By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
A farm and ranch supply company will build a new store in Yukon.
Atwoods Ranch and Home has reached an agreement to construct and operate a 63,000 square foot retail establishment on a six-acre site west of the AMC movie theater on the south side of Interstate 40 north of 10th Street in Yukon city limits.
“We are excited to bring Atwoods to Yukon,” President Brian Atwood said. “Although we have had our eyes on this community for many years and received many requests through the years to open a store in Yukon, until now we never found the right opportunity.”
In addition to farm and ranch supplies, Atwoods’ stores sell clothing, tools and hardware, lawn and garden items, sporting goods, pet supplies, and seasonal merchandise.
Ground-breaking is expected “sometime in 2020” and it will take about six to nine months to build the new store, said Chad Arnold, director of real estate and marketing for McGee Commercial Real Estate.
“We’re really excited,” Arnold said. “We’ve been working with Atwoods for six months to get this across the goal line. Also, we can’t thank the City (of Yukon) enough for working with us.
“Just being a lot of rural areas around, I think it’s just a natural fit for (Atwoods) – especially being right off I-40. I think they’re going to do really well.”
McGee Real Estate Services L.L.C. is under contract to develop the property north of N.W. 10th Street and east of West End Pointe Drive. Plans call for Yukon’s new Atwoods store to be built on West End Pointe Drive between the Okie Express Auto Wash and Avid Hotel.
Mayor Mike McEachern believes Atwoods will be a “tremendous asset” to the community and provide Yukon residents a “really good place” to shop for their needs.
“We’re delighted that they’ve made the decision to come to Yukon,” Mayor McEachern said. “This is a big deal for us … it really is. This will be a huge economic boost to Yukon. They do a lot of business and fit right into our community plan.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to have another anchor in our sales tax base and bring a really good family-type business to Yukon. … The community is very much behind Atwoods.”
Atwood thanked Arnold and developer Ken McGee of McGee Real Estate, along with Yukon city officials, for their joint work in “helping make it happen.”
“We look forward to serving the people and community of Yukon for many years to come,” he said.
The City of Yukon has proposed economic development agreements with developer KG Holdings LC/W.E.P. Land Holdings LLC and with Atwood Distributing L.P. for this future development in phase two of the West End Pointe Addition. The agreements will be formally considered at next Tuesday night’s Yukon City Council meeting.
Atwoods has agreed to buy the property from the developer and construct and operate a new retail store provided infrastructure improvements are made to the site.
A signed sales and development contract between the developer and Atwood Distributing shows a $1,160,000 purchase price.
With word spreading that Atwoods is coming to Yukon, Arnold said his company already has heard from restaurants interested in building near the Atwoods’ store. He expects one restaurant to break ground within a few months and open this year.
City Manager Jim Crosby said this restaurant will be a “really nice business” and he hopes a formal announcement can be made in the next couple months.
“It’s going to be a great thing for our community,” Crosby said. “There’s some other areas we’re looking at, and hopefully we’ll get those filled out this year also.”
SALES TAX INCENTIVE
The City of Yukon has proposed providing Atwood’s with a 2 percent sales tax rebate for seven years not to exceed $1.2 million, documents indicate. This item will be considered at next Tuesday night’s city council meeting.
“In order to facilitate the project, it is necessary to induce retailer by providing economic development assistance, in order to defray a portion of the costs of the project,” according to the City’s proposed agreement with Atwood Distributing.
The City of Yukon provided similar incentive packages to entice other larger companies – like Target and Hobby Lobby – to build stores here, Mayor McEachern noted.
“Atwoods certainly will support our tax base here for a long time,” he said.
Meanwhile, the City’s proposed agreement with developer McGee states, in part, that developing the property into a retail building “would require substantial improvements to attract and support the quality of tenant and level of customers necessary for a retail establishment to become economically viable.”
This project “will promote economic development, stimulate business and commerce, create additional employment opportunities, generate sales tax revenue, and increase services and opportunities available within the City,” according to both proposed economic development agreements.
Under the proposal to be considered next Tuesday night, the City of Yukon will reimburse the developer for 50 percent of the costs (up to $90,000) of street improvements and storm water requirements. The City also has agreed to install a water line to service the project.
Wilbur and Fern Atwood opened their first 8,000 square foot store in April 1960 in Enid.
Atwoods has grown to 63 stores with more than 2 million square feet of retail space in five states: Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas.
“Atwoods has been family-owned and operated right here in Oklahoma since 1960,” Atwood said. “We will celebrate our 60th anniversary in April, and it is our daily commitment to serving the customer that has allowed us to grow and sets us apart as a customer-favorite retailer.”
Atwoods employs more than 1,500 people and nearly half the company’s stores are in Oklahoma.
