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Vote on Downtown Grocery Store, Apartments Delayed Until Late October

Flaherty and Collins

An expected vote Monday afternoon on a development proposal that would bring a grocery store downtown didn't happen.

The Performing Arts Center Trust had the vote on its agenda, but several members still had questions about the deal that would sell the PAC parking lot at Third Street and Cincinnati Avenue to Indiana-based Flaherty and Collins, ranging from the parking lot's value to what happens if the developer goes bust mid-project.

Past PAC Trust chairman Ken Busby said economic development outside the arts isn't their area of expertise.

"We program a great building and we do arts stuff and make cool things happen for kids. That's what we do," Busby said. "This is just so out of our normal expectation of a trustee, so it's very challenging."

Trust members' questions won't be answered until late October, and the trust briefly debated commissioning a new appraisal for the parking lot.

The current appraisal is a year old and wasn't commissioned by the PAC Trust. It was also pointed out that both Tulsa County and the City of Tulsa routinely get more than one appraisal for their properties. The appraisal process could easily run into next year.

At one point, trust member Jono Helmerich motioned just to kill the deal now rather than risk it with further delays.

"Very important decision and you need to be circumspect about it, but the fact of the matter is at some point, you have to go ahead and put a stake in the ground and make a decision," Helmerich said.

Trust members voted 12–1 to table Helmerich's motion. They expect to address everyone's concerns in committee meetings and possibly vote at the trust's next regular meeting on Oct. 24.

"If it can benefit the community and benefit the trust — and not just from the sale of the property, but for the long-term goals of what we need for the trust — then I'm all in favor of it," said trust member Skip Teel. "And that's the piece that I think is missing."

Flaherty and Collins' proposal includes a 32,000 square foot Reasor's and 240 apartments within 12 floors.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.