Our last remnants of Main Street

Do you believe that great, quality old buildings and shiny new buildings together compliment each other and build a great urban environment? If so, you just may appreciate these photos from Will Hider:



If you DON'T think these buildings contribute to each other, especially if the old buildings were renovated and filled with tenants, then you're in luck. They are likely to be demolished very soon.

The Top Ten Things of Two Thousand 11

Top 10 things that worked and did not work in 2011 (aside from timely blog posts)…
What better way to remember 2011 than examining what worked, and what didn’t work at all (that Top 10 will be coming later). At the same time we will be offering insights on what we should continue to go with for 2012, and at the same time recommending changes to make for an even better 2012. For downtown at least, it will be hard to top 2011, realistically-speaking. Oh, it was the best of worlds, and it was also the worst of worlds (yet not as often) as the excessive waste of tremendous resources is even more frustrating than not even having those resources or possibilities to begin with. This is our chance OKC, we have to capitalize!

This post is also dedicated to Frederick Law Olmsted, the world's greatest landscape architect of all time, or if you will, a "park-itect." Olmsted was the architect of NYC's Central Park, not to mention Yellowstone National Park, and hundreds of other landmarks. There were (or still are) a number in Buffalo, NY even, He was also the architect of one Boston's key links in the "Emerald Necklace" (the string of iconic parks that define Boston) which would later bear his name as Olmsted Park. It is impossible to talk about America's best parks without a discussion that begins and ends with the architect who was also a firm abolitionist, opposed to the very slave labor that states and cities used to build the parks he would design. Just as OKC today is a mixture of good and bad, here lies the crux of good urban design more often than not: It can come from the best of times, and it can come from the worst of times. But either way, it is true to form and true to heart. Nothing is more American than a good, well-designed city.

Top 10 Things That Worked

1. Construction workers, thousands of them, on the Devon, Chesapeake, and SandRidge campuses (campii?) definitely worked. They all worked overtime, around-the-clock, in fact. As the big 2 energy companies in OKC continued to expand, so did the scope of construction, and the pace. Devon Tower shot up like a weed to tower over the skyline, and Chesapeake’s retail development along Classen quickly became one of the city’s premier shopping developments. Chesapeake’s new office buildings east of Classen will break from the Georgian dormer-style buildings that the first 15 or so CHK buildings resemble. They will be ultra-modern and much, much larger in footprint as well. Could a tower be in the works? Devon-related construction may continue longer than any of us expect as credible rumors are surfacing that developer Nicholas Preftakes, who has bought up much of the Arts District, is working in concert with Devon to spur some development around the new Devon World Headquarters. A mixed-use response to CHK, perhaps? The SandRidge buildings also came down as work continued inside the old KMG tower.

2. NW 9th Street, still somewhat in its infancy, continued to work up a storm in 2011. Steve Mason, and we have to believe at this point that the district has worked up a good amount of synergy revolving around other players now (particularly the Flaming Lips), stayed true to what made 9th Street first blast onto the stage in 2008: Retaining and restoring battered, blighted warehouses, garages, and shacks—turning them into showcases of the eclectic and imposing monuments to the unimposing. In 2007, when Mason began his development push, 9th Street consisted of vacant land, an abandoned warehouse, a garage with cool old cars in it (Mel’s), an abandoned garage, and some wooden shacks further down the street. By simply repairing what was already there, today you have the Flaming Lips’ “The Womb,” S&B Burger Joint, The Iguana, Shop Good, Pachinko Parlor, and that’s just on 9th—on Broadway, Mason has added more retail along with what has become one of OKC’s most popular coffee shops, Coffee Slingers. Don’t look now, but NW 9th and NW 16th have quickly become the epicenter of LOCAL retail. What if the NW 9th approach was replicated say, in Core2Shore? Just saying…

