Culture may lose afterall

This old news clipping (from the first closing in that building) was posted on OKC Talk today, and I thought it was extremely prophetic. Wow.

Those damn hippies and their monumental downtown performing arts venues...

Downtown school design?

Well here's a sneak-peak at the site layout for the new downtown elementary school. TAP Architects put this image on their website. Very interesting that it designates which will be "urban corner" frontage for the school, and how in the back (basically toward the new "Oklahoma City Boulevard") it is gated-off presumably.

Is this school building perhaps oriented toward potential development that TAP is in the know about, or is the school building oriented toward a cultural institution (the Stage Center)?

Artist ghettos and prolonged dust bowl

Back in town for a few weeks, I took to the streets today and just drove around town, catching up on the progress in certain parts of town--today I caught up on the north side. I always think it's good to step away from a situation or a place and then reexamine it later with fresh eyes. So it was today with these fresh eyes that I've come to two particularly interesting observations.


We often strive to maximize land values out of neighborhoods and districts that make up a city. I think this is a shame, because not only does it sometimes block out intrinsic value and human-focused priorities, but it also eats a hole out of the diversity that usually makes urban cities in the U.S. so awesome. It was a similar obsession with sanitizing the urban environment that leveled most of downtown in the 60s and 70s.

I am always railing about inner north improvements. My stance is that if you polish up OKC's north side, bam--you get South Tulsa or North Dallas (obviously more refined, sophisticated environments). Let's face it, OKC's built environment just isn't very "sophisticated." Today I've come to realize the good in that, however. If you fan out in all directions of NW 30th and Western, you are surrounded by the grungy, gritty things that add real culture and value yet sap sophistication to this city. It's mostly just this little pocket of run-down blocks in the north side, but I've tackled that situation in enormous detail before.

I just think whether it's the Paseo, aside from its iconic Spanish Village main street along Dewey, that offers cheap rent to the truly-quasi "starving artists" of this world, or the nearby Asian District/Military neighborhood that injects OKC with a large dose of diversity, this area contributes just as much to OKC as Nichols Hills or downtown.

Realization #2: We need trees. What are OKC's biggest needs? More density, improving corridor aesthetics, public transit, mixed-use development? No. OKC's biggest needs are trees, trees, and more trees. The dearth of urban canopy in OKC is stunning. Yes, there are some averse conditions, and yes, big beautiful oak forests aren't naturally supposed to be here. I think Denver is one of the best examples of very lush cities that aren't supposed to be lush--it can be done. More so, it needs to be done badly. NeighborWoods is a great program, but it's just not doing enough. So much more needs to be done.

The profound thing is that a lot of these areas that are identified as needing improvement could just be covered up if we had more trees. I realized this as I was on one of those bridges crossing the Oklahoma River--where you see an enormous, wind-swept "riverside" that gradually merges into the very-scenic Great Plains ranch land separating downtown from Capitol Hill. Many cities such as Fort Worth have strange expanses of greenfield like this, however they are always covered with trees, or at least along thoroughfares.

Instead of having to spread out urban development demand to fix this area and many more, why don't some of us plant some trees for crissakes? I'm not even coming at this from a tree-hugger perspective. It would just make OKC look 10000x better. Not to mention feel better when it's 105 degrees and 400% humidity outside, and that translates into real quality of life and walkability improvement. Urban shade is a good thing, not a bad thing!

So there, one positive, and one negative (but a really obvious negative that I don't imagine will tick too many of you off). That recap is just for those of you who complain that I'm 100% negative!

The next big development

The announcement of the Union Bus Station's closing this week prompts a discussion about this block, and more specifically, the plans of a particular developer who has slowly been acquiring all of this block. So far, with the exception of 1 city-owned office building, and this bus station that is now closing, developer Nick Preftakes has been consolidating ownership of the block--a move which began right before the announcement of Devon Tower. Such timing has many in the community questioning to what extent Preftakes and Devon are privy to each other's plans.

