Since going up in northwest Muskogee five years ago, River City Plaza and the Walmart SuperCenter have helped draw traffic and commerce to the west end of Shawnee Bypass.

“Most people hear about us because they went to Walmart,” said Kathy Long, owner of the Crowning Moments formal wear store, which has been located at River City Plaza Center for nearly two years.

Shawnee Bypass, or U.S. 62, isn’t the only Muskogee highway seeing more traffic. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses have popped up along U.S. 69 since that highway was widened here in 2006.

Development that’s seen on Shawnee Bypass and U.S. 69 has changed Muskogee’s business and retail map over the past decade, said Sue Harris, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce. And she expects those areas to continue to develop.

“U.S. 69 looks more appealing now that it’s wider and is definitely getting a new look,” she said. “And Shawnee, with the new Walmart, is drawing businesses to it.”

Sales tax collections over the past 10 years have fluctuated, partly due to changes in the sales tax rate.

For example, in July 2000, with tax rate of 2.5 percent, the city collected just under $1 million in sales tax, with $39.9 million in taxable sales.

In July 2009, with a 3.5 percent tax rate, the city collected $1.6 million from $47.3 million in taxable sales.

In February 2001, at a 2.5 percent tax rate, the city collected $1.2 million in taxes, based on $51.2 million in taxable sales from December Christmas shopping.

In February 2009, even with the economic downturn, the city collected $1.89 million based on $54.1 million in taxable sales, with a 3.5 percent tax.

The added traffic on West Shawnee Bypass prompted businesses to head west. Two that have moved from the east side of Shawnee Bypass are Furniture Factory Outlet, which moved from Curt’s Mall to 1551 W. Shawnee Bypass, and Orscheln’s Farm & Home Supply moved west to the corner of Shawnee Bypass and Main Street in 2009. Two car dealerships moved from Main Street in 2009, Car Mart to 1501 W. Shawnee Bypass, and Toyota of Muskogee, 2314 W. Shawnee Bypass.

Rick Hamm, general manager of Toyota of Muskogee, said the dealer moved because it needed a larger facility.

“We were growing and we needed more room, and the reason we picked this location is that the traffic count on Shawnee is double the count on Main Street,” Hamm said.

Hamm said the dealer has increased inventory and sales since moving last year — and this was with a slower economy.

“Sales in October 2009 were better than in ‘08, sales in November 2009 were better than in ‘08 and I attribute that to the new building,” he said.

Long said she relocated Crowning Moments from Arrowhead Mall to River City Plaza in April 2008 to get more visibility and space.

“Our first year here, we doubled our size, and we doubled our inventory in 2008,” she said. “I absolutely love the spot I’m in. You see daylight coming in the windows.”

Long said the new location has made her store more of a destination.

A convenient location wasn’t necessarily why two customers visited Crowning Moments recently.

Dee Ann Hall of Okay spent a Thursday afternoon helping her daughter, Okay High School junior Clarissa Hall, find a gown for basketball homecoming. Clarissa and her friend, sophomore Keeley Frazier, are attendants.

“We’re just looking for dresses,” Dee Ann Hall said. “And this is the only place in town.”

Meanwhile, bride-to-be Elaine Wofford of Wagoner said she came to the store because she “heard a lot of good stuff about this place.”

River City Plaza has faced some disappointments, such as when Goody’s clothing store closed in a 2008 corporate restructuring. However, the center continues to attract new tenants. Easy Home opened Dec. 5, offering furniture, appliances, electronics and computers for sale or lease.

Not all businesses are interested in moving west, though.

Lisa Workman, owner of Fence Me In at Curt’s Mall, said she likes her location at the corner of York Street and East Shawnee Bypass. Fence Me In relocated to Curt’s Mall about four years ago after opening two years earlier in Shadowwood Mall in downtown.

“We’re on a good stretch of road,” she said. “Pretty much every type of restaurant is on this road, and it’s just a road that leads to a lot of different places.”

She said she has never been interested in going west.

“I just don’t want to be a follower of Walmart,” Workman said. “I’m an independent store, and Curt’s Mall is just a nice spot. There are a lot of nice anchors here.”

Development along U.S. 69 includes an IHOP adjacent to a Fairfield Inn & Suites, a new Walgreens drug store and a larger Braums Fresh Market.

Rick Bruton, owner of Muskogee’s Taco Mayo franchise, said he would like to build a new location on U.S. 69 as soon as the economy gets better. The franchise has a sign announcing a planned location on the highway, just south of Okmulgee Ave.

“We had a Taco Mayo in Muskogee for 26 years in the old Dairy Queen, a leased building,” Bruton said, referring to the current location at 2907 W. Okmulgee Ave. “Our lease was coming up in two years. We wanted to put it in a better location, so we got a piece of property a year or so ago. Our intent was to try to locate a renter for the current building at the same time build the new one.”

He said the downturn in the economy put the building plans on hold until later this year or next year.

Jonita Mullins, executive director of Downtown Muskogee Inc., said increased traffic along outlying highways could distract shoppers from downtown — and attract shoppers to downtown.

“I haven’t seen a lot of businesses leave the downtown corridor, so it has not had as negative an impact as it would have been a year ago,” she said.

Downtown Muskogee Inc., which has been in operation less than two years, has drawn up a “wish list” of potential businesses for the city’s core, Mullins said.

Mullins said people living in downtown have expressed a desire for a small pharmacy or grocery store.

“And we have people who work here in downtown say they want a place to get aspirin or milk before they go home,” she said. “There is some interest in bringing a hotel downtown, but not a big one.”

She said activities at the Muskogee Civic Center and the courthouses could draw visitors to downtown hotels.

“We’re also looking for a number of small eateries, maybe a bookstore or more boutique dress shops,” she said. “We have a very close connection with the Chamber of Commerce.”



Sales tax collections

since 2000

•July 2000-June 2001

$12,961,509.33

• July 2001-June 2002

$15,370,195.47

• July 2002-June 2003

$14,063,017.08

• July 2003-June 2004

$16,745,503.66

• July 2004-June 2005

$20,524,261.63

• July 2005-June 2006

$23,190,824.57

• July 2006-June 2007

$23,660,663.06

• July 2007-June 2008

$22,933,847.39

• July 2008-June 2009

$20,652,072.81

• July 2009-January 2010

$11,747,271.43



Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email