3. Chesapeake worked wonders to bring top-flight retailers to OKC in 2011. They even offered an incentive out of their own pockets (without even asking for a TIF, which would have been controversial) for Whole Foods to open shop. Whole Foods, which went with a relatively small store footprint, was not expecting the OKC store to be a huge success. It was bigger than a huge success and now Whole Foods is reportedly eyeing locations for metro store #2. You really have to question that anti-Oklahoma bias down there in Austin if the Whole Foods corporate people had no idea that OKC would be a big success, but luckily now it appears they’re over that. Chesapeake also brought in another metro-first retailer in Anthropology, with undoubtedly more to come, including all of the local retailers that they lined their Classen Curve development with. It stands to reason that Whole Foods isn’t the only one receiving some kind of incentives from CHK—and it’s evident that CHK has big things up their sleeves, or else there is no way they would be going to the lengths they’ve gone to so far on this project. It just doesn’t make sense to hire Rand Elliott and pay off tenants for disparate parts of basically just a strip mall and a grocery store (yeeah—very nice ones, I admit). Rumors include housing being built between WF and NW 63rd and redevelopment of the old Nichols Hills Plaza, and the CHK Real Estate Binge goes much further than those properties, too. They're also behind an interesting LEED-certified "modern micro community" on NW 56th. I guess there goes the old Meadowbrook Acres 'hood...

4. OKC Talk worked (and likely prevented many people from working) in 2011. I understand the skeptics here, probably largely driven out of nervousness. OKC Talk has had a spotty past, to tell the truth, and in my opinion it used to be best to avoid. It was just typical of an online forum where sad people can hide behind anonymity and engage in flame wars, thus filling that void in their personal lives and taking it out on others without the time or patience to put up. It was a bit much to keep up with when I barely have the personal time to do right by this blog. However, OKC Talk’s Pete Brzycki has changed all that since he bought the site (for a large sum, reportedly) and maintained it to the highest level. Pete’s stewardship has turned OKC Talk, of all things, into a true force to be reckoned with in OKC politics. OKC Talk is the haven for mavens of OKC’s development and neighborhood news. Skeptical? Believe it. Big-time developers, like Bricktown’s Jim Pitman, big-time local journalists like the Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer, and big-time local volunteers and activists such as most of the M3 Streetcar Subcommittee, are all not just posters on the site, but major contributors for the most part. No doubt there exists innumerable others, and we know that the site is daily reading for all of OKC’s leaders. Comments and trends that begin to resonate on this site take hold out there in the real world, in the community meetings and committee proceedings that define downtown affairs. OKC Talk has emerged as a force not just to be reckoned with, but also a force with tremendous staying power. That is in no small part due to a passionate OKC expat for whom stewardship (and funding) of this tremendous online resource is a way to give back to his hometown. Just as OKC Talk, with millions of page hits (I don’t know, maybe daily??) has made a true impact (mostly as an ultimate democratization force), OKC owes Pete a true thank-you.

5. Downtown restaurants worked, as well. Downtown, and its many districts that form this part of the city, virtually became a huge restaurant district in 2011. Every district is now anchored by a restaurant that is either very popular, or has the potential to be. Perhaps one of the biggest restaurant openings was that of the new Hideaway Pizza on North Broadway in Automobile Alley. Another new restaurant, Joey’s Pizza (relocated from Classen), anchors the old Film Row district. NW 9th is anchored by Iguana, Mid-town is anchored by McNellie’s (still the biggest restaurant up there), Deep Deuce is anchored by the Deep Deuce Bar & Grill, and so on. More restaurants even opened up in Bricktown, including some chains like Texadelphia. Can all these restaurants be sustained, after there were already a great many going into last year, no doubt. There has never been a restaurant demand study done, so we will really begin to test that demand, I think. One positive will be a huge number of “rooftops” coming onto the market downtown, which will inject downtown with a local customer base for a change.

6. Ed Shadid definitely politicked in 2011. I was at first concerned by Ed’s rhetoric when he initially popped onto the scene during his campaign. After it became clear that Ed would be a true supporter of quality of life, there was a rally to get him elected over a well-proved economic development cartel called “OKC Momentum.” Ed handed them a landmark defeat and then continued to make splashes by taking on deals that sounded bad, and he embarrassed City Hall by shining light on decisions that made very little sense. He even accomplished a major civil rights landmark as he got sexual orientation added to the city’s non-discrimination policy. Still, anytime you embarrass high-ups in this city, there’s a chance of being counter-productive. The jury is out on the real progress Ed has made, but he has performed admirably in the role of Downtown Don Quixote, if you ask the Oklahoman at least.

