Tulsa’s Promenade Mall Officially Closes Due To Fire Code Violations

Tulsa's Promenade Mall closed its doors for good on Sunday.

The shopping plaza at 41st and Yale is shutting down after more than two decades because the building is not up to fire code.

Several buildings attached to the mall like the Tulsa Oilers new ice center have their own fire suppression systems and will not be affected.

The fire department allowed the mall to stay open for the last few weeks if it hired a 3rd party fire watch company and showed improvements, but the mall decided to close for good.

The fire department said the mall decided not to follow through with those guidelines - and now businesses must move out.

“Where are they going to work Monday morning? Where are they going to go? Where is their next paycheck going to come,” Director of Tulsa Crime Stoppers Karen Gilbert questioned.

After more than two decades, the once popular indoor shopping plaza will no longer be open to business.

Gilbert’s office was in the Promenade Mall for years, and after experiencing a lot of issues during her time there, she said she wasn’t surprised to see it shut down.

“We had some flooding, pipe bursts, ceiling tiles all over the floor, water damage.” Gilbert listed several issues she said made running a business appear unprofessional to anyone who visited.

She said she called the fire department for an electrical fire, and firefighters found her circuit breaker melting from water exposure.

She moved her office in June.

Andy Little with the Tulsa Fire Department says they've received several complaints from shoppers about the mall not meeting fire codes.

“We sent our team out to investigate and did determine there was some inadequacies. The fire suppression system was not where it needed to be. The fire alarm system was not being monitored properly. There were some things out of date. Some fire extinguishers and stuff like that,” he said.

Little said the mall was allowed to stay open despite the violations, but it was required to hire a fire watch company that would provide early fire detection and show progress in fixing the discrepancies.

“They decided to cease operations and that they will no longer be employing fire watch after the 17th,” Little said.

Gilbert says it's heartbreaking to see any business close down.

“The city is willing to work with them, but if they’re not willing to help themselves and take care of those problems. Then, sorry, but what’s the use?” she said.

The mall sent this letter to retailers and says it will provide an access schedule to remove inventory in the future.

Dear Retail Partner:

We are writing to inform you of our actions to close the Tulsa Promenade Mall and share other helpful information with you.

Our owner and leadership team are being proactive in rolling out closing measures.

Please be aware of these steps and share them with all team members:

-The last day of operation is Sunday, September 17, 2023.

-Management will contact each retailer to work through the lease agreement and create an access schedule to remove inventory.

As always, the health and safety of our Tulsa Promenade Mall family is our highest priority. We will keep you updated on key developments as the situation unfolds.

Thank you for understanding.

Sincerely,

The Tulsa Promenade Mall Team

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