Zoning Delayed For New Penn Square Project

By Jack Money Business Writer jmoney@oklahoman.comPenn Square Mall's owner has been asked to meet with neighbors to work out concerns they have with plans to bring an additional retailer to the mall's northwest corner. The request came Thursday from members of Oklahoma City's Planning Commission, which heard presentations both supporting and opposing a zoning change needed to allow the development to occur. The owner, Simon Property Group, wants the new retailer because it would help keep consumers interested in visiting the mall. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber also actively supports the project, having just commissioned an online petition seeking signatures from city residents supporting the change. The chamber believes attracting the retailer would help the mall and also help the city, given sales at the store would generate additional sales taxes the community needs to support the public services it provides its residents. The zoning change request seeks to replace the limited and general office zoning on 2.6 acres the mall currently uses for parking into a simplified planned use development allowing for the construction of a 23,000-square-foot commercial building. The parking lot on that part of the mall's property typically has been used in the past as a staging area for construction materials being used in other parts of the operation. Usually, the only time it has been used for parking by mall customers, is during the Christmas holiday season. Neighbors say they worry about seeing a jump in mall customer activities in that area on a year-round basis. They have concerns about the lighting that will be used to illuminate the building and surrounding parking lot and about additional traffic the new structure might bring to the mall. They said motorists leaving the mall often exit north onto Pennsylvania Avenue, then turn into their addition to backtrack so they can head the other way. On Thursday, Simon Property Group provided an update to the Planning Commission on what it would do to address neighbors' concerns, including specifying the types of lighting it would use, what it would build to screen the rear of the property from neighbors, and that it would be willing to close off one exit from mall parking onto northbound Pennsylvania to slow the flow of motorists into the nearby neighborhood. Commissioners noted the neighbors had not been giving any time to review those proposals and subsequently asked for the meetings to be held. No confirmation on identity Roderick Vosper, who represented Simon Property Group at the meeting, said Thursday he could not confirm the identity of the retailer being actively pursued for the location until a lease is signed. That, he added, won't happen until the needed zoning change is approved. But Vosper and Kurt Foreman, executive vice president of economic development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, told Planning Commission members the retailer is highly sought after by various markets.Read more on NewsOK.com