7. TIF deals worked pretty well in 2011, except when they didn’t (in the case of Bomasada). The Alliance for Economic Development, led by former assistant City Manager Cathy O’Connor, was successful in leveraging major downtown developments with TIF deals to ensure fruition AND to ensure quality standards in development. In fact, all of the recipients of these TIFs have proven their commitment to the utmost building standards. Gary Brooks, who won the OCURA bid for the former Mercy Hospital site, later on announced (long after winning the bid) that the project would be the first LEED-certified mixed-use project in the state. Richard McKown (LEVEL developer) and Ron Bradshaw (Maywood Park developer) both pledged to use real stucco, instead of EIFS, with two enormous mixed-use developments that will go a long ways toward filling in Deep Deuce, along with an ultra-sleek Aloft Hotel being developed by hotelier and local architect Jim Thompson. Now the ultimate test to see just what kind of a miracle a Cathy O’Connor TIF deal can do will be to see what happens with the Judy Hatfield’s Carnegie project (pictured).

8. OKC Momentum worked hard in 2011 (but others worked harder). For better or for worse, there was an anonymous cartel of elite interests here in OKC (or perhaps Nichols Hills, rather) that attempted to buy Ward 2. The problem was that Ward 2 could not be bought because this ward is the best-organized, most-active, and boldest ward in the entire city. Ward 2 has a history of electing trendsetters and visionaries. Patience Latting, OKC’s first and only female mayor, cut her teeth politically in Ward 2. Many excellent statewide leaders (like Bob Anthony) got their start (well, politically at least) with some modest community organizing in Ward 2. Gazette Published Bill Bleakly wrote an admirable piece about the legacy of this tremendous ward, in which he mentions the names of many people you’ve either forgotten about or never heard of to begin with, but the point is that Ward 2 always sends somebody significant to the Horseshoe. The outgoing councilor, Sam Bowman, was a helluva councilman. Talk about a true civic dignitary and a class act. OKC Momentum through hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention primetime ad spots on local news, and still couldn’t win the hearts and souls of Ward 2. Dr. Shadid’s huge landslide victory, despite losing fundraising and spending by a landslide, didn’t just reaffirm Ward 2’s values. But it was earth-shattering for OKC because we’ve never had a council election like that before, and the good guy won. “Momentum” used to be a harmless cliché used ad nauseum around OKC, now it is a punch line and perhaps even a dirty word, which is also profound for two big reasons: Firstly, it was time to get a new word anyway, and secondly, good people are going to stand up to bulldozing anything and everything just for progress. No more progress for progress’ sake. Frederick Law Olmsted, the finest park-itect the world has ever known, once said: “The possession of arbitrary power has always, the world over, tended irresistibly to destroy humane sensibility, magnanimity, and truth.” That’s the way anonymous elite interests prefer to carry out the business of the people when the people, especially of Ward 2, clearly have other things in mind.

9. Quality of life improvements (including the Myriad Gardens) didn’t just work in 2011, they kicked ass. Project 180 is in deep trouble right now, they underestimated their expenses, overestimated tax revenue from Devon Tower (which was built for much, much cheaper than expected), and over-leveraged themselves on a bond deal with Devon (rather than waiting for the TIF money to accrue over time). But never mind that fiasco. I don’t care how angry you are about the cost overruns, even if we were $100 million over budget just on the Myriad Gardens alone, it would have been worth it. For me, the chance to get out and walk around and enjoy this park was elation beyond what I would have expected in my wildest dreams for 2011—you can’t help but feel like you are in Boston or Portland. This is a park for humans. It’s a beautiful park. It’s also a park that is clearly planned to make a visual impact. The old Myriad Gardens just weren’t that way. To put it in terms that everyone will understand, the trees weren’t lined up well, the paths made no sense, there was no visual definition that played off of anything. Myriad Gardens 2.0 would make Frederick Law Olmsted proud indeed. It will soon be the pride of Oklahoma when the Festival of the Arts rolls around this Spring, and 500,000+ people are instantly blown away. It doesn’t stop there. Actual (dedicated) bike lanes have been spotted on some downtown streets; I myself nearly had a heart attack when I first saw this. Also don’t forget the Oklahoma River, as Boathouse Row continued to finish impressive projects, break ground on other previously announced ones, and continue to roll out other impressive proposals (such as a new children’s building, that has been removed from their website since I last saw it??). We still have the MAPS3 Central Park and other features yet to come! Could it be that a city that lacked a single decent park could become a city chock-full of quality urban greenspaces? This in and of itself is all the difference in the world, and I believe the difference will manifest itself shortly not just with new development, but with tangible quality of life improvements. You can NEVER have too many good parks, especially when you used to have none, truthfully.

