see up and down May Ave and across the city, regardless of how much better it looks now. That’s a fair assessment and I don’t think it implies the transformation of Mayfair has been a failure or that the surrounding area is unimaginative.

Edit: I do agree with Rover that we can’t expect every development to be or look upscale like Oak and places like Mayfair clearly fill a need for the market considering how many business locate in similar structures. I suppose that’s where the “imaginative” part of sooner’s comment would come into play, but until the market goes that direction then I’m fine seeing dilapidated structures being brought back to life, even if I personally can imagine things that fit my preferences more.

[Pete]

My point is that the area is already a great mix of uses and what it needs at a major intersection is more retail and restaurants, which is exactly what Mayfair is and always has been.

There is already plenty of everything else in every direction and you couldn't squeeze much onto any one of these parcels anyway. Even the east side of May has a through street right in the middle.

[soonerguru]

My point is that the area is already a great mix of uses and what it needs at a major intersection is more retail and restaurants, which is exactly what Mayfair is and always has been.

There is already plenty of everything else in every direction and you couldn't squeeze much onto any one of these parcels anyway. Even the east side of May has a through street right in the middle.

Your neighborhood is fabulous, and getting more so because of OAK. I'm thrilled by almost all of the improvements at Mayfair and the new businesses.

This isn't a negative statement about the neighborhood, what exists, or what doesn't.

If I wasn't clear, and it appears I wasn't clear enough, this has nothing to do with aesthetics, or "upscale" developments. It was only about land use.

I'm sure I will patronize Taco Casa or whatever fast food restaurant is planned there (I can't remember) but probably not Five Guys. But, this truly isn't about me and my preferences, it's about a big piece of unused land that could have been a catalyst for better urbanization in our city in one of our best development locations. 50th and May is a major intersection in this city, and we already know there is huge demand for housing in our city. But one could argue this is one of the best possible remaining locations for residential / mixed use development left in NW OKC.

There hasn't been a residential component to any of the Mayfair redevelopment, which I believe is a miss.

50th and May is arguably the best remaining location for mixed use development in the entire city. Imagine the joy of being able to walk to freaking Target to get groceries and everything else, let alone Walgreen's, restaurants, and the other new and improved destinations at Mayfair.

The specific tract I'm discussing is a massive piece of land that is going to be drive-thru fast-food restaurants and a strip center. I'm not lambasting it. I was only trying to suggest that the land use could have been better -- a very reasonable argument. This city already has miles and miles of strip center developments that are in various states of decay and / or vacancy. Why add more of this to the urban environment?

Rover's comment is hard to understand. I didn't suggest that a thoughtful mixed-use development is cutting edge thinking, only that another parking lot ocean and strip center on a massive piece of undeveloped land in a high-demand residential part of our city is disappointing and shows a lack of imagination. An opportunity was there to take a very large unused parcel and mix residential and retail, creating more walkability in a very desirable place to live in OKC. That would have bolstered the other improvements that have happened and are planned at Mayfair.

Mayfair is obviously improving, so yay for that!

Sorry if my comments offended anyone, lol.

I'm genuinely not trying to be negative, like at all. It could have been more. That's all. Again, it's just an opinion.

[stlokc]

I promised myself I would refrain from commenting on this thread any more but do want to tip my cap to soonerguru. Well-written and I agree with every word.

[CaptDave]

The specific tract I'm discussing is a massive piece of land that is going to be drive-thru fast-food restaurants and a strip center. I'm not lambasting it. I was only trying to suggest that the land use could have been better -- a very reasonable argument. This city already has miles and miles of strip center developments that are in various states of decay and / or vacancy. Why add more of this to the urban environment?

I didn't suggest that a thoughtful mixed-use development is cutting edge thinking, only that another parking lot ocean and strip center on a massive piece of undeveloped land in a high-demand residential part of our city is disappointing and shows a lack of imagination.

In fact, it is the opposite of cutting edge - it is the way we once built villages, town, and cities. These are always the most desirable parts of urban areas and the places Americans love to visit internationally then lament we don't have more of it back home. Not to mention even a "run down" or "blighted" and "old" block of commercial development is usually better financially for the municipality as far as tax revenue is concerned. This isn't a new idea, but certainly well documented, even if what is being replaced at Mayfair isn't exactly what is shown in this well-known case study.

However, with that said, it is nice to see significant investment in that part of OKC

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/...entation-rerun

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/.../taco-johns-20

[CaptDave]

Duplicate post. Sorry for mucking up the flow......

[irishtate]

If I hear the terms "mixed use" or "residential component" in conjunction with new developments, and the lack thereof I'm going to flip my lid. . . . Just appreciate that a once blighted area is getting revamped and move on. . . . Everyone should quit being so 'whynot' and 'whatif' about everything.