Chesapeake’s Classen Curve Retail Development

Announces New Tenants

 

Upscale Retail and Restaurant Center Redefines Shopping and Dining Experience in Oklahoma City

 

OKLAHOMA CITY, March 30, 2010 – The Classen Curve’s recent signing of a 17,000 square foot lease with Balliets, Oklahoma’s most prestigious and renowned upscale women’s specialty retailer, underscores the high appeal of this uniquely designed and developed 94,000 square foot retail and restaurant center in north-central Oklahoma City.  Even in the midst of a challenging retail environment, the center continues to experience strong leasing activity.

 

Balliets, which offers an assortment of apparel, accessories, jewelry and beauty products, will anchor the Classen Curve, which is being developed by Chesapeake Energy Corporation.  Balliets is the seventh tenant to lease space in the past few months.  

 

“The strong leasing activity at the Classen Curve is a testament to the uniqueness of this center and its location in the heart of what has become the most desirable area in Oklahoma City to live, play and work,” said Tom Blanton, President of Blanton Property Company and the development and leasing consultant for the center.  “We have leased over 60 percent of the available space, and we have many active lease prospects underway at this time.  Given the tough retail environment, we are extremely pleased and encouraged.”

The first tenant to open in the Classen Curve was 105degrees in the fall of 2009.   Recently named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Forbes, 105degrees is the first restaurant and culinary academy of its kind in the world, featuring a variety of dishes and culinary instruction using natural, raw ingredients.

“Our highest priority in choosing a location was to select one that complements the uniqueness of our business,” said owner Dara Prentice.  “The location had to be vibrant and voguish with appealing aesthetics and tenants with strong, quality-driven brands.  We found the ideal place to open our distinctive restaurant and academy at the Classen Curve.”

Blanton reports that the Classen Curve has signed leases with several local retail and restaurant owners and operators.  New leases include:

 

• Café 501 – Peter and Sheree Holloway, the owners of the popular Edmond restaurant, will open their second Café 501 in the Classen Curve in the early fall of this year.
• Upper Crust - The newest wood-fired pizzeria concept from the respected Hal Smith Restaurant Group is under construction and slated to open in August 2010.
• Republic Gastropub – Developed by Chesapeake and designed by Elliott + Associates  Architects, this reinvention of the neighborhood pub will feature upscale pub food and more than 325 varieties of imported and domestic beers. Local restaurateurs Keith and Heather Paul of A Good Egg Dining Group, who own and operate Red Prime Steak, Cheever’s Cafe, Market-C and Iron Starr Urban Barbecue, helped create the concept and will manage the operation.
• Uptown Kids – An upscale kid’s apparel retailer owned by local retailer Gary and Caroline Goldman.
• Red Coyote Running and Fitness – A running specialty store owned by Burke Duncan and Jonathan Beck focused on footwear, apparel and accessories. The store will be the first in Oklahoma City to offer a video gait analysis. 
• Metro Shoes – A specialty shoe retailer owned by local retailers Heath Martin and Jason Parks which offers high-end, women’s and men’s casual and dress shoes.

 

Local ownership also owns and operates Balliet’s and 105 Degrees - DeDe and Bob Benham and Lisa Benham Shinn own and operate Balliets, and 105 Degrees is owned and operated by Dara Prentice and features world-renowned chef and author Matthew Kenney.

 

Accomplished architect Rand Elliott and his firm in Oklahoma City, Elliott + Associates Architects, designed the sleek new center. Inspired to some extent by his mother, who worked in the women’s clothing business in downtown Oklahoma City and enjoyed window-shopping, the Classen Curve brings back the window-shopping experience in what Elliott refers to as a modern day main street.

 

“There is nothing like this center anywhere in Oklahoma,” Elliott said.  “It is indeed a new idea for Oklahoma City and we believe one of the most extraordinary retail and restaurant centers in the United States.   In essence, the Classen Curve symbolizes the maturation of Oklahoma City, and it creates a truly unique place for the best locally-owned retailers and restaurateurs in our community to provide their customers with an incredible experience among businesses which have an affinity for real quality.”

 

The square corners cut out of the buildings are for display purposes.  “The windows are special, but they do not tell you everything from the street.   There remains some surprise and curiosity to draw people into the center so they can explore and enjoy the one-of-a-kind retail and dining offerings,” Elliott said.

 

Balliets' new two-story women’s store will be iconic, according to Elliott.  “Seven 12’ x 12’ windows will feature double-sided projection screens, enabling product and event images to be projected to both the store’s interior and exterior.  Balliets will also share a 2,500 square-foot covered courtyard with Café 501.”

 

“We are thrilled to locate Balliets in the Classen Curve,” commented Balliets owner Bob Benham. “We believe the Classen Curve embodies the classical modern personality of our brand and complements our exceptionally high merchandising standards.  The shopping experience we will be able to offer at our new Classen Curve store will rival anything I have seen in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or Dallas.”

 

The Classen Curve is located just southwest of the 40-acre Chesapeake Energy corporate campus. The new center is a central part of a vision of Chesapeake’s CEO Aubrey McClendon to create a vibrant retail, entertainment and business district along Western, Classen and Grand avenues in the north-central area.

 

“The Classen Curve represents an architectural and conceptual retail breakthrough,” McClendon said.  “The new center is emblematic of the remarkable renaissance of Oklahoma City, which started with the passage of the original MAPS initiative in 1993, and continues today with MAPS 2 and MAPS 3, the arrival of the NBA Thunder, the construction of the Chesapeake corporate campus and the Devon Tower, the development of the Boathouse District and other improvements in the city’s civic, corporate, philanthropic and cultural infrastructure.  The uniqueness of the Classen Curve will bring added national recognition to Oklahoma City and provides a center stage for many of our community’s most extraordinary retailers and restaurateurs to showcase their creative talents.”

 

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Click here to see a video of the Classen Curve

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