The most-prime piece of downtown real estate
It seems obvious that a large development is going to occur soon. I have been wondering intently for the last 2 years what exactly is Preftakes' plan for this block. There are many reasons why this is now becoming the most prime piece of real estate in downtown. They are as follows:

1. The incredible remaining historic fabric of this block, which includes three historic mid-rise buildings, and many other smaller historic buildings that form a cohesive streetwall along both Main and Hudson.
2. The nearby $750 million investment of Devon across Hudson, including the Hudson Ave frontage which will include storefronts in the new Devon garage, the Devon auditorium, and a landscaped pocket park. Thousands of new employees.
3. The improvement of Sheridan Ave further west in Film Row, which used to be known as "Skid Row"
4. The rising prominence of the Arts District and the opportunity gap for more development in that district.
5. The overhaul of the Myriad Gardens to the immediate SE as a true, active space, and more than just botanical gardens. It will now contribute to the vibrancy and activity of downtown.
6. The new downtown elementary school proposed for the site immediately to the SW, this will serve as one of the primary anchors of the downtown residential community, particularly those more family-oriented future residents.
7. The Stage Center across the street, and the countless other arts amenities within a 2-3 minute walk.

It is clear that the redevelopment of the block needs to occur with someone who embraces all of these reasons for the block's importance, and more. You can't redevelop this block and oppose Devon Tower or the Myriad Gardens, just as you can't redevelop this block and not recognize its historic importance. Granted, no buildings on this block formerly served as a state capital, but it is significant in the sheer volume of historic fabric that remains mostly in-tact on this block. Anyone who doubts this, please find a block that has more in-tact historic fabric. These buildings are unique and have a huge amount of character, they provide an opportunity for a unique development.

By embracing the urban and gritty character, a developer could connect this block to the history of the city and to the people who make up downtown--a move which would ensure the success of a future development. Compare it to the local attachment of Bricktown. People like historic buildings, especially when it is "made" historically relevant. Bricktown, before it was "Bricktown," was just an old warehouse district, obviously nowhere near as historically relevant as everything else we've lost. But in having so little remaining built environment from the original city, we're willing to wholeheartedly embrace a looser definition of historic relevance, and that is why we now have the Bricktown historic district.

We should push for more "Bricktown" opportunities, and this could be one. The block's mid-rises, red-brick buildings of enormous quality, could make brilliant loft redevelopments. It would cost money, it would create revenue. Yes, it would involve a development deal, and making it work. The smaller buildings should be preserved, at the very least, the ones fronting Main and Hudson--these buildings fill gaps, provide invaluable character, and contribute to a cohesive streetwall--one of the things that make that stretch of Hudson and Main so attractive. The lower-rise buildings actually make perfect retail spaces--here you have a group of buildings that seems to be strategically positioned for retail, with consolidated ownership so that several retailers could come in and build necessary retail synergy,and lots of urban grit and style--the space in the former Carpenter Square Building (pictured) just screams "Urban Outfitters," whereas I could see the GAP locating in one of the Main Street storefronts. With plenty more room for other retailers, and the ability to add rooftops (housing) above, this is a great place to build mixed-use critical mass that is severely lacking downtown.

The point though is that this would be a different kind of historic district from Bricktown, which is what makes it a cool idea--this block has a decidedly more Art-Deco flair, and much denser, taller buildings. Not so much industrial, but more cosmopolitan, potentially. We don't have this kind of historically-preserved cluster in OKC--I would compare it to Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis, the Old Bank District in LA, or the Mercantile Bldg in Dallas. This can bring a new dimension to OKC. This could give us historic clusters of many unique flavors, with the gritty industrial vibe of Bricktown, the hey-day auto showcase vibe of Automobile Alley, and the Art-Deco cosmopolitan vibe that this block could showcase. Here, a developer could actually brand his development with its own district identity, although it should probably have an arts-based theme. This could be a huge boon to branding.

It is important that the Union Bus Station also be preserved. This is a building that could possibly make an awesome diner space. The awning next to the bus-loading area would make an awesome outdoor seating area overlooking the Myriad Gardens. The building, with its historic signage and its folksy Art-Deco architectural elements make it an awesome place to commemorate downtown nostalgia. This, if anywhere, would be a great place to open up a cool diner. It seems to be just the right size for that, too.

