A Natural Grocers store likely will move into the historic Gold Dome building in Oklahoma City, reported The Oklahoman newspaper.
The deal with the building’s owner, Jonathan Russell, negotiated with the grocery chain and its developer to have it oversee the building’s renovation, yet preserve its historical integrity. The deal must be approved by the city’s Urban Design Commission.
The proposed redevelopment calls for trying to strip off the paint and restoring the exterior walls if possible. A drive-thru added in later years would be removed to make way for a retail expansion of up to 10,000 square feet.
Likely use of the second floor, a ring under the gold dome roof, will include offices for the grocery and classrooms for cooking lessons.
Plans show the grocery aisles will be arranged in the pattern of wheel spokes in the round building. A loading dock would be added to the southeast curve of the building. Some interior changes involving old bank counters and other features, he said, may be necessary.
The Golden Dome was built as a Citizens State Bank building in 1958. In 2003, it faced demolition until residents protested and Dr. Irene Lam bought it and turned it into a retail complex. Shortly afterwards, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2012, the building fell into foreclosure.
TEEMCO, an area engineering firm in nearby Edmond, Oklahoma, that specializes in the oil industry, announced in August 2013 it would buy the Gold Dome and convert it into its headquarters. But the price of oil plummeted, and TEEMCO abandoned the project by March 2015, although it rewired the building and put on a new roof.
The Gold Dome sits at Northwest 23rd Street and North Classen Boulevard, both which are sections of Route 66.
(Hat tip to Brian Bowman; image of the Gold Dome by We travel the world via Flickr)