FISTA Cites $20 Million In Central Plaza Improvements

On Tuesday, August 18, we published an opinion piece looking back at photos of Lawton Central Mall in 2010. The photos were from an album on the Central Plaza Facebook page. The opinion piece itself was a personal reflection of what the mall used to be and where it stands today after being purchased by the City of Lawton in 2021, renamed to Central Plaza, and serving as the home of FISTA (the FIRES Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator) Innovation Park, which are both overseen by the Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator Trust Authority.

The evening after the opinion piece was published, we received a response from FISTA President and CEO Dr. Krista Ratliff stating that the opinion piece featured "inaccurate statements" and mentioned that the FISTA has "spent over $20 million on improvements in the plaza."

On Wednesday, August 19, we asked Ratliff to elaborate on what areas of the opinion piece where inaccurate and to provide us detailed information, specifically on the investments that have been made to Central Plaza and where the projects for the plaza currently stand compared to the project renderings for Central Plaza that were made public at a press conference on August 31, 2021.

Ratliff then assigned FISTA Director of Operations Bill Pearson to inspect the opinion piece "line by line" for inaccurate information. We received a response to the opinion piece's inaccuracies from Pearson and Ratliff on Thursday, August 20. Below is a summary of what was provided. The entire response is available at this link.

The email started out by noting that the opinion piece featured several inaccurate statements and characterizations, or were "presented without important context." Ten bullet points were provided outlining the opinion piece's inaccurate statements and characterizations.

'There hasn't been any construction done on the plaza.'

The first bullet point highlighted a direct quote from the opinion piece that "there hasn't been any construction done on the plaza." The email stated that "this is false," and that Central Plaza has undergone "significant construction and reinvestment," including over $20 million for improvements for the building's roof, skylight replacement/repairs, "upgraded exterior lighting, new LED parking-lot lighting, retail tenant buildouts, new HVAC units, parking-lot drainage improvements, STEM facilities, anechoic testing facilities, and other major upgrades."

'The only advancements…have been for the benefit of FISTA.'

The second bullet point addressed another direct quote from the opinion piece: "The only advancements that have been made on Central Plaza have been for the benefit of FISTA, including multiple remodeling projects, the repainting of the entire mall and the $10-million dollar addition of two sound-proof rooms, i.e. anechoic chambers."

The email stated that this was "false and misleading," and again highlighted the $20 million building improvements that have been made, stating that these improvements also benefit Central Plaza as a whole. The email also stated that FISTA's presence at Central Plaza "brings employees, students, industry partners, events, visitors, and economic activity that support the property and its businesses."

'The portrayal of retail as simply disappearing is misleading.'

The third bullet point addressed the images and descriptions in the gallery as misleading. The opinion piece featured a gallery of images from Central Mall in 2010. The gallery referenced stores that were in Central Mall in 2010 and highlighted which stores were still in Central Plaza and which ones either closed or moved. The gallery also included links to past articles about individual Central Plaza stores closing and/or moving to other locations in Lawton.

According to the email, "retail has been intentionally relocated and clustered to increase density, visibility, shared traffic, and customer convenience. Central Plaza currently includes seven active restaurants, with additional restaurants anticipated, as well as remaining retail and commercial businesses."

'The $10 million anechoic chamber investment is inaccurately described as 'two sound-proof rooms.''

The fourth bullet addressed opinion piece's description of the FISTA's two anechoic chambers. The opinion piece described the $10 million dollar anechoic chambers as "sound-proof rooms," which according to the email was an inaccurate description. However, the opinion piece did include "i.e. anechoic chambers" after "two sound-proof rooms" and provided a link to the FISTA website that featured a complete description of anechoic chamber.

'Claims that the mall rarely sees visitors or that the parking lot is empty are unsupported and misleading.'

The fifth bullet point addressed the opinion piece and photo descriptions in the gallery, both featuring references from the author's childhood memories of the mall itself and its parking lot being packed, especially on weekends. But today, the author has noticed that the parking lot is emptier compared to their childhood memories of the parking lot. According to the email, the opinion piece's statement about the parking lot now being empty is "unsupported and misleading," even though the author describes the parking lot based on personal memories.