The question is, would Preftakes be more interested in historic preservation, or in new development? Well in the past, he's done both. Preftakes got started in the 90s, as one of downtown's very-first housing developers, with a loft project right off North Broadway. But should Preftakes be looking for brand-new revenue streams in this block, I would say there is room for new things, but in very confined spaces. The lower-rise storefronts could be added-onto, with new housing on top with staggered facades. It just depends exactly how much space is needed to make the project large enough for significant variations. In a smaller building you can't provide different price points, in a larger development that is more feasible. In the 3 mid-rise "towers" on the block, one could easily get 100 residential units, probably many more if they are smaller apartments. In the lower-rise storefronts there is room, depending whether the floors above will be connected and included in retail spaces (i.e., for larger retailers), you could presumably squeeze 100,000 to 200,000 sf of new retail space. That seems enough to get a retail critical mass going. As already discussed, the bus station is the perfect size and configuration for a new restaurant. In the middle there is currently a parking lot--the middle lot seems to be a good fit for structured parking that would even have about 100 feet of frontage on Walker--for ingress and egress. Along Sheridan, one building has already been demolished in the last year. The Lunch Box is presumably next. If new development space is necessary, here along Reno (between the bus station and the Hightower Bldg) is a very large lot that could make way for new development, across from the Stage Center. Here, a developer such as Preftakes could build whatever he wants, whether it be office, or an even larger concentration of residential--a use that would seem strategic given the nearby Devon Tower.

Please, no SandRidge!
But one thing is clear, the historic context of this block must be preserved. I would be okay with letting the Lunch Box go to consolidate some empty lots fronting Sheridan for new development. Actually, I would rather that one building have not been demolished, and I would rather see the Lunch Box either stay there or a cool new use for the building, but this is the extent of demolition that I'd be willing to see. I can see where it might make more sense from a development-financing standpoint to consolidate those lots. But one thing is clear, this block is primed to become one of the largest mixed-use developments that downtown has ever seen. The rumored involvement of a particular energy corporation across the street also brings intriguing possibilities. For one, I am excited that players with so much available capital are interested in doing things downtown. I look forward to seeing what comes next.

But, please, no SandRidge! We still have huge respect for Devon! We're talking about a name that could presumably have its way (as opposed to a particular wanna-be "energy giant" under the leadership of a strongly disliked personality), but here is hoping that "Devon's way" continues to be the best way for downtown.

Christmas Wishlist 2010

As today happens to be Christmas Day, I thought I would take some time to lay out my ideal wishlist for OKC. It could be a lot longer obviously, as virtually everything could be done differently, more efficiently, and better. But I'll stick to the main points:

1. One thing I wish for is a serious Plan OKC process. In the coming weeks I am going to be trying to get together an urbanist group to do a Plan OKC "Meeting in a Box" over one evening. I would actually like to see OKC implement some innovative ideas (maybe even some that would make city planning conspiracy theorists' eyes bulge) that could legitimately curb sprawl. I'd like to see us creating fewer places devoid of real lasting value (thus creating future SLUMS) and like to see us move some more of our growth into the kind of development that will still be nice 30 years from now, and even still standing 100 years from now. I'm tired of cheap and low-quality being Oklahoma City's best selling-point. Even if that means prices are going to rise, we have to find a way to start building quality communities and to stop building slightly better than crappy communities. A friend once told me that OKC's motto is, "Better than crappy makes us happy." It's true, and how said is that?

