A two-level Barnes & Noble is set to open at Penn Square Mall, taking over the far west end space once occupied by Forever 21 as part of a $13 million renovation at Oklahoma City's oldest shopping mall. The bookstore joins a wave of new tenants including North Italia, The North Face and Athleta, signaling a push toward higher-end, experience-driven retail at the aging property.
The renovation and new store lineup were first reported by The Oklahoman, which detailed the mall's investment plans and the bookseller's arrival. Penn Square Mall is owned by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, and the new Barnes & Noble store will occupy the same west-end footprint that previously held Forever 21 and 3-6-5, according to a post on OKCTalk's Facebook page.
A Tenant Mix Built Around Dining and Lifestyle Brands
The bookstore's arrival is only part of a broader leasing push at the mall. As part of its capital investment strategy, Penn Square Mall recently signed activewear retailer Alo and landed Oklahoma's first location for modern Italian chain North Italia, according to a Facebook group post. North Italia had originally planned to open across the street at the Oak development before pivoting to Penn Square Mall instead, per the same account.
That shift matters because Oak sits directly across Northwest Expressway from Penn Square Mall. The 20-acre mixed-use development opened its first phase in late 2024 with 135,000 square feet of retail anchored by RH Gallery and Arhaus, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. The corridor around Northwest Expressway and North Pennsylvania Avenue is already one of the densest commercial areas in Oklahoma City, and the new development has raised the stakes for Penn Square's own reinvestment.
Barnes & Noble's National Comeback Reaches OKC
The Penn Square location fits into a much larger national story for the bookseller. Barnes & Noble announced in December 2025 plans to open roughly 60 new stores across the country in 2026, building on 67 openings in 2025 and 57 in 2024, per Retail TouchPoints. That growth follows nearly two decades of shrinking store counts for the chain.
Under CEO James Daunt's strategy, adopted since 2019, Barnes & Noble has handed layout and inventory decisions to local store managers, with flexible formats ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 square feet, as outlined by the ICSC. The approach aims to grow the chain's national footprint from around 700 stores to more than 1,000. Hoodline has tracked that expansion play out in markets from Elk Grove's 15-year bookstore drought to recent openings in Tucson, Fort Worth, Cupertino and Atlanta's Toco Hills neighborhood.
Oklahoma City already has two full-scale Barnes & Noble stores, at 6100 N. May Avenue and 13800 N. May Avenue near Quail Springs Mall, along with an announced suburban location in Yukon, according to store listings from Barnes & Noble. The N. May Avenue location sits less than two miles north of Penn Square Mall, putting the new mall store within close reach of existing shoppers.
A Mall With a Long, Sometimes Turbulent History
Penn Square Mall has deep roots in Oklahoma City. It originally opened in 1960 as a 582,000-square-foot open-air shopping center before being enclosed in 1982 and expanded into a two-story facility with a food court in 1988, according to Wikipedia. It is widely recognized as Oklahoma's oldest operating regional shopping center.
Today, Simon Property Group holds a 94.5% ownership stake in the mall, which spans more than 1 million square feet and generated over $700 per square foot in sales back in 2018, per Wikipedia. Simon is the largest shopping mall owner and operator in the United States, giving it the financial muscle behind Penn Square's latest overhaul.
A $13 Million Investment in Penn Square Mall
The $13 million renovation represents a major investment in Penn Square Mall.
Penn Square Mall has also made local headlines for reasons unrelated to retail in recent months. Hoodline reported on gunshots at the mall and on a rooftop fire in February that sent diners fleeing from Texas de Brazil. Neither incident is connected to the current renovation plans.
