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Staff updates council on Sooner Mall sales-tax rebate term sheet; manager outlines sales goals needed to hit rebate caps
Summary
Staff presented a term sheet for a proposed Sooner Mall sales-tax rebate and said EDAP’s questions about footprint, non-mall-owned parcels and cap scenarios were addressed. Mall manager Derek Hall said post-pandemic gross sales are about $66 million and explained how different rebate caps would require tens of millions in additional sales.
City staff briefed the council on March 24 about a term sheet to advance negotiations on a proposed Sooner Mall sales-tax rebate agreement and summarized follow-up questions from the Economic Development Advisory Panel.
The staff presentation said EDAP asked how the mall footprint would account for parcels not owned by the mall (for example, Dillard’s and Longhorn Steakhouse), whether common-space maintenance would be included, and how future property sales should be treated under the rebate program. Staff reported the mall’s management indicated it handles maintenance across the common spaces and would treat the footprint uniformly for investment purposes.
The term sheet under consideration would advance negotiations only; any final agreement would return to council with a public hearing. "What's on council's consent document tonight is just the term sheet to advance to negotiations," staff said. Counsel and the city attorney's office will participate in upcoming negotiations.
Derek Hall, the mall’s general manager, explained sales and cap scenarios. He said recent gross sales at the mall are in the "$66,000,000 range" compared with about "$89,000,000" pre-pandemic. Hall explained how rebate structures and split options would affect the required increase in sales to reach different rebate caps: to reach a $300,000 cap a cited scenario would require about $13,000,000 in additional annual sales; under a 50/50 split to reach a $500,000 cap, Hall said sales would need to increase by roughly $44,000,000 (which would push annual sales above $100,000,000).
Council members asked how much investment the mall has already put into planned projects; Hall said there is "a little over $1,200,000" budgeted in a five-year plan for the site. Staff said the economic development advisory board supported advancing the term sheet so negotiations can proceed. Any negotiated final agreement would come back to the council for approval and a public hearing.
The staff update did not ask the council for a final vote; the term sheet was placed on the consent calendar to permit negotiations to continue.