2. When it comes to one of OKC's latest greatest projects with a 7-digit price tag, I'm not even going to say I hope for any kind of abstract, feel-good process with the convention center like an open or transparent process. I could care less about that at this point, because the bottom line is that if the convention center is right next to the park with no separation, it will ruin the park environment. If they think putting commie block apartments in the convention center facade is going to work, they must be kidding themselves. A convention hotel is not a mixed-use from a convention center, either. They need to either put the convention center somewhere else or if they insist on the mysterious OG+E payments, then they need to utilize my creative solution to set it back an entire block and bring Broadway back, allowing for a slender 1x4-block district to develop in between the two. The ULI panel noted that the convention center is being put on 40% more land than it needs, even if it's going to be expanded. Furthermore, I'm tired of the suburban thinking behind Core2Shore. There are block sizes and human scales that actually matter downtown. I get it that they don't understand or care about this, but you can't just recreate a site identical to what you'd do in the suburbs and put it downtown. In the suburbs you wouldn't notice an area (similar to what would end up running all the way from Park Avenue to Oklahoma River) that consists of over 100 normal sized city blocks consolidated into about 15 huge superblocks. Right now we have a large cluster of superblocks that has killed downtown, and ALL Core2Shore looks like it will do at this point is extend that huge miserable cluster further south. Has anyone noticed how the Myriad Convention Center and the Myriad Gardens interact with eachother?? "Oh, but it will be different this time.." If anyone buys that the nature of superblocks have changed, or that they can do the exact same thing and get a better result, they need to be locked up in the mental ward. Or shipped to Tulsa.

3. Come on Nick, tell us what you're planning. I mean Nick Preftakes, not myself. Years later I am still dying to find out what Nick Preftakes is planning to do with the entire block he bought up in the Arts District. I've been telling people it's going to be a game changer, especially with Devon Tower+park+retail+auditorium and the emergence of the Film Row area (which is coming along very nicely), the Arts District could potentially be unrecognizable if Preftakes announces a major development there. It will be absolutely essential that he maintains the historic integrity of the very-historic block, but there are some boarded up buildings there with some really amazing potential. It would be so worth it, especially when you look at the new lease on life the old Montgomery Ward building across the street got. The unfolding of these plans could potentially affect other things like the streetcar route. I've been telling people that I think the Arts District could potentially be a much bigger deal than it is now.

4. I want to see development in Bricktown get back to where it could be. I wish for Bricktown to come closer to being "completed" because once other districts get hot, it may never be able to attract more development. The big problem is that in my opinion Bricktown has gotten stale and has failed to reinvent itself in a long time, and in today's world, that can be fatal. Bricktown could suffer the same death that the West End did for a period if it fails to reinvent itself and stay fresh. It's not just for the sake of locals who have started to focus more on districts that are hotter right now, but for developers who are comparing cheaper asking prices somewhere like 10th Street or Broadway to astronomical ridiculously inflated asking prices in Bricktown, and the choice to pass on Bricktown becomes an easy one. I think Bricktown is relying too much on the streetcar spurring development along Sheridan to bother pursuing other ideas. The city absolutely is to blame, not the Bricktown merchants that put their money where their mouths are. Just because the ballpark and canal are in Bricktown doesn't mean that it's reached some invisible limit for how much city assistance a neighborhood can receive. Has the city turned its back on Bricktown?

5. The Bricktown point is a great segway into parking. Simply put, two things need to happen: It needs to be expressly codified into the city statutes that new surface parking downtown will not be tolerated, especially in lieu of previously standing buildings no matter the condition of said building, and parking lot moguls in areas like Bricktown need to be shut down and put out of business. Tell them to take their business to Tulsa or some city that will tolerate that, but we won't here in OKC, because a few of us are actually serious about building downtown up. How do you shut down the Bricktown parking lot lords? Public parking, and that can be done extremely easy. Watch closely a project that is underway with Automobile Alley to re-stripe North Broadway and take away a lane, add a turning lane, and change parallel parking to angled parking which will allow them to squeeze in hundreds more parking spaces. If they went with angled parking along every Bricktown street that is free or metered, they could easily shut down the Bricktown parking lots because more than enough parking would be available for free on the street. This should also be pursued in other districts if the results in A-Alley are as positive as it could very well turn out.

