Plans to break ground on a high-end mixed-use building are underway in downtown Edmond.
Plaza U.S.A, L.L.C., is an Edmond-based business development firm that will start construction this month on the southeast corner of Campbell and Broadway. The two-story development will include retail stores on the bottom floor and offices on the top. The facility has room for 10 tenants and nearly half of the space has been leased.
“I think it is a great idea,” sophomore Samantha Goodrich said. “It is just ten minutes from campus, so it is not that far of a drive. It can also open up job opportunities for the universities around it.”
This development continues Edmond’s revitalization of the downtown district. According to NewsOk, the idea is for downtown Edmond to have more of a campus corner feel similar to that of Norman, Oklahoma.
“Businesses have expanded their offerings and private owners have expanded their spaces,” Koorosh Zahrai, vice president of business development for Plaza U.S.A. said, according to OKC.biz.
The building is expected to create 34 new downtown jobs in businesses other than food services.
“We are looking at clothiers and boutiques,” Zahrai said in an interview with NewsOK. “We have a couple of retailers already, but nothing we can announce at this time.”
Zahrai told OKC.biz there would be a possibility of a women’s clothing boutique, a gelato eatery and a coffee shop.
“I definitely see job opportunities for people that have never worked in that type of setting before, considering that is it closer to campus than [downtown] Oklahoma City,” sophomore Alissa Dixon said. “It will kind of be the same of some of the stuff we already have here, like we already have a gelato shop, lots of retail, lots of offices, but I think it will be good for a lot of broke college students who need some money and jobs.”
The development was approved by the Central Edmond Urban Development Board earlier this year, after being denied previously in May due to denials in parking variances and other building and business permits at the time.
In order to accommodate 29 new parking spaces to the plans, Zahrai completely reformulated his plans for the building, according to OKC.biz.
“So many people want to be downtown and there is just no space,” Zahrai said to NewsOK. “Now is the right time, I think people are ready. Downtown is an amazing place. It is like a little community – tree-lined with safe and cute shops. I think it will be a great addition to downtown.”
Edmond is the sixth largest city in Oklahoma. The mixed-use building could provide the growing population more downtown options.
“It would be another thing for OC students to experience,” Dixon said. “Honestly, I would prefer it to be something a little more community based instead of just something shallow like retail. Maybe something that generates a call to being together.”
The building will be named Campbell Corner at Downtown Edmond Plaza. Construction is expected to take eight to 10 months to complete.
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