What is being done to keep Penn Square Mall viable? Your questions answered

The Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer fielded reader questions with guest Christy Gillenwater, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, during his recent weekly OKC Central Live Chat. Each week, Steve hosts a live chat, giving readers a chance to ask questions about Oklahoma City development and growth as well as an opportunity to ask direct questions of OKC newsmakers like Mayor David Holt and Dan Straughan, the executive director of the Homeless Alliance. You can join Steve most Fridays at 10 a.m. to add your comments and questions about downtown development.

To be able to ask questions and interact with Steve or special guests, you must have a digital subscription to The Oklahoman and you must be logged in. Right now, you can get unlimited digital access to all of our content for $1 for six months.

Arena campaign to ramp up

Q: Why haven't we seen more from the chamber on the arena vote? Is the timing of it being in early December and making a late push? Maybe there was an early push when it came out and has gone by the wayside? 

Gillenwater: There is a lot of coalition development underway. The campaign is out speaking to groups and preparing for a significant push closer to the vote. We invite your support and engagement. The election is on Dec. 12.

Economic benefit of arenas up for debate

Q: The studies are very clear that the economic benefits of publicly subsidized sports arenas are, at best, very minimal. On this point, there is a virtual consensus among economists who have studied the issue - one of the few areas of consensus in the field, as a matter of fact. What is the chamber's rationale for supporting a yes-vote on the new sports arena insofar as it really can't be economic benefit (because, as stated, sports arenas do not result in an increase measures like economic growth, or tax revenue etc.)?  

Gillenwater: On the contrary, there are plenty of economists who disagree. Anyone who has lived in Oklahoma City the last 15 years knows the impact of bringing major league sports to our community and how that has changed our trajectory. If you ask a small business like a local restauranteur downtown, they will share the impact arena events have on their business. The impact on area families and the 3,000 jobs generated by arena activity is also significant.

Lackmeyer: I will add that I've directly seen economic impact over the years that includes the cotton farmer from Altus and his friends who were ticket season holders and rented apartments to avoid the cost of staying at hotels, and the folks who travel from across the region to attend concerts and stay at hotels. We've seen Thunder games draw international visitors and generate publicity for the city across the country. I'm not going to dispute that there is a good, healthy debate to be held about the priorities represented in building a new arena vs. other needs. But to say there is no economic impact is just not true.

More: An economic impact study on the OKC NBA arena is out. Do the numbers justify a new one?

Market size dictates terms

Q: There seem to be a lot of other arena developments where a larger amount of the project was paid for by the ownership of the NBA team. Why is the ownership only paying 5% when other arena deals the ownership has kicked in 50% or more? 

Gillenwater: NBA markets are not the same. If we want to have the NBA in a smaller market we have to operate differently. As a reminder, this is a city-owned arena and the Thunder only play 41 regular season games. There are also some pre-season games and potentially post-season games. The arena boasts a number of significant concerts a year and is used for more than just Thunder games.

Chamber's job includes campaigns for city propositions

Q: What is something people assume about the chamber that is incorrect and something people wouldn't know the chamber does?

Gillenwater: The chamber has rich history of recruiting significant projects to our community. For example, in the 1890s we recruited rail service and utilities to the city. In 1907 we were involved in the founding of the state fair. We ran our first campaign in 1910 to move the state capitol to Oklahoma City. In 1944 we promoted the bond issue to build Lake Hefner. In 1910 the chamber helped connect Oklahoma City to other cities with highway routes. And then in our recent past we've aided the MAPS campaigns.

We do a lot of things people think just happen. The city can't run a voter campaign. They rely on our partnership to to lead voter campaigns. We partner with the county as well as we did with the recent jail campaign.

Chamber in talks with Penn Square to ensure its viability with increased competition

Q: I'd like to know what you think will be happening with Penn Square with The Oak opening up. Pottery Barn is going into the Oak, so that will leave a huge empty space at Penn Square, and the old Williams Sonoma store there is still standing empty. Just curious if you talked with anyone at Penn Square about their plans for empty space when you wrote the article on the Oak. 

Lackmeyer: The good news is Penn Square has the best owner possible with Simon Properties. Yes, this is a challenge to overcome for the mall, but Simon is about as well positioned as any to adapt and find new tenants.

Gillenwater: Yes. Retail economic development is a focus of our chamber. We have met with Simon Property officials and continue to partner with them to find robust tenants that meet their profile needs and the needs of our community. There is high demand for retail in that part of our city based on proximity to housing the regional footprint. As our regional population grows, we become more attractive to additional retailers. We are challenged by how spread out we are in the region and sometimes that formula doesn't meet the needs of certain retailers and their risk portfolios. They don't always understand that our commuting standard is closer to one minute per mile.

OKC remains affordable despite increased housing costs

Q: I have lived in OKC since 1999 and the main draw I heard from people moving here was low cost of living. I am old enough to remember the days when you could purchase a brand new house for $100-$125 per square foot. Now, that number has more than doubled and the idea of OKC having very low cost of living isn't as relevant anymore. 

In your position, are you having this conversation with potential employers that want to move their companies here or expand and add more employees?  

Gillenwater: The concerns about housing price increases are not exclusive to Oklahoma City. Housing prices around the country have risen dramatically. Fortunately, the increases here have not been as significant as the rest of the country. We just received our third quarter cost of living analysis and Oklahoma City remains significantly more affordable, more than 30% below the nation. Our overall cost of living is 11% below the national average. To your point, we must remain vigilant and pay attention to the cost of housing and availability as we continue to grow.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Fate of the Penn Square Mall in OKC, and other questions answered