Representatives from Braum’s got an earful from dozens of people Monday night who protested the Oklahoma company’s plan to demolish historic Classen Circle in Oklahoma City to make way for one of its restaurants.
However, Braum’s reps said the company would move forward with the plan after meeting with its officials to report the details of Monday’s hearing.
More than 13,000 people have signed an online petition opposing the plan. Those protesting the move by Braum’s on Monday provided fond memories of the Classen Circle complex and threatened a boycott of the restaurant chain if the site were razed.
KWTV in Oklahoma City filed one of the best reports of the meeting:
News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |
The Oklahoma City planning commission will hear the rezoning request Thursday that would allow Braum’s to demolish the complex, which includes a record store, a restaurant and two bars.
The Oklahoman newspaper reported some new things came to light during the hearing Monday:
Several protesters questioned why Braum’s hasn’t sought to buy the former Horn’s Seed property across the street, which has been empty for several years.
Paul Swales, who oversees Braum’s real estate operations, said the company looked at sites throughout the area around Classen Circle.
Swales said the Horn Seed property, though it has an “available” sign out front, is not for sale.
“If you call that number on the sign, you will talk to an individual who says it’s for lease,” Swales said. “We love this area; we want to be in this area.”
Then there’s this:
Rob Littlefield, the Ward 2 traffic commissioner, could not comment on how the matter might be voted on, but noted similar area development efforts were denied while others ended up with compromises.
(City councilor Ed) Shadid, who was quick to join the protest, told the crowd he doesn’t believe Braum’s has any intention to back away from its plans for the Donnay Building. He told the crowd they were wasting their time sharing their memories and connections to the Donnay Building and its tenants.
“It appears we are checking boxes; Braum’s is holding their community meeting and then will proceed,” Shadid said. “If you want to fight, you want to win. At the end of the day this is a legal issue and it has nothing to do with the history of the HiLo Club.”
Braum’s also heard from people who opposed the project because of potential traffic problems. At least one person supported the Braum’s plan, but protesters fair outnumbers supporters.
Braum’s plan for Classen Circle first surface in July. Subsequent protests prompted the company to reschedule the rezoning request and set up Monday’s public hearing.
(Image of Classen Circle in Oklahoma City via Change.org page)
“The Oklahoma City planning commission will hear the rezoning request Thursday that would allow Braum’s to demolish the complex, which includes a record store, a restaurant and two bars.” Let’s hope that another chain food operation does not get its way. But it is a commercial area that needs to be both used and profitable. Nostalgia is fine, but it does not pay the bills.
It’s already a commercial area that does fine. If it weren’t, there would be a slew of store vacancies.
The impression I have gained from both photos of the circle and some of the comments is that some of the buildings are empty and some run down. If that is not the case and it now “does fine”, how can it be considered ripe for demolition?