Bed Bath & Beyond is in trouble out yonder
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Hey, y’all. A moment of silence, maybe a word of prayer even, for Bed Bath & Yonder, as we call it at the house.
Bed Bath & Beyond is in trouble, and I’m sad.
It’s not much of a secret that I’m not much of a shopper. I don’t mind going to buy things. That’s different. But whiling away an afternoon, looking for things I don’t know I need until I see them, bores me. And it’s dangerous, because I’m an impulse buyer. Weird, I know.
Bed Bath & Beyond is one of the few chains I actually enjoy. They always have what I go for, or a suitable substitute.
Somebody said they let the stores get cluttered. I hadn’t noticed. Clutter, schmutter. Clutter is my life.
Plus, the small-town and country stores I grew up going to were some of the last old-timey general stores − lots of bulk goods, hardware and staples stacked in the aisles or on pallets in the back, Like Paul Lee’s store and Skinny’s in downtown Muldrow, and Shackelford’s, out in the country on the way to Paw Paw.
So, anyway, Bed Bath & Yonder is one of the good ones, if you ask me. But maybe I’m the problem: If people who like your store don’t like to shop, I imagine that would complicate your marketing.
Bed Bath & Beyond was just part of the real estate news this week. Let’s get to it, starting with the troubled chain.
Bed Bath & Beyond: Which stores are closing and which will stay open in Oklahoma, for now
With sales down and costs up, several Oklahoma Bed Bath & Beyond stores’ days are numbered.
When the kitchen axe will fall isn’t known publicly. A manager at the store in Moore referred questions to company headquarters in Union, New Jersey, and no one there returned a request for comment.
But these Bed Bath & Beyond stores in Oklahoma are on the butcher block:
- 2150 S Service Road, Shops at Moore, Moore.
- 620 Ed Noble Parkway, Parkway Plaza, Norman.
- 5352 E Skelly Drive, Tulsa.
- 7410 S Olympia Ave., Tulsa Hills Shopping Center, Tulsa.
Two Oklahoma stores are safe, for now.
Read all about it.
What made apartment rents go up so far, so fast? What can we expect next in the OKC area?
Apartment living is fun when you’re young and single. I lived in six different apartments in four different buildings in three different cities. In descending order of fun, those cities were Washington, D.C., Stillwater, and Wichita Falls, Texas. Oh, and I slept on the floor of a friend’s condo in OKC for a month after I got this job and before She Who Is and I bought our house.
But it’s no fun living in an apartment because you have to, especially when rent is on the rise.
It’s no secret that apartment rents are up — way up — but a local firm now has some hard data on just how much higher they’ve shot up the past few years, and why.
What supercharged rents? COVID-19, ironically, had a lot to do with it. Landlords were afraid, at first, that business shutdowns and jobs and income lost as a result would be devastating to their business plans when renters’ livelihoods took a hit.
But the government’s response to the pandemic, and the effect of low interest rates kept low to keep investors investing, kept renters renting and turned apartment investment rosier than ever.
“The sheer level of money provided to renters through various pandemic programs combined with the broader economic stimulation led to some of the largest multifamily rent increases in our history,” Price Edwards & Co. said in a recent report.
Read all about it.
Renovations will turn a senior living center into ‘resort-style accommodations’ in Norman
Chicago-based Luxe Life, a new luxury senior living venture, has acquired Wickshire Senior Living, 1060 Rambling Oaks Drive in Norman, with plans to renovate and upgrade.
Luxe Life, billing its space as a model for “resort style accommodations,” paid $3.25 million for the property and will spend $2.5 million to improve it, said Tim Fields, CEO and co-founder of parent company Ignite Medical Resorts. Ignite operates three locations in Oklahoma, one of them adjacent to Luxe Life in Norman.
Read all about it, and see a list of other area transactions.
Tensions rise, OKC Council decision looms over plan to build more affordable housing
From my colleague Jana Hayes:
- The city has $55 million set aside through MAPS 4 to build and renovate thousands of affordable housing units.
- The project was originally submitted by the Oklahoma City Housing Authority, but some city councilors aren’t comfortable with the authority receiving the funds.
- Still others point out that there may not be any other options.
Read all about it.
Could Oklahoma City’s Lower Bricktown soon see four new high-rise towers?
From The Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer:
Oklahoma City Council members may soon be asked to approve a new $215 million tax increment financing district to assist construction of two apartment towers in Lower Bricktown, as well as other potential future development east of the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
The request, to be heard Thursday by the city’s planning commission, includes a separate tax increment financing district to assist in converting two historic buildings along Broadway into apartments and retail. The new districts, if approved, would run for 25 years.
Tax increment financing reinvests property tax growth back into a development instead of dispersing it among taxing entities consisting of local schools, the county, library system, CareerTech and city-county health department
Read all about it.
OKC Home + Outdoor Living Show at the OKC Fairgrounds March 24-26
Visitors to the OKC Fairgrounds during the first weekend of spring will be able to check off a few items on their to-do lists as well as add a few things they didn’t know about yet. From local professionals to national experts, the OKC Home + Outdoor Living Show is the place where questions are answered, tips are shared and homes and outdoor spaces are primed to shine for spring.
Ati Williams, host of HGTV’s DC Flippers, will also offer her expertise as a general contractor, entrepreneur and real estate developer. She’ll appear on the Fresh Ideas Stage several times to offer her take on DIY projects for your home and making sure you get the biggest bang for your buck for your home improvements.
The show will also highlight:
- Industry professionals at the Outdoor Getaways feature where inspiration abounds for people looking to create a beautiful outdoor oasis in their own backyard.
- Local experts – in addition to Ati Williams – live on the Fresh Ideas Stage all three days of the show.
- Homegrown Marketplace where guests can shop for unusual home décor, specialty food, art pieces and more from local artisans and crafters.
- The Wine Village where visitors can sample the best wines from Oklahoma producers and purchase bottles to enjoy later at home.
- The new Make It! Pop Up Workshop helping guests get creative with Chalk Couture designers. Crafty visitors can take home something new that day.
Outparcels, pad sites, remnants, and scrapwood
- From Yardi Matrix: U.S. multifamily market investors, who powered a near-record sales year in 2022 but face significant volatility this year, are gravitating toward Sun Belt markets with strong job and population growth, according to a new research bulletin from Yardi Matrix.
- From Redfin via CNBC.com: U.S. renters are finally getting a break on their rent, with prices dropping in 11 major markets in January, including Oklahoma City, according to new data by online realtor Redfin.
- Do you live in Oklahoma City? Are you sure? Find out.
- The Oklahoma City Spring Remodel & Landscape Show will bring top home-improvement and landscape exhibitors to the Oklahoma City Convention Center this weekend.
Finally …
Here is all of my work for The Oklahoman/Oklahoman.com in one place.
Thanks for reading! What’s coming up that I need to know about? What have I missed? Email me at [email protected].
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Senior Business Writer Richard Mize has covered housing, construction, commercial real estate and related topics for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com since 1999.
