While an old shopping center complex disappears, a new one is built

The Holliday has ended. Now long live the King. <br><br>Monday, crews began demolishing the last remaining part of the old Holliday Hills Shopping Center at 61st & Yale. And they'll begin phase

Monday, June 17th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Holliday has ended. Now long live the King.

Monday, crews began demolishing the last remaining part of the old Holliday Hills Shopping Center at 61st & Yale. And they'll begin phase 2 of King's Point Village. But as News on Six business reporter Steve Berg reports, it's all in the family.

It was a place built by Kings, or a King. The Holiday Hills Shopping Center was built by well-known Tulsa developer Ramon King in the late 60's. But soon it will be no more. "It's like the old generation is coming down, and we're building on top and moving forward with the new generation." But his favorite creation, his daughters and granddaughters are still going strong. Some of them, including Terry King, took over the family business after King was killed in a car accident in 1984.

So Monday, they have mixed emotions. "It's exciting and yet it's sad." Like everyone who built in what was then farm fields and countryside, Ramon King was considered a little crazy. "We thought he was crazy when he moved us out here in the late 50's.

A lot of people in the neighborhood know this already, but to give you an idea of how remote this used to be, if you've notice how wide Urbana Street is... this used to be a landing strip." Now they're just trying to land a few more tenants, and nearby residents are already wondering who? "That's the $64,000 question and we are working on a grocery store."

That would be fine with King's granddaughter Kelley Davis, who grew up in the Holliday Hills subdivision. Kelley Davis, "I actually had one of my first jobs out here at Sipes which was then a Buds, then a Harvest.â€ She says her granddad had always planned to modernize someday. Now phase 1 is thriving and phase 2 will actually be slightly bigger.

This second phase has been slow in coming because of a problem with King's estate. But now they expect to have it ready in about two years.