6. Oklahoma City has failed to grow downtown housing to the extent that we had hoped we would have by now. This is a simple fact in spite of the other fact that downtown housing is slowly on its way to becoming viable, with several hundred downtown residents moving in and taking up urban lifestyles. It could be more, it should have been more. The 2005 Downtown Housing Study said there was 5-year demand for thousands more units than we ended up getting built between 2005-10. Another downtown study that came out right around there recommended taking several steps to incentivize downtown development. Virtually none of those steps, except for rezoning, were actually followed through with. I assume the copies of it at the Planning Dept got filed in the big file cabinet full of other ignored downtown studies and surveys and reports and commissions. But it may be time to develop a REAL program designed to result in a boom in smaller infill projects. This needs to happen now, so that we can fix the problem with demand, before streetcar comes on line and results in a huge boom in infill and therefor makes the appearance of a problem go away. If we get the streetcar finished without an infill program, the results aren't going to be as positive as it would be if we got the streetcar in and an infill program. We need to evaluate our goals from 5 years ago, and the results we got, consider why it ended up that way (and be open-minded to reasons other than the popular excuse, "It's the economy, stupid"), and get back on track to recover lost projected units.

7. I want to see Full Circle move downtown. They could locate smack in between Heritage Hills and the booming downtown residential market. Downtown residential markets tend to be filled with creative types with disposable income WHO READ. If they went into a beautiful old building like The Packard at 10th/Robinson they'd have the potential to be one of the absolute coolest locally-owned bookstores in America. They already are, the only thing holding them back is their location in crappy (and rapidly-emptying) 50 Penn Place. Enough said.

Well that's the Top 6 at least. Quick summary: 1, Plan OKC; 2, convention center location; 3, Nick Preftakes development; 4, Bricktown development; 5, angled parking; 6, small infill program; 7, Full Circle.

I am thankful for all the really good things going on in OKC, for being included in a number of processes unfolding around downtown right now, and it's also good to be back in town. If anyone's interested in meeting for coffee or lunch, feel free to let me know, I'm always excited to meet with fellow urbanists. I know this blog doesn't get a lot of comments by the nature of the things it talks about, but I do appreciate the people who read this and hear me out on the ideas I have. Merry Christmas to all!

The problem with the downtown library

Building the new downtown library WAS by all means a great decision and a major victory for urban enthusiasts. Not only is the architecture of the building a positive but also the presence of a library people actually want to go to is a huge benefit to the downtown environment. There's only one problem with the implementation of that idea: the hours of operation.

These are the hours of operation for the Ronald Norick Downtown Library.

Monday - Thursday 9am - 9pm
Friday 9am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 1pm - 6pm

Monday through Thursday seem alright, but why are there no evening hours on Friday and Saturday? Granted, we all know that librarians hate being cooped up in libraries and held from their active social life, but that aside--it just does NOT make sense for the library hours and downtown's busiest hours not to coincide. Part of the reason why you never really see as much people activity as you'd expect around such a public asset is that its hours and downtown's hours don't really coincide. And by that I am sort of excluding people in suits who aren't really going to use the library anyway unless they have a meeting in one of its great meeting rooms.

It just seems disingenuous for the library to never be open when most regular people are going to be downtown. The slight improvement on these hours that needs to be made is that it needs to be open until at least 9 pm on Friday and Saturday. Then I think you would see more synergy between it and the arts district--people attending showings at the OKCMOA or plays at the Civic Center Music Hall or events in the revitalized Myriad Gardens could make a stop at the library. This would lead to a huge increase in casual traffic, because as it is with the library hours, you're only going to go in there if you're looking for something specific. And what's more is that it really doesn't help people who don't either work downtown or live downtown. Working downtown are about 50,000 people; living downtown are a little over 5,000 people. We are a city of 560,000 and a metro of 1.3 million.

It just seems like the library is currently excluding itself from taking a more prominent role in forming that downtown lifestyle we're looking for. At the very least, longer operation hours on weekends would at least keep the homeless people who have claimed that side of Park Avenue at bay a little longer. That alone would go a long way toward making downtown more people-friendly.

Cityshot XLIX

Now that's a view.

Here goes another..

The old Grace Cleaners bldg at 529 W. Main Street -- targeted for demolition. The proposed replacement: Surface parking.

Cityshot XLIII

The Montgomery in the Arts District. Building was empty and then in 2005 converted to high-end apartments (that were much more successful as apartments than condos) and restaurant. I'm going to have to eat at Trattoria il Centro when I'm back.

