Classen Curve

Classen Curve offers unique retail experience on iconic boulevard

A shopping trip to Oklahoma City’s Classen Curve can be such an unexpected delight that you will come away with a one-word description of the experience: unique.

Classen Curve is unique in its design as a retail shopping center, multiple, single-story buildings built on the curve of an iconic Oklahoma City boulevard.

Classen Curve’s mix of local and national tenants is unique because most of them are one-of-a-kind for the city or the state.

And it is unique in that it is part of a trio of adjacent retail centers – Classen Curve, The Triangle and Nichols Hills Plaza.

Classen Curve and its retailing siblings boast a who’s who of both national and local retailers that are icons of their industries. Lululemon Athletica. Warby Parker. Whole Foods. Trader Joe’s. Balliet’s. C.K. & Co. 

Classen Curve began with the vision of the late Oklahoma City businessman Aubrey McClendon in the early 2000s to develop a retail center that harkened back to an earlier time when window shopping in store fronts was a popular pastime.

Oklahoma City architect Rand Elliot brought the vision to life in the unique, single story structures on Classen Curve with parking that enables shoppers to park close to their destination and stroll past storefronts with ease.

Classen Curve opened in 2010, joining the historic Nichols Hills plaza as one of Oklahoma City’s premier upscale shopping areas. The Triangle debuted in 2011 with the opening of Whole Foods.

The three properties offer a combined 290,598 square feet of space, with annual sales of an astounding $500 per square foot.

The success of a retailer like Lululemon, which sells yoga-inspired athletic apparel, sparks interest from others who see the potential that Classen Curve brings.

Classen Curve is located in one of Oklahoma City’s top zip codes for household income, and its customer base reflects that.

For the property management, that means that it has to be selective on the tenant mix and adding only unique or iconic businesses that distinguish Classen Curve from other shopping venues across Oklahoma.

Classen Curve has added an experiential facet to the center, with multiple food and exercise venues in the mix. 

Classen Curve’s eclectic lineup of retailing, food and exercise translates into a shopping experience that always uncovers something new, Barghols said.

The landscape continues to change, as well. Washington Prime is developing green space between Nichols Hills plaza and the Triangle that will include three new restaurants, a bank and a hotel, as well as high end apartments.