Cityshot(s): Merry belated Christmas

For those of you who have visited the blog lately and only seen a way-too-early New Years post and no mention of Christmas, yes we do in fact celebrate Christmas at this blog. I have just been inexcusably late at getting around to it because of getting busy with family and other stuff I do while I'm home for the holidays.

That said, what better (late) Christmas gift than downtown Christmas pics? Let's remain cognizant of what a great downtown Christmas scene we used to have, but to tell the truth, I don't think downtown has ever looked better during the holidays than now. Not even in the hey day was it as spectacular and unique as today, and that's largely in part due to the lights along Automobile Alley.











And of course, Bricktown was all decked out also:

News on NW 9th?

Was by the Iguana today and noticed that across 9th Street is a sign that S&B Burgers (currently on North May), known for its delicious greasy burgers, is hiring. The sign was directly in front of an old brick building (I think) that I'd previously heard was "perfect for a burger joint."

So I'll put two and two together. Is S&B either moving or opening a new location on NW 9th? If so, that could be a huge success. Already a decent following, plus a really well-suited business model for the 9th Street crowd.

Incredible incompetency downs Automobile Alley project

Read more in Steve Lackmeyer's recent article about the stunning City Hall incompetency and misplaced priorities that downed what would have been a major development deal at Broadway and 13th. A large Houston-based development company that has had successful urban developments in Tulsa wanted to invest $38 million in Automobile Alley, giving it the jolt of mixed-use development it needs to continue growing.

The city shifted funds for a needed railroad quiet zone for land acquisition in Core2Shore. No wonder they started making progress on C2S so soon. We are now truly prioritizing this nonexistent area of the city AND convention centers above things that people actually want like TRANSIT and improvement to existing neighborhoods of downtown first.

This Cornett City Hall is loosing its luster every week. What it needs more than anything is for someone else to have another major success that they can take credit for again in order to retain popularity.

A-Alley: A distinct vibe emerges

I want to take the time to post some more photos I took last week that I think demonstrate how a very distinct vibe is developing along North Broadway. Can Automobile Alley become a "landmark" corridor for us? Admittedly, it has a ways to go, but the potential is there. It's really coming along, and it's hard NOT to speculate about how North Broadway is booming.


1100 N. Broadway continues improvements. I get the impression that Howard and Clagg and Co. are a little hesitant about finding a tenant for it, since they have been finding temporary uses for this space for the last while. OKC Cityscape was really fantastic there, and I already kind of miss the bright LEGO blocks that were affixed to the front of the building. I wonder if there is a way that they can make OKC Cityscape work as a year-round thing in this space, should it ever be able to cover its own rent. It was way more successful there than in Penn Square, where rent is quite expensive.


It's hard to not love the view down Broadway.


1101 N. Broadway is also starting to come around, I have noticed drastic improvement recently so it appears that renovations are now fully underway. This building has an interesting recent history, as I remember in '06 or '07 there was a deal to turn it into the "Chandelier Lofts" and construct a glass annex next door, to the north. When they instead just sold it off to Greg Banta, who was on a Mid-town buying rampage at the time, it was assumed it would still get developed quickly. Here's hoping that the building eventually becomes lofts, which it seems very well-suited for.


I think we can also look back on the OKC Community Foundation as a very good project, also. At the time I was annoyed that it was developed by a non-profit agency, as there WAS a report out at the time that proved 10th and Broadway was the best fit for a "major development" and I thought with the land being donated either way, it would have been a great opportunity to try for a development home run. That was before 2008 and any major development play would have at least been complicated by the economy anyway. This is a decent, quality project. I feel like the design is very conducive to the neighborhood, I just wish the Community Foundation hadn't demo'd more buildings for unneeded parking.


This sculpture, very tame and conservative in its motif, also went up at the same time as The Womb (in the background) came about. Whether this is the Community Foundation's attempt to "cover up" that loud building in the background, or compliment it with its own artistic touch, is anyone's guess. But what I do know is that when it comes to public art, the more the merrier!


Of course, how could anyone not be enamored with the loud mural covering the new art gallery called The Womb? I think everything about this gallery is brilliant, and I think it's about time we have a "big-city" gallery that seeks to push the envelope, in many different ways! This adds many new dimensions, and talk about a potential neighborhood asset. I anxiously await to see how The Womb will fit into the strong synergy budding amongst the other attractions around 9th and Broadway, such as Shop Good, Coffee Slingers, The Iguana, Sara Sara, Pachinko Parlor, et al.


What is so special about this A-Alley vibe is that it has such a great mix of locally-owned EVERYTHING. Art and culture courtesy of the Flaming Lips, awesome restaurants, a cool local coffee shop, and -GASP- actual retail (Shop Good, Sara Sara Cupcakes, Rawhide furniture, and the newly relocated antique/vintage furniture business). But another great asset will be the new Hideaway. Oklahoma family like Hideaway, and while it's image isn't exactly conservative (so it won't buck the vibe on N. Broadway), it's fairly tame and "family-safe" thus it will be a predictable draw for the mainstream.


