New state law halts plans for Crossroads Mall marijuana farm
Plans for a marijuana farm inside the former Crossroads Mall have gone up in smoke.
In late December, Yang Yang and Mayor Farm LLC filed a document with the city, revealing plans to convert a section of the mall into an 18,673square-foot indoor marijuana farm.
Oklahoma's state government dashed those dreams, however, when Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 1511 on Wednesday. The bill prohibits any newly licensed marijuana grow operation from being established within 1,000 feet of a public or private school. Sections of the mall are now owned by Santa Fe South Charter School, which already has a high school and middle school on site.
The grow facility would have been in the south side of the mall, in a section that previously housed a Dillard's department store. Planning documents showed it would have taken up about a third of the space where Dillard's used to be. The owner's other project at the location, an Asian market and cafeteria, will continue.
The 48-year-old building closed to retail customers in 2017. Aside from the expansion of Santa Fe South Charter School, the building sat mostly empty for years.
When reached by email Friday, an assistant to the mall's new owner said they would comply with state regulations. According to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, no grow license has been filed for operations at that location yet.
The new law took effect immediately, which would bar the granting of a new license there.
Although the law bans new grower licensees within 1,000 feet of a school, it allows farms to continue operating near schools if they were already licensed before March 30, among other exceptions.
When it became clear that the mall's new owner wanted to grow marijuana in the same building as his school, Santa Fe South Superintendent Chris Brewster started reaching out to local and state officials to oppose it. Brewster said he celebrated the governor's signature.
“We are pleased that our legislature has seen fit to encourage a buffer between this business and schools,” he said. “We are grateful to elected officials who helped to protect our kids.”
With its new owner, the former mall could be salvaged into a functioning piece of the economic puzzle at the intersection of I-240 and Interstate 35. In June 2021, a company called Lins Crossroad Plaza LLC paid $6.5 million for 800,070 square feet of property that includes parts of the now-vacant shopping mall.
Documents filed with the city's planning office indicate the west end of the mall will be converted into a retail and wholesale grocery store. The second floor of planned renovations eventually will include a food court.
The property was known for decades as Crossroads Mall until that mall closed more than a decade ago amid declining interest in big-box retail stores. Developers then rebranded it as Plaza Mayor at Crossroads to lure Oklahoma City's burgeoning Latino community. It became a cultural hub of commerce with Hispanic stores and restaurants, and a retail business incubator.
That venture folded in 2017, leaving both the retail property of the mall and surrounding businesses without the foot traffic that once kept the southeast side of Oklahoma City an economic powerhouse.
Staff writer Dale Denwalt covers Oklahoma’s economy and business news for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Dale? He can be reached at ddenwalt@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @denwalt. Support Dale’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.