10. SkyDance Bridge worked in 2011, even if only for the last two weeks of the year. I was skeptical of this one. It looked like we were in for another wasteful and disappointing project. ODOT goofed and then demanded that the alignment be altered, negating what would have been an axis leading straight to the Devon atrium, and then cost overruns meant that a suspension bridge (where the scissor tail feature served a structural purpose) had to become a simple truss bridge, the cheaper option, rendering the scissor tail to look like a goofy cosmetic addition in depictions. Sometimes however, you can’t always judge a project by bad architectural renderings. In real life, this project is stunning, and perhaps the truss bridge feature is even an improvement. It has undoubtedly added more jagged edges as a defining element of this bridge, accentuating the “feathers” of the scissor tail piece. By the way, the entire bridge was lit-up with shifting LED lights on the very last evening of 2011, and it was truly breathtaking. It was mesmerizing even from as far away as the I-35 bridge. Can you imagine that very view in a year (to an out of-towner) with the new OKC skyline in full view, that bridge lit up, the bridges with their LED light panels, Boathouse Row finished, those boathouses lit-up impressively, and more trees planted along that river? I’m. Having. Trouble. Seeing. Straight. So. Excited. For. The. Future. Of this.

By the way, isn't Will Hider an incredible photographer? You can also thank OKC Talk for his talent being discovered.

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.

Cityshot LXIX

Cityshot LXVIII

Real infill coming soon

I think that phrase best explains the state of downtown development at the moment, which is actually significantly improved from last year when we were just losing major projects despite any anticipated boost from Devon Tower. Today we are better off in terms of knowing exactly what we've lost, how to come back from it, and the difference is we've come a long ways lately in gaining infill momentum. None of this is new news because you all have already seen it in the news and on the other blogs, just haven't gotten my take it due to my inactivity on here lately.



Think of Devon Tower, first and foremost. Hardly infill, when trying to analyze and assess the tower's impact on downtown, it will be equal or greater to the Ford Center or the Brick. I'm not even sure if we have a public works project downtown yet that is on that level. Maybe more on level of if Jerryworld were in downtown OKC, just call it Larryworld instead. What I can't impress enough is the importance of infill projects because they form the base of an urban environment. You can do without the major projects, you can't do without infill--right now we really do lack infill compared to the major projects in the works right now. To illustrate this problem, just think of the Deep Deuce area which is riddled with vacant lots with the downtown skyline towering overhead. It leaves an awkward impression of an urban desert (I don't know how else to say it). We have and without more infill will continue to have streets surrounded by mudpits and dried up dusty fields in the middle of our downtown, and clearly despite how wonderful that skyline is, the street-level is lacking.

There is a real need for a skyline, as it is a city's visual representation and I do believe it is important for a city's urban environment to form this representative image of that city. There is also a real need for facilities like convention centers and stadiums, because there aren't many other ways to pack that many people downtown at once--that traffic generated is much needed. However neglecting the infill projects, which are your less sexy, more practical, smaller buildings that form the surrounding neighborhoods--that's neglecting your meat and potatoes. OKC truly has a starved urban landscape if you look at it that way.

The reason I bring up Deep Deuce's vacant lots is to transition into what we've gained. Deep Deuce development is continuing to evolve continuously. Since the sky was falling downtown (last year), construction has picked back up at The Hill. Evidently they are just finishing up on the units on 3rd backing up to I-235, but they've also cleaned up the rest of the construction site which had weeds growing up everywhere. They will wait for the units to sell before starting on others, and amazingly, they have sold several more. I still think it's the worst bang for your buck downtown, but I sincerely wish them the best of luck for the sake of Deep Deuce, and hope that anyone looking for suburbia in downtown check them out.

Obviously the new Aloft Hotel, which I've already posted on a few times, will be major. It will compete directly with the Hampton Inn for business travelers looking for a very urban, chic hotel that they can use their corporate account on (which is where chains are good to have). The Aloft Hotel will have an advantage in competing for these travelers just because the brand image is more in line with this specific location, as opposed to the Hampton Inn which usually aren't that chic. The design is obviously going to be stunning and will create some real linkage between Deep Deuce and Bricktown.


