Wal-Mart Pulls Out Of Deal

Friday, November 9th 2007, 4:13 pm

By: News On 6

A deal on a downtown Tulsa Wal-Mart Supercenter fell through. The news is a blow for development efforts downtown, especially on the east side, the area called "The East Village.â€ The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports it was to be a huge change to the landscape of downtown Tulsa. A big retailer, apartments, and smaller shops were to be a part of the redevelopment.

What is now a patchwork of parking lots and warehouses was to be the site of a huge development anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter, but the plan died when Wal-Mart pulled out. The news was a surprise to the city, which was negotiating a tax break.

The East Village covers more than 100 acres of downtown property south of the Greenwood district and bordering Highway 75. It's one of the biggest sections of land downtown available for development.

The city's Director of Economic Development, Don Himelfarb, says Wal-mart's decision was a surprise, and the city is encouraging the developer to find another anchor tenant. He said the city was already negotiating a tax break for the developer when the deal fell through.

According to the city, even though a developer in Jenks is planning a stadium for the Drillers, there is still an effort to have them move downtown, inside the inner dispersal loop.

The primary land owners are Nordam and Bill White. Nordam is leaving and Bill White says he's ready to sell. He says he'd like to see the city buy it for a baseball stadium.

Watch the video: Retailer Pulls Out Of Downtown Deal