By Jane Glenn Cannon
The Oklahoman
NORMAN- A first-class hotel and attached conference center
will enhance a large retail and entertainment district planned for
the north side, helping attract the type of stores that could prove
a regional draw, developer Stanton Nelson said.
The University North park Addition will be built I stages,
with more retailers signing on as the district’s
infrastructure is put in place and amenities are added in the area
east of the Interstate 35 between Robinson Street and Tecumseh
Road, Nelson said.
Among those amenities are a $30 million, 10-story Embassy
Suite hotel and $25 million conference center Missouri hotel
developer John Q. Hammons ahs committed to build. A large public
park, public art and an open “lifestyle” area planned for
the district also are key components, Nelson said.
The area has been designated a tax increment financing
district, which means a portion of the area’s ad valorem and
sales tax money will be captured to pay for public improvements
that support the district.
Hammons has agreed to build both a hotel and associated
conference center on the property based on a “good faith”
promise from the city that it will purchase the conference center
for $15 million once it is built.
Terms of the agreement were finalized at a Tuesday night
city council meeting.
At the meeting, Nelson described what he hopes to see
happen on the 285 acres earmarked for commercial development.
“This project will be developed in stages, wit
construction of the SuperTarget being part of Phase One,’
Nelson said.
Stores that have signed on for that phase are not
necessarily “big draw” stores that are planned for the
second and third development phases, Nelson said. However,
recruitment for “higher end” stores is underway and is
going well, he said.
Nelson said companies contacted that have responded
favorably include Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Dick’s Sporting
Goods, Macy’s, Urban Outfitters, J. Crew, Guess, Banana
Republic, Puma, Coldwater Creek, Restoration Hardware, Williams
Sonoma, Apple, Dell and Pottery Barn.
Restaurants expressing an interest in the area include
P.F. Chang’s, California Kitchen, Johnny Rocket’s and
Ted’s Montana Grill, Nelson said.
The district’s first anchor store, SuperTarget, has
exceeded expectations so far, Nelson said.
“It is one of the top producing SuperTargets in the
country,” he said.
Norman’s finance director, Anthony Francisco, said
$130,000 in revenue was captured in the tax increment financing
district’s fund in the first two months SuperTarget was
open.
Most of that money will be transferred into the city’s general
fund to cover the cost of a feasibility study that was done on the
proposed conference center and legal fees incurred when the special
tax district was established, Francisco said.
Copyright 2007, The Oklahoma Publishing Company
