Investors seek removal of developer for Strawberry Fields area near OKC's Scissortail Park

A group of investors for an area just west of Oklahoma City's Scissortail Park allege they have been refused an accounting of the project and are asking a judge to remove Pat Salame as head of the development.

Salame started buying and clearing properties in Strawberry Fields, formerly the former Orndale addition, in 2014 and has since assembled more than 50 acres in the area between Scissortail Park, Shartel Avenue and Oklahoma City Boulevard

Tony Gould, attorney for the investors, declined to comment on the lawsuit. The court filing shows the plaintiffs include 23 investors, more than half of them representing three families.

Salame denied the allegation, saying her accounting firm, Hogan Taylor, sends quarterly financial reports to investors via secured email. She also said she invites the investors to look at the books in person.

The plaintiffs represented by Gould account for 6.4% of investors in Strawberry Fields, Salame said. The lead investor, Richard Anderson, who owns 35.8%, confirmed the receipt of the quarterly reports.

The veteran real estate broker, developer and investor said Salame has his full backing.

“I want to make sure this is a success,” Anderson said. “I know exactly what she’s done and it’s amazing. There are so many steps to this development, it’s not a quick project. Some of these people are upset because they don’t know what needs to be done.”

Anderson said those steps included the land acquisition and clearance, master planning, discussions with outside developers, and negotiations with the city to fund new infrastructure in a neighborhood that was started in 1889.

“I can’t understand where they are coming from,” Anderson said. “We're not going to let anything happen to this development. We have too much in it. We have some good projects coming right now that are ready to go.”

Cathy O’Connor, a consultant on the development, said work is wrapping up on an agreement that, if approved by the city council, would provide $16 million in tax increment financing to replace infrastructure that includes some early day wooden pipelines.

O’Connor previously said the first phase consists of four projects: The Lucy, a $24.7 million 54,500-square-foot office building to be built at SW 3 and Walker Avenue; The Marketplace, restoration of a two-story building built in 1940 that will be a mix of retail and entertainment; The Abbey, a $61.3 million, 266-unit apartment complex at SW 6 and Lee Avenue that will include 20% of units as workforce housing; and a 10-unit condominium complex at SW 6 and Dewey Avenue. 

O’Connor, who previously was president of The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City said Tuesday the development is on a firm financial footing.

“We're still working with the city to finalize the $16 million,” O’Connor said. “We hope to have that wrapped up this month. We're in the planning stages of getting several projects off the ground that were relying on getting the infrastructure started.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Strawberry Fields developer to fight allegations by minority investors