The best project that's come onto the radar of late is a joint effort by Wade Scaramucci and Richard McKown, of Ideal Homes--an entire block bounded by Walnut, 2nd, 3rd, and Oklahoma--that will soon become 227 units with parking in the middle of the block and street level retail lining wide sidewalks. I think that the design could be anything and the product could be anything, there are just two things that are key here: This project, just like the Aloft, is financed and ready to break ground on an expedited construction schedule; and also, the project takes the last full vacant block in the Maywood Park area and turns it into the stuff cities are made of. Surrounding this contemporary apartment development on all sides will be the old Walnut Avenue Baptist Church, the Maywood Park Lofts, Maywood Park Brownstones, and the Aloft Hotel.

Deep Deuce's urban fabric resembles a horse shoe of development going around the edges that is finally being filled in, and it will be a continuous urban neighborhood from the BNSF tracks all the way to 235.

Elsewhere in Deep Deuce, Sage is also once again reinventing itself with the addition of a jazz club--returning the Deep Deuce neighborhood to its roots as a jazz hotbed. Good downtown development is not a lot of shiny new-urbanist projects sparsely scattered throughout greater downtown. When you create synergy from projects that relate to each other, bound each other, and create atmosphere is when you have good downtown development. Such as the perspective looking down 2nd Street at the new Maywood Park apartments and then the lofts fitting snugly with an equal setback, with the skyline rising over. That's the infill we need, focused where it most makes a difference right now.


And to bring it back in terms of Devon Tower, at what point with all of these major projects, do you have enough infill that there is balance? It may not even be possible. There are several billions of major projects in the works at the moment. Something like Scaramucci and McKown's apartment complex creates as much street-level density as Devon Tower despite being a miniscule fraction of the cost, possibly $10-15 million at the most probably, compared to $750 million. Maybe we don't deserve Devon Tower and perhaps it is "too enormous" a project for OKC, but we sure will take it and be glad to have it, but it does make you wonder what the right proportional amount of infill is that it should trigger?

Cityshot LXI

Cityshot XLVIII

Downtown's landmark Myriad Gardens..closed and completely torn up. Change..progress..evolution..good things.

Cityshot XLV

Devon Tower construction.

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.

Devon Tower progress

Photos of Devon Tower progress. The parking garage has topped-out on the south side, facade is going in. I've heard that January 1st, work on the actual tower will begin and we'll start the structural frame rise at a rate of 4 floors a week for a while. Then it will slow down as it gets higher and further along.

Devon skyline views

With Devon well under way, and anticipation pent up for completion of the 850 foot tall tower in 3 years, a lot of people have done mockups of what Devon will look like in the skyline. The best I have seen come from Shane Hampton over at rezoneOKC.com.

One series uses Google Earth, and the other series just photoshops it into a photograph taken from Fair Park.

From Fair Park:

Before

After

From Google Earth:
From St. Anthony's

From North Broadway

From the Oklahoma Health Center

From the Bricktown Ballpark

Of course I think for the Google Earth renderings, that the tower might be too slender.. it will actually have a larger footprint than the Oklahoma Tower, whereas in many of the Google Earth images it appeared as if the Oklahoma Tower had a lot more girth. So these are off a little bit, but it's still an interesting illustration. For full size pics check out Shane's blog at rezoneOKC, as well as his in-progress development charts.

A new Devon rendering

A new Devon Tower rendering came out today, on Pickard Chilton's website. Groundbreaking is still Oct 1. Contractor, if you hadn't heard, was recently chosen..it will be a collaboration of Atlanta-based Holder Construction, and locally-based Flintco. They will try and sub-let as many tasks as possible to local contractors, but a lot of smaller national firms will also end up being brought in.

The new rendering has a more real, detailed look..and doesn't look quite as tall. I think for a 925-ft tall skyscraper, it's quite broad. But I think it just shows that the reflective glass merely reflects the sky, on days where it's bright and clear skies, the tower will have a much lighter look, whereas surrounded by darker skies, the tower will have a darker, more conservative look.

The 440-ft tall Oklahoma Tower is completely hidden behind the new monolithic skyscraper, when viewed from the south.

Is Core2Shore enough of a priority?