The view from the Civic Center Music Hall steps

When I was in town recently for various things, including attending the transit forum--I was walking out the Civic Center Music Hall and onto the steps in front of it and I was just blown away by the setting that surrounds the Civic Center. Here's an idea: Why don't we focus more on the Civic Center/City Hall area and build downtown around that environment? Sure, it has its challenges..Sycamore Square isn't exactly dazzling high design, and the County Jail looms in the distance--but this is arguably one of downtown's most special environments.

Nowhere else are you surrounded by a plethora of mid-rise buildings in a walkable environment, where you are surrounded by arts. The Arts Festival, Myriad Gardens, concerts at the Civic Center, important art exhibits at the OKCMOA, jazz from the OKCMOA roof, etc etc. As OKC tries to cast a name for itself with increased attention from the Playoffs, and as the national media is currently in love with OKC--let's market THIS area of downtown more! Let's also build and orient more of our downtown toward this bright area.

Here are some pictures I took, equipped only with my phone:





This sculpture that is coming to the lawn known as Bicentennial Park between City Hall and the Civic Center is a start. I haven't yet considered whether that area NEEDS such a large piece of public art as this, as opposed to the OTHER side of City Hall facing Couch Drive, but public art is almost never a bad thing. I'll say that.

The art piece, entitled "Compass Rose" is a $350,000 donation from the Inasmuch Foundation, and comes at no cost at all to the city. Even better!

Development potential

Sometimes you hear a site proclaimed as having the most development potential in downtown. There was even a survey back in 2005 that identified the intersection that would be the most important development site in the growth of downtown. This 2005 survey, way ahead of its time, predicted that Midtown would become a resurgent hotspot area, and recognized the fantastic building stock still standing along North Broadway in A-Alley.

That site, identified as the most important piece of the puzzle for downtown redevelopment, was the intersection of NW 10th and Broadway. Imagine the potential it had; it could have been anything..a corporate headquarters, a large mixed-use development, a condo mid-rise, an NBA practice facility, and so on. What ended up going on that site, the OKC Community Foundation, while underwhelming from a development standpoint, ended up being as good as we could have hoped for. The community foundation, a respected community institution dedicated toward helping the inner city poor, is a great thing to have there..it's a shame they have to bulldoze adjacent buildings for extra parking. The EIFS entrance is tastefully done, so we can surely forgive the dreaded "fake stucco," and I think their facility fits in well with the surrounding environment, even if it isn't the pinnacle that North Broadway could have hoped for.

So since there is no condo mid-rise at NW 10th and Broadway, in the interest of jinxing another site to be underutilized, let's ponder the NEXT best development potential. And it's worth considering that things such as potential change each year as downtown continues to evolve and revitalize. I think that the progress since 2005 makes NW 10th and Broadway even more vital, especially as we anticipate that 1101 and 1100 N Broadway get restored soon.

But the progress since 2005 also makes other sites pop up on our radar. Those sites will be around the Devon Tower site, sites that connect downtown and "Core 2 Shore" taskforce lands, key sites in Bricktown and Deep Deuce, as well as the city initiative to develop a particular site in Midtown.


I like the potential of the NW 10th and Harvey-to-Hudson block to be a "perfect" development, although I don't think it's the "most vital" to the city's continued evolution. I think it is important however for Midtown, in fact, it's not hard to imagine the site's development being a prerequisite for the further development of Midtown, which is currently a collection of separate hotspots, mainly the Walker Circle area. There is also the area around the Sieber, Beatnix, Packard, Church Row, etc etc.. The one site that will connect it all, to lay the path for Midtown to evolve into the next Bricktown, will be this site that the city is taking action on. The ideal development is not anything that might be much larger than the scale of surrounding buildings, but it's important to realize that anything that doesn't completely fill the site out would be underutilization. Something very similar to Marva Ellard's former Mercy Park proposal would be ideal. Something around 4/5 stories max, but more than 2/3, and try and package as many different uses as possible. The key with residential, in order to be assured success, is to appeal to the pent-up rental demand downtown and not buy into the utter fallacy that we need more high-end for-sale units. We all fell for that one..and most of us regret it today.


