Developer dropped from lawsuit, but Triangle plans remain stalled
An Oklahoma City attorney who is suing over plans to expand the Triangle at Classen Curve development has dropped the developer from her lawsuit, but is still moving forward with claims against Oklahoma City.
Attorney Robyn Assaf, who lives in Oklahoma City’s Glenbrook neighborhood, filed a lawsuit against Ohio-based WP Glimcher and Oklahoma City in November over plans to build as many as 500 apartment units with structured parking on 12 acres of undeveloped land next to the Triangle at Classen Curve shopping center.
Assaf said her decision to drop claims against WP Glimcher was merely procedural, and she is still fighting Oklahoma City in court over its approval of plans for the Triangle expansion.
“There are 500 apartment units in this development, it’s very dense and it should not have gotten through so easily,” she said.
Assaf claims in her lawsuit that Oklahoma City did not require WP Glimcher to do studies on things such as what effect the development would have on traffic in the area, as well as water runoff and light pollution.
She also claims that the neighboring city of Nichols Hills was not given proper notice of the development before the Oklahoma City Planning Commission and the city council approved the plans.
Karen Bailey, a spokeswoman for developer WP Glimcher, said it still wants to move forward with expansion plans for the Triangle at Classen Curve. Even though the developer has been dismissed from the lawsuit, the litigation still will affect the developer’s ability to move forward with the project.
“We remain very committed to the project. Unfortunately, the lawsuit still impacts our ability to move forward with development,” Bailey said.
Plans for the Triangle at Classen Curve expansion show outdoors retailer REI as an anchor tenant for the development, but the retailer has not yet confirmed it will open an Oklahoma City store.
“Although we are continuously looking at locations across the country to better serve our members, we have nothing to announce in Oklahoma City at this time,” REI said in a statement.
A scheduling hearing on Assaf’s lawsuit is set for Feb. 26 in Oklahoma County District Court.