We know that this is OKC's big plan for reinventing itself. We know that everybody is excited about it, and we know that nobody can wait for work to get started on transforming OKC into a cutting edge metropolis. There's a mentality (as you can see in this post) that C2S is more of a long-range, hundred-year plan that will evolve over time. Honestly this mentality scares me a little. It is 2009, and in Dubai mankind has just built a tower that is 2,700 feet tall. 100 years ago the advent of the elevator allowed us to build towers taller than 15 stories..it was a marvelous day. Here in OKC we have a masterplan of a few blocks south of downtown that we plan to revitalize as our legacy for the next 100 years and somehow we expect this to keep us ahead of the pack? What the hell are we smoking?!? If we close our eyes and envision cities of the future, can we even expect our visions to be even close to how impressive and remarkable these cities of the future will be? Hopefully, not. But in OKC we certainly can. As long as certain people anticipate that C2S is a 100-years legacy sort of project, we can close our eyes and almost perfectly envision what OKC will look like. Devon Tower will have done more for our city than C2S to be hones.


The stunning architecture aside, there is no way that we can legitimately expect C2S to not come to fruition until 100 years. Metro OKC builds 3,000 new homes a year. In 1 and a half years OKC would knock out all of C2S if we focused all of our residential demand there. At a reasonable rate of 300 units a year, we could expect build-out of C2S in under 15 years, but we all know that if everything is done with the highest level of quality, it will take twice as long. Still, not 100 years. This is if we were serious about it and all. The bottom line of course is that C2S is a daring plan for an area of downtown about 7 blocks deep that is currently nothing but blight. It draws its potential from being located between the revitalized Oklahoma River and the booming downtown area. When we begin to look at C2S in a different light as our official 100-year masterplan, we suddenly take a pretty cool community development plan and turn it into a very lame and overhyped long-term proposal. Trust me, C2S is not long-term worthy.

To put it differently, how would you feel if you were told that I.M. Pei's proposed revitalized downtown was to be a 100-year masterplan? You would probably feel a little underwhelmed. When it's all said and done, we rightfully lament everything that our 1980s predecessors did. But there is one thing that can never be taken from them: They had a very grand plan, and they set out to make as much of it come to fruition as possible. They turned downtown into a maze of construction zones for a short period. Their slogan was out with the old, in with the new. The sure got the old outta here. They got a lot of the new in, too. We have them to thank for the Century Center, Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma Tower, Corporate Tower, Kerr-McGee Tower, Leadership Square, Myriad Gardens, and so on. We even have them to thank for the Devon Tower in a roundabout way, because the land Devon will be built on was originally cleared by none other than them. We also have them to thank for the nail in downtown's coffin. But we've moved on from that, and downtown is very alive today. But one thing is certain: if ONLY I.M. Pei and city planners in OKC had a little more respect for our city's old buildings, we would be praising them, not lamenting them. And if they had sat around and waited nearly as much as we have today on all of our grand plans for downtown, none of anything they ever talked about would have become reality. Instead they got serious and made most of their plans happen before the oil bust came and sent them all into bankruptcy for daring to build a modern city.

Today we talk about wanting to build a modern city, while keeping all of our remaining beautiful old buildings in tact. Are we ever going to do it? This is the bottom line: The economy is horrific right now, but soon credit is going to loosen up and there will be a lot of money for projects, and a lot of that money will go to markets that lenders can be confident in, namely OKC. A rare opportunity is coming up for OKC to build a modern city once and for all, something we've been trying to do for the last 50 years. OKC should have paid to build light rail years ago. Now is the time for action. As soon as the Ford Center improvements tax expires at the end of 2009, the one-farthing tax should be extended for another 10 years to pay for miles of RAIL streetcars, as well as the grand park in C2S (although to be sure, a lot of it will be funded from the 2007 public bond issue), the new convention center we so desperately need, further riverfront improvements, and a district-wide streetscape. We should be so fortunate to have such a brilliant masterplan in hand! But we should be able to compete with other cities, especially those that are considered "Tier 2" cities (i.e., Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Kansas City, Minneapolis). We'll never compete well with them if we don't research carefully what these other cities are doing. Do we honestly expect them to not have similar plans to reinvent themselves? They do. They all do.

What does "Big League City" really mean?

After all of the rhetoric and slogans and hoopla, now that we're a "Big League City"--so what? Do we magically feel better? Or ostensibly, can you even call us a big league city before a single game? Or for folks like New Orleans fans, will it really make a difference, or rather highlight where OKC fails to stack up?