The site with the most importance, by far, for the city's continued development, given the current Devon Tower development underway--is the city block owned by Nicholas Preftakes to the west of Devon. It is safe to assume Preftakes has plans because of his history as a downtown developer, being involved in many, many past downtown projects, and now given his acquisition of this entire city block at such a convenient time. The important thing to realize here, in order for this city block to realize its full potential, is that every building must remain standing. This block already comes with an exciting stock of buildings that have a ton of potential, not to mention many unique architectural features, ranging from Art Deco to Brownstone. It's a very urban, diverse, and colorful block, not to mention a sadly underutilized block. The potential uses for these buildings, once redeveloped, should take an arts-based focus. The site is surrounded by the Myriad Gardens, Devon World Headquarters, Stage Center, the Civic Center Music Hall, the OKC Museum of Art, City Hall, and Trattoria il Centro. The uses here should reflect truly being in the center of it all. Here, an art gallery could thrive, as well as upscale restaurants, law offices, perhaps a bodega, a winebar, etc etc..

The potential for new development, even large-scale new development, is going to exist across the street between the Arts District and the planned boulevard. (I would be dismayed to see large-scale infill, any time soon, proposed on the south side of the boulevard.)

Many people have their own eye on sites in Deep Deuce and Bricktown. Because of the inorganic way in which Bricktown developed, you see vastly important sites just sitting there in the middle of Bricktown. Many of these include the festival site/parking lot across from the Brewery at Sheridan and Oklahoma, the surface parking next to Tapwerks at Sheridan and Mickey Mantle, and especially the canal-front sites along Mickey Mantle. And I could go on and on about the canal. Nevermind development sites along the east periphery of Bricktown, such as Candlewood Suites and The SteelYards, there is so much work left to be done at Bricktown's core. I know that people behind the scenes are still working diligently to attract the development Bricktown will need to be successful, and there are several deals in the works. Let's hope some of them are successful! What Bricktown needs, at this point, are rental units. It needs "rooftops" in order to pave the way for more retail, and also to take some of the seasonality out of its business cycle (which has been difficult for some "pro retailers" to grasp).

Cityshot XXXVIII

Hudson Avenue in the Arts District, across from the Devon Tower construction site. Downtown developer Nicholas Preftakes bought up this whole block.

Cityshot XXXIV

Say what you want about this project..its existence today is a GOOD thing.

Cityshot XXXI

A personal favorite, zoom up West Main Street from the new OCU Law School location in the old Fred Jones Model T Factory. You can really see downtown's density, and in 3 years, Devon Tower will endcap the view from this angle rising behind the parking garage under construction at the end of West Main.

A Night on the Town

Went to see The Producers at the Civic Center Music Hall tonight and had a blast. The Lyric's production was very good. I was pleasantly surprised what a cosmopolitan outing one could make any day of the week in Downtown. Dinner was at The Wedge, a new pizzeria that's been open for a few months on the edge of Deep Deuce, which has live music on the evenings.

At Intermission of the play we got drinks and walked out to the plaza in front of the Civic Center that faces the Downtown Skyline and I felt immersed by the city (and the smell of cigars and smokes right outside the door). It was the kind of warm, sultry, humid summer night that you just take in the sights and sounds. I could hear the great live jazz music carrying over from the rooftop of the art museum, the reflection of the skyline peering over lit-up City Hall, and the illuminated outline of the historic mid-rise rooftops of the Arts District. Not to mention my date wasn't bad herself.

It dawned on me that the Civic Center is always showing something, whether it's Ballet Oklahoma, the OKC Philharmonic, Lyric theater productions, traveling Broadway productions, or whatever else. The art museum has its Cocktails on the Skyline every Thursday evening except in Winter. Each night, you see carriages being pulled by Budweiser horses down Bricktown streets. You see people enjoying the Canal, and restaurants buzzing, most of them with their own live music. There are a half-dozen key nodes of activity that have truly turned Downtown OKC into the live/work/play community we've envisioned.