The email stated that "Central Plaza now serves a broader population than traditional mall shoppers, including restaurant and retail customers, employees, students, educators, industry partners, event attendees, and business visitors. The parking lot has also been substantially improved with new LED lighting throughout."

'Unrealized early entertainment concepts should not be treated as evidence that redevelopment has not occurred.'

The sixth bullet point addressed the opinion piece's references to a press conference that occurred on August 31, 2021, at Central Mall hosted by the Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator Trust Authority announcing the mall's renaming to Central Plaza and unveiled renderings of a new development plan for the mall. The opinion piece did state that "it's been five years since the renaming and the projected future plans for Central Plaza were unveiled, and yet more stores closed in the mall and there hasn't been any construction done on the plaza." But according to the email, this "should not be treated as evidence that redevelopment has not occurred."

The email also stated that "not every initial concept has been developed, but millions of dollars have been invested in the property, substantial redevelopment has taken place, and additional work is continuing."

'Central Plaza and FISTA are repeatedly treated as interchangeable.'

The seventh bullet point addressed the differences between Central Plaza and FISTA. According to the email, Central Plaza and FISTA are not the same thing, even though the opinion piece does treat Central Plaza and FISTA as two different entities. However, the gallery introduction does refer to the former Central Mall building as "Central Plaza/FISTA, aka 'the old mall,'" which is meant to be colloquial reference for the building based on how Lawton citizens now refer to the building that formerly housed Central Mall.

According to the email, "Central Plaza is the broader mixed-use property, while FISTA Innovation Park is a major component of its redevelopment—alongside restaurants, retail, commercial businesses, education, and other uses."

'The suggestion that Central Plaza may be 'engulfed by the FISTA' is slanted and inflammatory.'

The eighth bullet point addressed the conclusion of the opinion piece, which stated, "it wouldn't be a surprise if Central Plaza is lost forever as well and the entire building is engulfed by the FISTA." The email stated that this opinion piece conclusion was "slanted and inflammatory" and stated that FISTA "is reactivating previously underutilized space, attracting employers and investment, and creating additional daily traffic that supports the broader property."

The author's opinion of Central Plaza being "engulfed by the FISTA" is based on the noticeable improvements that have been made to the FISTA itself and not to Central Plaza, whether that's the fruition of the renderings from 2021, the addition of new stores, the reopening of the movie theater - essentially, a modern return to Central Mall's glory days of 2010 - since the opinion piece is based on the author's memories of Central Mall compared to what the mall looks like today.

'The conclusion about 'what we won't benefit from in the future' is unsupported.'

The ninth bullet point continued to address the conclusion of the opinion piece, which also stated, "but instead of dwelling on the present and what we won't benefit from in the future, let's look back at Central Mall's former glory days." According to the email, the opinion of "what we won't benefit from in the future" is unsupported. The email stated that "the community is already benefiting through jobs, STEM education, workforce development, infrastructure investment, defense-industry growth, new business activity, and continued redevelopment."

The author's opinion of "what we won't benefit from in the future" was referring to the mall itself, not FISTA. In the author's opinion, they personally, along with other southwest Oklahoma residents, benefitted from Central Mall more in the past because it was a hub for shopping and community. This opinion is supported throughout the article and photo descriptions in the gallery by the author's memories and links to sources about the closing and/or relocation of various sores in Central Plaza.

'Describing Central Plaza as a 'half-deserted wasteland, half-government-contract hub' is materially incomplete and unnecessarily negative.'

The tenth bullet point addressed the gallery's description that described Central Plaza as a "half-deserted wasteland, half-government-contract hub." The email described this description as "materially incomplete and unnecessarily negative." The email stated that "the property currently includes seven operating restaurants, retail and commercial businesses, STEM education, workforce programming, technology and testing facilities, employers, events, and continued private- and public-sector investment."

The author personally admits that the description of Central Plaza as a "half-deserted wasteland, half-government-contract hub" is a bit harsh.