Midwest City Council Approves Details For Retail Project

By Jack Money Business Writer jmoney@oklahoman.comMIDWEST CITY — The curtain's poised to rise now that the city council in Midwest City has approved zoning and preliminary plat approvals for a development that will bring a Warren Theatre to town. Council members unanimously adopted items related to the Sooner Rose Shopping Center, on the northeast corner of SE 15 and Sooner Road, at their meeting this week. "Elated would be the term I would use,” Mayor Matt Dukes said, describing on Thursday the mood of the city council after a process that lasted about eight months. “It's been a tedious process, but it is one that will be well worth it for our community,” Dukes said. This week, the council approved a site amendment that will allow the theater to be built closer to an existing retailer on the site, providing a more seamless integration between what was built as part of Sooner Rose's first phase, which opened in October, and the theater and other planned buildings that will be part of Phase II. They also approved items making commercial development permissible on some of the Phase II land, allowing for a bigger sign for the project to be built and establishing a preliminary plat for land fronting SE 15 that the developer will use for at least 10 restaurants or other retail establishments. The council, project partners and Midwest City's hospital authority already had approved the agreements that clear the way for about $16 million in tax increment financing to be used to help pay for Phase II work. That money will be used by the city to remove some old building foundations and underground fuel storage tanks, plus move a pipeline and make other public improvements. Property taxes from Sooner Rose project landowners, use taxes collected from contractors building the structures and a portion of sales taxes collected by retailers within Sooner Rose project will pay back that initial investment during a 20-year period. The project's first phase built a 65,000-square-foot Academy Sports + Outdoors and a 55,000-square-foot Hobby Lobby. Midwest City and Sooner Investment Group plan for the theater and other associated Phase II retail projects, including restaurants on SE 15, to open sometime during the summer of 2018, they've said. Looking ahead A third phase, hopefully including an entertainment venue, could open about a year after that. Officials expect the overall project will create about 300 jobs and produce gross revenues of about $60 million annually, after it has been open for about five years. Mayor Dukes said that's critical, as Midwest City, like other municipalities, relies upon sales taxes, fees and fines to support its operations. Plus, Dukes said the deal is a good one for Midwest City's residents, because it means they will no longer will have to leave Midwest City to enjoy top-notch entertainment opportunities. “Our entertainment dollars, for the most part, have been going to Oklahoma City, to Moore, and in some cases, Edmond," Dukes said. “This project allows us more opportunity to keep some of those dollars here.” Read more on NewsOK.com