No need for congratulations this early on, but I just wanted to point out that everything we've been working towards has not gone for nothing. OKC has made a ton of progress, and it really is a very nice city that just has a lot of ways to keep going in order to it to fully meet its enormous potential. I'm going to keep advocating for OKC to keep progressing, but at the same time, I'm going to enjoy as much of OKC as I can before I have to go to my new home away from home.

P.S. Anyone reading this, go get yourself some tickets to see The Producers. It's worth it, and the Lyric is only doing it for one week. If you have a student I.D. the tickets are only $15 for best-available if you show up at 7.30. I ended up sitting in the side-box closest to the stage.. incredible seats, that normally go for $75 each.

Downtown's Devonian Age

We were expecting Oklahoma's tallest skyscraper. We weren't expecting what is basically a thousand-footer; taller than anything in Dallas, Ft Worth, San Antonio, El Paso, Austin, Tulsa, Little Rock, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Memphis, Birmingham, Louisville, St Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, St Paul, Des Moines, Wichita, Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Portland, Providence, D.C. area, Baltimore, Richmond, Norfolk, Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Columbia, Charleston, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, more than likely Nashville, and MANY more.

The tower is a beauty. You all know the stats so far. 1.9 million SF, 3,000 employees, 54 stories, 925 feet (which comes very close to the tallest towers in at least 3 more cities) and 20th tallest in the nation. There's the grand 6-story atrium aligned along the "Harvey axis" which is an imaginary pedestrian spine that Devon is facilitating through Downtown. We understand that it will start construction about mid-way through 2009. The 400,000 SF civic addition. We know the CityCenter garage will be expanded to 10 stories to double the number of spaces. Several acres of park space between the tower and Sheridan. We know major upgrades will occur across the street at the Myriad Gardens. And I think we all understand what the tower itself means for our city, and that is that this will be bigger than any of us could understand. I still have some questions though:

• What all will be included in the 400,000 SF civic addition?


• What can we expect of properties bought up in Devon anticipation (Preftakes)?


• Will the CityCenter Garage expansion match the current design of the garage?


• To what extent will retail be incorporated in the complex?
  
• Is it true that the complex would include an auditorium?


• Is Devon already in talks with other potential downtown tenants to move into their space?


• How will the tower be illuminated after dusk?


• Will there be a lit-up cross, in the tradition of Downtown OKC?


• How can the mayor call this a C2S anchor with a straight face? Is everything C2S now? Great!


• Will Devon push for some sort of mass transit upgrade at the new location?


• Is Devon going to place more stipulations on funds the tower puts in the TIF?
  
• How soon are we going to begin to see the impact of the $750 mil project around the tower?


• Will there be design regulations proposed for the Arts District to assimilating Devon Tower?


• How soon will it likely be until we see the skyline 'fill in' around the Devon Tower?


• Are we going to see a national press reaction akin to Oklahoma getting an NBA team?

We know that OKC wants to be a Tier 2 city on the level of cities like Indianapolis and Kansas City. And it's clear that some Tier 2 cities will take longer to catch up to, but is it at least debatable yet if OKC has surpassed a few Tier 2 cities, ultimately earning a Tier 2 place? Milwaukee? Kansas City? Indy? Salt Lake City? Who is to say that OKC isn't already a competitive Tier 2 city with an NBA team, a sparkling downtown, a growing downtown research campus, several good metro universities, a lot of economic growth, and more that we would have never dreamed of 15 years ago.

The reason OKC is not Tier 2 technically, yet, is because in terms of convention facilities, we're working with amenities that Tier 3 cities like Omaha and Des Moines would be ashamed of. There is no clear Downtown headquarters hotel, and our convention center is 100,000 SF-tiny, which means a lot of business is going to never even consider OKC for their meeting. Transit is utterly dark ages. We all realize this needs an expensive overhaul. In the next 5 years OKC will officially be funding a new convention center, a massive new downtown park, a light rail system, and several other amenities. Also don't forget that we already have a pretty decent skyline, and a pretty decent downtown that is bustling for the first time in decades.