As for the latter, I think not. OKC will stack up well compared to a lot of "big league cities" because the only thing that cities like Memphis and New Orleans have over OKC is too intangible to really make a big point out of.

As for feeling magically better, I think that we can all take immediate solice in knowing what our community is capable for doing for itself. Even during the improbable MAPS revitalization of OKC, people like the NBA were still saying no to OKC. The Hornets was not supposed to be as hugely successful. That whole debacle sure made David Stern's job a lot harder, although a lot more potentially rewarding as well. All of OKC's individual successes have been very improbable, and yet they share one more thing in common: being completely driven by community willpower. Which is a LOT more tangible than you'd think--just pull up exit poll data and compare to other cities faced with similar choices, like Tulsa.

As great as that all is, the largest good that will come out of this will start to become more of a factor once we get into the regular NBA season; Bricktown is going through a phase where it clearly needs a boost (which the last boost it got was probably the Hornets). Businesses prospered on game nights--and since the Hornets left town, we've seen less consistency in the newer businesses staying open for long. It's been harder for concepts to take off and share in the district's success.

There are a lot of reasons why this is about to change. It all has to do with more people downtown. We're beginning to see more residents downtown, and the downtown population--last I heard--was up from like 4,000 to 8,000 since 2005 or so. I anticipate that downtown's population will be around 15,000 come 2010. This means more stability for the various downtown districts because more of a local base; more "rooftops" in the neighborhood. Bricktown can become more like MidTown--which I am starting to think is more representative of downtown's own local scene than anything else (which may be why people notice a profound difference between the two).

If you live in a unit in the Regency Tower apartments or in Sycamore Square, are you more likely to go hang out in MidTown or Bricktown after work? If you live in one of the new lofts we're seeing going up in the Deep Deuce/Bricktown areas, where are you more likely to hang out after work?

Also, I think that there's an intangible benefit from simply having the NBA brand a few blocks away from anywhere in downtown. It adds more prestige to the whole scene, which may in turn increase the value of downtown housing and office space--especially during the mortgage fiasco. I think that the new Devon Tower will also have a very similar effect in adding to the prestige and value of downtown, and is a very tangible part of the new "Big League OKC".

Put simply, so far, "Big League City" has meant this. In the months and years to come, there is no telling what it will come to mean.

Minneapolis in the 70s

Minneapolis, 1970s

The IDS Center is still the tallest building in Minnesota at 794 feet, but people sure were concerned that it dwarfed the skyline all through the 1970s. Remind you of anything?

Devon v. Chesapeake Smack Talk

This is just for those who haven’t forgotten about Devon’s cross-town rival, and especially for those that see a psychiatrist because they wish Chesapeake would move downtown so bad..

Chesapeake: Nice tower, but it should have an observation deck.. So that
they can enjoy the view of our entire ‘city.’

Devon: You mean to look down on, right?

Devon: Damn, we thought being in 5 separate buildings was bad.

Chesapeake: Nifty design, very phallic-looking.

Chesapeake: I hope that their new tower can withstand the jet stream,
or at least Oklahoma wind.

Devon: And we hope that a tornado doesn’t wipe "Chesapeake City" off
the map.

Chesapeake: Ahh, Nichols Hills..

Devon: Downtown, bitch.

Chesapeake: Did I mention phallic-looking?

Devon: Mine is bigger.

Stop Comparing Charlotte

All of us are ecstatic over the new 900+ ft-tall tower being built in Downtown OKC. Those of us that were already ecstatic over OKC’s urban rebirth are proud of the things that makes OKC a somewhat unique city. Despite tearing down more historic buildings than almost any other city during the "Urban Renewal" period, there is still a rich tapestry of "old" buildings 110-60 years old.

Beautiful buildings and areas that have matured over time enough to provide a true sense of place, meaning that you can walk down North Broadway or around Bricktown and you would know, "Ah-ha! I am in OKC."

Many other Sun Belt cities would consider themselves lucky to have such an impressive area as Bricktown, Automobile Alley, or the Walker Circle in MidTown. What’s vital is that all of these areas are bustling epicenters of activity at all times of the day, even MidTown which was once so desolate St. Anthony’s was threatening to move to SW 119th and May (remember that?).

