A Revitalized Corner
By
Pamela Grady
Until recent years, Campus Corner was hardly a
thriving area in Norman — unless, that is, it was a gameday.
However, if one takes a stroll in the area these
days, regardless of what day of the week it is, one would find students rushing
to get a quick bite to eat at local restaurants, patrons shopping at nearby
boutiques and the constant sound of construction — all signs that times have,
indeed, changed off Boyd Street.
Granted, there are a lot of new faces on the corner
these days, but that shouldn’t be taken as a sign of continuing instability.
Rather, the cycle of new businesses locating to the area has been one that the
corner’s primary property owners —Rainey Powell, Judy Hatfield and David Box —
regard as a good thing because of the types of businesses they are.
Box, owner of Box Talent Agency, has officed on the
corner for the past 15 years but acquired much of his property during the John
Blake era, that period of time in the not-so-distant past when the University
of Oklahoma football team was less than stellar.
Box credits much of Campus Corner’s revitalization
to the success of OU’s current head football coach Bob Stoops, who, along with
Hal Smith, used his popularity to open Louie’s on the corner. That’s because
the popularity of the bar and eatery, Box said, has prompted many other
businesses catering to a diverse demographic to follow suit.
“I think when Bob Stoops did the deal at Louie’s with
Hal Smith, it was a big instigator,” Box said. “Everyone understands how
successful Hal Smith is in the restaurant business, and then when you put
Stoop’s name in there...”
Box also credits Powell, managing partner of 329
Partners, and Hatfield, owner of Equity Realty, for what some regard as a
renaissance of Campus Corner. While the Norman City Council designating the
area as a TIF district three years ago has helped, investing in the area was
not without considerable financial risk.
“Judy and I have spent a ton of money on improving
our properties,” Box said. “It just gets better and better and it all kind of
feeds off itself... Before, a 50-year-old couple would have never come down
here to eat. Now, they’re coming down here to eat all of the time because the
establishments are better.”
To continue the momentum in the retail area, Powell
said he and other owners are implementing common area maintenance, increasing
parking for patrons and restoring many of the older buildings. They’re also
only leasing to merchants and eateries that will fuel synergism and keep
traffic to the area growing.
“People have been working on different projects for
the past five months and now it’s down to crunch time,” Powell said, explaining
football season is the best time of year to open a new business in the area.
“It’s time to get whatever you have going finished.”
Powell
reported all of his properties are at 100-percent occupancy.
As well, he is planning to restore the 100-year-old
Red House, 570 Buchanan, for The Tulips. Norman City Council recently approved
his plans for the 2,500-square-foot building, the former home of Party Pics,
and the restoration should be complete by February.
His newest tenant to open doors, he said, was Olive
J’s, an 1,800-square-foot cosmetic store on Asp Ave.
Hatfield and Box together own about 100,000 square
feet of retail property at the corner and they, too, said they are at
100-percent occupancy.
Box said he purchased the 5,000-square-foot
Satellite Building at Campus Corner three years ago for about $500,000 and
invested about $50,000 in the property. The building houses a mortgage company,
Eye Spy Consulting, APOE Credit Union, Decadence and, soon, a law firm.
As well, he has invested money in upgrading his
parking lots and recently added a new roof for Campus Corner’s stalwart Deli
bar.
He and Hatfield have invested about $300,000 on their end for work on Malone’s restaurant, 746 Asp Ave., and for Ruby’s Diner, 323 White St., which is owned by Deli owner Lori Treisa and her brother, Scott Pittman.
Both Treisa and Pittman graduated from OU and know
the corner well.
“We chose the location because of our demographic
and we also had the desire to bring back to Campus Corner the diner atmosphere
similar to Ernie’s Town Tavern and Denco Cafè … (when we were at OU),” said
Pittman.
While Pittman and his sister put a business plan
together five years ago, they were sitting on the idea until the right
opportunity came along. The rebirth of Campus Corner as a diverse retail area,
he said, was the right opportunity.
“We want to think that good things are worth waiting
on,” said Pittman.
Box has the same philosophy.
“I get really excited thinking about what we’ve
brought here,” he said. “We’ve got restaurants and bars going on, and the
difference I see is they’ve all capitalized.”
Judy
Hatfield agreed, noting that corner businesses are getting more upscale and
hip, as well.
For instance, Logan’s Roadhouse, which isn’t one of
her tenants, soon will consume about 5,000 square feet just north of Boyd on Asp,
and the chic bar Seven47 just opened at 747 Asp.
Box, Hatfield and Rainey all said what they
envisioned for the Campus Corner just a few years back is coming true today.
“It’s been my dream since my college days to come
back and make this area a family-oriented part of (town),” Hatfield said.