Mall owner rejects $5.95M offer

City of Midwest City planning to use eminent domain to acquire property

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

The city of Midwest City plans to use eminent domain to acquire the former Heritage Park Mall after the property owner rejected its offer to purchase the building.

Midwest City has been attempting to acquire the property through Urban Renewal laws. The city had the former shopping center property appraised and made a “good faith offer” of $5,957,000 in June. The offer includes the main mall property, and former Montgomery Ward and What-A-Burger building.

The city plans to demolish the buildings to redevelop and revitalize the site, located near Reno Ave. and Air Depot Blvd.

The city set a deadline of Sept. 30 to respond to the offer.

Ahmad Bahreini, owner of the mall and ABAB Inc., strongly rejected the city’s offer and attempts to acquire the property in a letter dated Sept. 30. Bahreini said any attempted sale or transfer without his consent is “unauthorized, illegal and void.” He demands that the city force the sale of the property, saying, “continued efforts will result in legal action to protect ABAB Inc.’s rights and interests.”

The city plans to file a condemnation petition in Oklahoma County District Court later this month, according to city attorney Don Maisch. The court will appoint three commissioners to reevaluate the property and determine a fair market value for the property.

Eminent domain is a tool that allows governments to take private property for public use, while providing just compensation to the owner.

Midwest City has been working to revitalize the Heritage Park Mall area for about two years through the process of urban renewal.

The first step was to determine if the property is blighted. A blight report was put together and presented to the planning commission and city council.

After determining that property is blighted, the urban renewal authority was requested to begin the process of acquiring it. The Heritage Park Mall main building, Montgomery Ward, What-A-Burger buildings and Sears, which is owned by the city, were declared blighted. LifeChurch, which was formerly Dillard’s, is not included in the blight report.

An urban renewal plan was then drafted which outlined steps to be taken with the ultimate outcome of trying to acquire the property. The planning commission and city council approved the plan.

Bahreini also recently challenged the city council’s decision to reject a zoning request as part of his most recent efforts to redevelop the property. He asked the city to rezone the property as a planned unit development or PUD that would allow the building to be redeveloped into mixed use development with multi-family housing, an aquaponics farm, biomass facility, solar energy farm and commercial space.

The city council unanimously rejected the zoning request during a July 23 meeting, citing concerns about lack of detail about layout for the property and financing for the project as well as health and safety concerns.

Bahreini filed a challenge in Oklahoma County District Court on Aug. 29. The petition asks Midwest City to accept the proposed Heritage Park Mall Planned Unit Development.

According to state law, a lawsuit challenging a decision or ruling of a municipal government must be filed in district court within 30 business days.
Midwest City officials were served with the lawsuit last week.