Yes, it’s possible that the new Devon Tower can do for OKC what Bank of America’s gleaming supertall did for Charlotte, but don’t compare us to that city. Charlotte has little in the way of significant, landmark-esque buildings that are mature. It’s certain that 50 years from now Charlotte will have a veritable mature, urban environment, but it will take time for that city’s surroundings to feel more lived-in, or worn a bit. This is for two reasons: 1, Charlotte was much smaller than OKC until a few decades ago; and 2, Charlotte is still tearing down the old to make way for the new.

We’ve learned our lesson, so we’ll let them learn their lesson. But don’t compare us to Charlotte, because OKC will never be the next Charlotte. I don’t mind the comparisons one bit, but the Charlotte one that’s been running rampant lately is over the top. Instead, here’s some fodder for comparisons: Indianapolis, Cleveland, Austin, Omaha, and Louisville. Have fun.

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.

Mum's the word on the Colcord

In March Devon made history in OKC by announcing the undertaking to build a skyscraper that will become a new symbol of a city that has outgrown its comfortable symbols, and one that will not only be the city's tallest, but surely the entire State's, and believe it or not (@ incessant Oklahoma detractors), that's saying something. The state's 4 tallest buildings, all in Tulsa, range from 514-663 feet, which is far taller than anything in most states our size (SC and OR are closest in size). But skyscrapers in both OKC and Tulsa got a much humbler start, as they did everywhere they are found. The first skyscraper ever proposed in Oklahoma was the 12-story Chicago School-style building at the corner of Robinson and Sheridan. Interestingly enough the Colcord Building was planned by Charles Colcord to be a hotel, and while it began construction 2 years after statehood in 1909, it wasn't until being redeveloped in 2006 that it actually became a hotel.

Furthermore the 12-story hotel building was originally planned to have a 'Phase 2' of construction during which the L-shaped building would be a U-shaped one, as shown in this rendering (from Doug's blog).

Today Devon Energy Corp announced that they are purchasing the Colcord Tower and that it will be incorporated into their new mixed-use headquarters campus that will break ground later this year, and change more than just OKC's skyline for quite a while. While mum is the word on their official plans, the following are evident:

• It will be an integral part of their corporate headquarters
• It will remain open during construction on the tower
• Devon clearly has a unique opportunity with the Colcord
• The Colcord was never actually completed
• The building will remain an upscale boutique hotel
  

Furthermore ironic is how those of us in the blogosphere and that regularly post on the OKC forums have been blabbing wet dreams of completing the U-shaped Colcord Hotel some day. This is also further evidence that proves that Devon is sincere about their wish to have a significantly positive community impact with their new headquarters. It's believed that the new Devon Tower will have features like a multi-story enclosed arboretum, perhaps an auditorium for the community, and lots of community meeting space. They have also pledged to incorporate the park across the street, and now the Colcord. They have said they will do significant improvements to the Myriad Gardens, and just like the Gardens, they will likely have some plans that make the Colcord even better, because that's what Devon does.

Now IMAGINE, for a second, the new Devon headquarters at this site. Imagine a 700-footer here at this corner, complete with the things I mentioned above, plus only the best in corporate creature comforts (employee food court, gym, etc) and what he's described as what will be "Oklahoma's grandest lobby" (though nothing will ever be as grand as the Art-Deco Great Banking Hall of the historic First National). Imagine an iconic plaza where the tower meets the Gardens, which you must imagine after significant Devon-funded improvements. Now imagine the U-shape of the Colcord finally coming to fruition. The construction could try to closely match the existing half (and show Bricktown a thing or two) or it could go contemporary, for contrast, which would be better for actually incorporating the Colcord into the site plan.

The benefits of incorporating the Colcord into the Devon's headquarters site plan could be incredible. For one, Devon could further impact downtown, especially the area surrounding the park. All of downtown's corporations benefit if downtown gets something it desperately needs, which right now, downtown needs to bump up its hotel count dramatically as it soldiers on toward becoming a Tier 2 city. More directly this gives Devon a place to lodge visiting employees, shareholders, public officials, etc., and with the excess rooms, Devon can use them to make partnership deals with other local partners of theirs. We know cross-town rival, Chesapeake Energy would scoff at the suggestion, but there are probably over a hundred energy companies located downtown, and Devon has to be on friendly terms with some of them!