Oklahoma City will move to preserve several buildings on an abandoned ranch site next to the Chisholm Creek mixed-use development.
The Oklahoma City Council voted unanimously to preserve the property at 12901 N. West Main Street after receiving more than a dozen complaints in the past year about overgrown weeds, squatters, property maintenance and an unsecured large ranch home.
Depending on the vote, the city will seek three bids to secure the building and then place a lien on the property to recoup costs.
An abandoned 43-acre ranch remains at 12901 NW Oklahoma City, with the house and farm buildings intact south of Chisholm Creek in Oklahoma City.
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Developer Barry Dodson paid $6.6 million for the property and another $1 million for the 50-acre former Lowman Nursery to the south.
Instead, he proposed a $350 million mixed-use development that he hoped would include a walking path to Chisholm Creek, where the estate borders Top Golf.
This development has not yet occurred. In a recent interview, Dodson told The Oklahoman he is working to raise funds to clean out the property, including the basement and cellars.
More than 13,000 drivers pass the house every day, and the adjacent prairie that once housed the ranch has been replaced by one of Oklahoma City’s busiest retail corridors. Three years after The Oklahoman first delved into the property’s history, its condition has only gotten worse.
The iron fence that once surrounded the property has been removed. The window is broken. The house was clearly uninhabitable. Oklahoma City reported that problems began at the property in 2024, with more than a dozen complaints including tall grass and weeds, squatting, property maintenance and an unsafe home.
In its heyday, the ranch housed horse stables and the owners often hosted civic events on the grounds.
An abandoned 43-acre ranch remains at 12901 NW Oklahoma City, with the house and farm buildings intact south of Chisholm Creek in Oklahoma City.
The area around the abandoned ranch has been transforming rapidly over the past decade, with long-shuttered gas stations replaced by new retail stores and restaurants. Surrounding properties include Costco, OnCue, Starbucks, Main Event Entertainment and medical office buildings.
Dodson’s development, approved by the city’s Planning Commission in 2022, includes 100,000 square feet of retail space, 55,000 square feet of office space and about 1,000 apartments. He told The Oklahoman at the time that he planned to start in 2024.
This article originally appeared in Oklahoma: OKC to set lien on ranch near Chisholm Creek, development stalled