Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads

The new direction for the super-regional mall formerly known as Crossroads Mall was announced in late April of 2013. At that time, Crossroads Mall had gone through what many malls throughout the United States had experienced: new retail development in the area causing retail flight, increase in Internet sales hurting traditional retail, and failing of the big anchor stores leaving large gaps. With occupancy at an all time low of 17%, a repurposing and reimagining of the center was at hand.

A new focus had to be placed on creating an experience that could not be replicated online. There had to be a new model implemented to initiate new kinds of anchors to bring traffic to the Mall. After the name-change to Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads, the center immediately started implementing its virtual anchor program creating weekend cultural programming and large signature events. Weekends at Plaza Mayor are now filled with folkloric dancing, mariachi music, guitar-playing, singing, and Zumba! At least once a month there is a large event celebrating cultural heritage and traditions. Many organizations have found the center to be a great place to host their events including expos, festivals, blood drives, seminars, showcases, fashion shows and concerts.

To accommodate this activity, the entire center court was reconfigured and a large permanent stage was added in order to create a living, breathing, multi-purpose venue. Some of the large events created include Three Kings Day Celebration, Día del Amor y Amistad, ¡Oklahoma Baile!, The Passion Play, a 20,000-egg Easter Egg Hunt, Día de la Madre, Día del Padre Car Show, La Estrella de Plaza Mayor (Singing Competition, The Plaza Mayor Fall Festival (partnership with OKC Public Schools), Mariachi Festival, Black Friday Fiesta, Serenata a la Virgen, and Navidad en el Barrio (Posadas Celebration).

There were also two very large outdoor festivals created bringing in almost 15,000 people a piece. One is the Cinco de Mayo celebration in May and the other is Fiestas Patrias in September. Fiestas Patrias is done in conjunction with the Mexican Consulate to perform the official ceremony of El Grito, and work is being done right now with OKC's sister city, Puebla to create a cultural exchange for Cinco de Mayo.

These activities have brought both increased traffic into the mall as well as many more stores and restaurants. Another win for Plaza Mayor was the establishing of a semi-permanent office for the Mobile Consulate of Mexico to serve the community two week of the month, bring in 130 new families a day. Plaza Mayor occupancy is now up to 46%.

The second anchor is the new business incubator known as El Parian. This building will serve as a marketplace for new businesses to test retail concepts with a complete focus on reducing barriers to entry and providing small business resources to help create real economic development. Work is being done right now to form a coalition of partners including the Small Business Administration, South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, SCORE, and Scissortail Community Development Corporation to assist these business to give them the greatest chance for success. El Parian is now open and leasing spaces quickly.

Services have also become an essential component of Plaza Mayor with a new medical clinic on its way, law offices, insurance services, and other offerings are now available as well.

More and more families are making the choice to spend their days at a true center of the community, and with the support of many business and organizations, Plaza Mayor will continue to develop into a hub for the community, as well as become a regional attraction for those looking for a different kind of shopping experience.