To top it off, another nod to Steve Mason's rooftop garden. Every building in this district needs to have a rooftop deck like this, for soaking in the action from above on perfect sultry summer evenings.

The view from the top

For those who don't know, the rooftop deck above Rawhide is a work of art. Jeff Bezdek was showing it to me the other week and it was just as cool as I had always heard it was. Talking to Steve Mason about it later, evidently he was actually inspired in part by the High Line in NY. Steve romanticized how cool it would be if something like that could be accomplished with the old Crosstown, an idea I've heard echoed by Sid Burgess and a few others.

The really cool thing about what Steve has done is that he wasn't answering a need, per se, as far as I know. He just thought it was cool, he was inspired, and he wanted to create such a space. As the head of Cardinal Engineering, there probably weren't too many bids for urban rooftop green spaces on the market, so he brought the concept to OKC himself. The interesting thing is that he is now much more likely to get to work on another such project now that he's brought the concept to OKC, kind of like how Boldt uses their Broadway Extension headquarters as a design showcase. Anyone else interested in a rooftop deck like this? Here's a cool website about rooftop gardens, with a few examples of "greening the urban jungle."

Hideaway opening

Don't forget, the new Hideaway is opening on Automobile Alley today (8th and Broadway) and ALL of their sales from today (not just profits) will be donated to Eugene Fields Elementary, a nearby OCPS school.

Cityshot..lost track

This is the new Womb Gallery, a project of Wayne Coyne's (Flaming Lips), just off North Broadway. This is cool.



How on earth was this allowed?

Upheaval in local grocery options

It looks like with Whole Foods coming to town, there is an upheaval underway already with the local grocery scene. Consider the number of local organic grocers within 1 mile of where Whole Foods ended up breaking ground. It looks like some of them may want to move downtown after all (especially after Crescent Market has been adamantly opposed to moving downtown for years until suddenly). And so now what we're seeing is downtown finally appearing as a viable retail alternative to the Chesapeake area...as long as your niche is going to be cannibalized by Whole Foods. And to be clear, this isn't saying Crescent Market, Forward Foods, or any other gourmet and organic grocers to name a few couldn't compete with Whole Foods which is often actually a benefit to the local gourmet and organic grocery options. Local options typically compete quite well against Whole Foods and Whole Foods brings more attention to the whole idea of gourmet and organic grocery shopping in cities it goes to. My belief is that Whole Foods may have gotten an agreement with Chesapeake that they'll raise the rent on Crescent Market and encourage them to leave the area, which is exactly what they're doing.

Crescent Market appears to be looking at areas with good access to Mesta Park and Heritage Hills, wanting to stay true to its base demographic. This means looking around Walker and around Broadway. Automobile Alley appears to be getting serious consideration, but the problem with A-Alley I see is that the current Crescent Market is well over 20,000 sf. Even if they utilize a more efficient floorplan I still don't see them downsizing their operations, meaning they'll need at least 10,000 sf on a ground floor in a well-renovated building, which may be hard to come by. Two other gourmet grocers that I won't name are also looking at downtown very seriously, and I understand there is a very strong possibility that the LEVEL Urban Apartments at 2nd/Walnut will sign a lease with an existing locally-known grocer that might not necessarily relocate a store but open a new one. Or it might relocate the store.


Is it possible that Chesapeake-area retailers moving downtown could stem the tide of movement further north? For the last 2-3 years it seems like the only option for retailers leaving 50 Penn Place or others coming to town was to go into the Classen Curve development, whereas they all could have very easily and successfully gone downtown. Full Circle, looking right at you..it's time to move downtown and get out of your building. Can anyone else imagine Crescent Market, other grocers, Full Circle, Hideaway, Shop Good, Rawhide, and others all in the same neighborhood? That would go many miles toward establishing the critical mass needed in terms of downtown retail to turn the tide and get the ball rolling.

On a sadder note, it appears that this Friday is the last day for Market C on NW 23rd. A great Uptown 23rd tenant for a long time, that added a lot to the really interesting and diverse mix that has blossomed there, it is a shame that it is going away. It will be replaced with more space for Cheever's catering.

North Broadway Lights in A-Alley

Whoever or whatever was the inspiration for the lights along Broadway in Automobile Alley, was pure genius. Not hokie. Not kitschy. Not overdone. Simple, elegant, chic, and impressive. Now in its second year, it was the historic auto dealership buildings themselves that lit up downtown, veiled in bright strands of Christmas lights. When some colors look absolutely hideous individually on some ranch houses, when draped over the entire edifice the effect is really something--I hope they are doing this for a long time, as A-Alley grows in popularity in coming years.

I took a lot of pics, and I'll post more later, but here are just a few of the best that came out pretty good in my opinion. Still trying to figure out how to take decent night pics with a real camera, but I think there are a few decent ones in here: