The Shoppes at Macalester Highway Shopping Center in Macalester has already received thousands of visitors and many buildings are still under construction or in the planning stages.
“We had 90,000 visitors in August,” said Adam White, Macalester’s economic development director. “From Macalester he is the best shopping center within 50 miles.”
The City of Macalester has benefited in several ways with the addition of the Shoppes at Macalester Center.
“To date, about 150 people have been employed at wages above the average wage in Pittsburgh County,” White said. “It’s our victory.”
That number is expected to grow as more businesses open on the site.
“Once all the buildings are open, we expect the shop to employ more than 200 people,” says White.
White said the next major grand opening is Chick-fil-A, due in October. He said the restaurant has created about 40 jobs in Macalester. It’s also expected to draw more traffic off the highway that might otherwise run through Macalester. When it opens, it will be the only Chick-fil-A on the highway between Muskogee and North Texas, White said.
Other businesses under construction at the site include Ollie’s, which retails closeout merchandise and excess inventory from other stores. Below are five with most items under $5 and smaller offerings ranging from $6 to $25. Jiffy Lube’s construction suffered a temporary hit due to supply-side shortages, but is expected to move forward once the necessary materials arrive.
McAlester Community Development Director Jayme Clifton said concrete needed to be poured immediately for the pad that will house The Bank NA’s new shop at the McAlester location.
Five Below is almost ready for an occupancy certificate inspection by the city of Macalester, which must pass before the building can be certified safe for people to occupy, she said.
The Shoppes at McAlester is located at the intersection of 14th Street and US Highway 69. Also known as the George Nye Highway, the highway runs through Macalester. Starbucks is the first business to open in his March, followed by Barks Outlets, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Ross and Rackroom Shoes.
Plans for a multi-tenant building adjacent to Starbucks call for 1,800 square feet of Tropical Smoothie and 2,500 square feet of T-Mobile, with space for two more tenants.
TIF contract
After a few setbacks, the Shops at McAlester project took off with the involvement of Burk Collins & Co. developer Burk Collins.
Collins agreed to build a highway shopping center at his own expense through a tax-enhancing loan agreement known as a TIF between the Macalester City Council and the Pittsburgh County Commission.
The contract called for Burke Collins & Company to receive 90% of city and county sales taxes from the site for five years or until he received $5.5 million.
People who shop in Macalester pay a 10% gross sales tax rate or a dime, but only 4% of that 10% gross sales tax goes to the city of Macalester.
The remaining 1.5% goes to Pittsburgh County and the remaining 4.5% goes to state sales tax. Collins does not receive a portion of the state’s 4.5% sales tax on the Shops at McAlester site, but the TIF agreement assigns Collins 90% of the city and county stock collected at Shops in McAlester .
Macalester City
An analysis by Sherry Swift, Chief Financial Officer of the City of Macalester, of the city’s sales tax collected at Macalester shops in May, June, July and August showed the following figures: I’m here.
• May — The Oklahoma Tax Commission collected a total of $11,070.33 in city sales tax from McAlester stores that month. This breaks down into a $9,963.30 refund for his 90% cut of the developer, and $1,107.03 for his 10% portion of the city.
• June — OTC collected $53,126.95 in city sales tax on the Shops at McAlester site. 90% of Burk Collins & Company totals $47,814.26 and 10% of the City totals $5,312.69.
• July — When OTC collects $40,046.30 in city sales tax from Macalester shops, Collins will receive a 90% cut of $36,041.67, giving the city a 10% cut of $4,004.63.
• August — In August, Shops at McAlester had its best month ever, with the city’s gross sales tax of $62,772.88. Collins’ 90% stake totaled $56,495.59 and the City’s 10% totaled $6,277.29.
Combining all four months, the total amount of Macalester sales tax collected from Macalester shops during that period breaks down as follows:
• Total sales tax collected by the City of Macalester from May to August 2022 on Macalester shops — $167,016.46.
• 90% refunded to Burke Collins and Company from the four months — $150,314.82.
• 10% going to the city from May to August — $16,701.64.
Pittsburgh County
In addition, amounts paid to Burk Collins and Company through the TIF Agreement include Pittsburgh County’s 1.5% sales tax collected at Shops at McAlester.
Pittsburgh County Treasurer Jennifer Hackler also provided a breakdown of the county’s volumes collected at McAlester’s shop from May to August 2022.
• May — The Oklahoma Tax Commission collected sales tax totaling $4,435.06 from McAlester shops on behalf of Pittsburgh County. Collins’ 90% cut would be $3,991.55, and his remaining 10% in the county would total $443.51.
• June — The total collected by OTC for the County’s 1.5% portion of McAlester’s stores totaled $19,941.49. Collins & Co.’s 90% reimbursement totaled $17,947.34 and the county’s 10% share was $1,994.15.
• July—Pittsburgh County sales tax contributions collected at Shops at McAlester totaled $14,973.95. 90% of that amount goes back to developers for $13,476.56, and the remaining 10% of the county totals $1,497.39.
• August — Pittsburgh County had a share of sales tax collected at Shops at McAlester of $23,554.82. The developer’s 90% reimbursement totaled $21,199.34 and the county’s 10% cut totaled $2,355.48.
Adding four months, the total amount of Pittsburgh County sales tax collected from McAlester’s shops during that period breaks down as follows:
• Total sales tax collected by the County of Pittsburgh at Shops at McAlester May through August 2022 — $62,905.32.
• 90% of Pittsburgh County’s total will be refunded to Burke Collins & Company from the four months — $56,614.79.
• Remaining 10% of county totals paid to Pittsburgh County May through August — $6,290.53.
city and county total
When the $167,016.46 sales tax collected from Shops at McAlester for the city is added to the $62,905.32 collected for the county from May through August, the two amounts add up to $229,921.46.
Burke Collins & Co.’s share of the 90% refund of $150,314.82, reflecting 90% of the amount collected for the City of Macalester at the Macalester shops from May through August, was collected for the County of Pittsburgh. Added to the 90% refund of $56,614.79. The total for the same period is $206,929.61.
This $206,929.61 represents payments made by the City and County of Pittsburgh to Burke Collins & Co. under the TIF Agreement for the four months of May through August 2022.
The City of Swift, Macalester’s CFO, said the TIF deal requires payments to be made on the one-year anniversary of the first sale made by the first business to open in the Shops of Macalester. . It will be Starbucks.The city plans to make his first payment in March 2023, which he expects will take place over a 12-month period after Starbucks opens in March 2022. Swift said he would cover
The Shops at McAlester project ran into some problems along the way. Much of that is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply-side shortages felt nationwide.
It’s been a long road for the city of Macalester, which began working towards developing a new highway retail center several years ago, to see its first store open at this location. Some of the first attempts by other potential developers were unsuccessful.
Things finally started to move forward when Burk Collins of Burk Collins & Company joined about four years ago.
Collins undertook the project through a tax-advanced financing agreement with the Macalester City Council and the Pittsburgh Country Commissioner. Initial details were developed through the Macalester Area Southside Reinvestment Commission, also known as the Highway TIF Commission. This committee is made up of representatives from organizations that benefit from city and county tax revenues.
There were some delays during the construction process, some due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and shortages on the supply side, but the project continued to move forward.
Today, it already receives the aforementioned thousands of visitors every month. This number is expected to grow as new businesses open.
Please contact James Beatty (jbeaty@mcalesternews.com).
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