Economics. That building was not
leasable in its current state.
A new building with a brick facade
that matches the two adjacent ones
will be built there. Most people don't
realize Bricktown is not a historical preservation
district even though some buildings are on the
historical register.

Steve, thanks for the article. Interesting, but not
apples to apples. No arenas, no ballparks, no arts festivals, no canal. Come on. Tell us what the
other places are charging. I paid $20 to park for a
OU game Sat. and it didn't make the news. Also paid
$20 to park at the city owned courtyard hotel garage
for a Ford Center event recently. Is our city in the parking business? Haven't heard about this either.

The image I see in the mirror is the team of a
brother and sister that sign your paycheck to
provide us the same luxury you see in Ft. Worth.
I haven't read a story about their local investments
yet either.

Boy,

Get the facts right. The City does not own the Courtyard Garage, the Couryard owns it. Yes, COTPA, a City trust, is in the parking business and you will find that none of their garages charge over $6 for evening special events, most are $5.

Kim.

Next time I will take a picture. Have Steve investigate
it and get back with you.

You are right. The city does not own title.
However, they played a big part in the financing/
development with Mr.Hammonds.

COPTA/Urban Renwel/OCPPA/Airport Trust/State Fair Trust/DOKC. All the same thing. Tax payer entities?

My point is that is seems to be OK for the Courtyard, COPTA, City meters/Parking tickets, even the front yard owners in Norman to make a return on parking but the people in Bricktown get beat up for it.

FWIW, seems like the issue isn't that people have to pay to park - that is somewhat normal in urban areas, I guess. It's the price. I've noticed those amounts going up again lately and it seems to be more on the order of raping and pillaging rather than consumer-friendly business. I would think that parking lot owners would be concerned with creating positive impressions for Bricktown visitors, rather than going out of their way to irritate them.

The prices range from $2 to $3 for Lunch
$5 for dinner. $5 to $10 based on type of special
event and how many expected. Proximty factors in as well. Very reasonable compared to national averages.
Even though parking at Wal Mart is "free" we are
really paying for it with every purchase.

The Wal-Mart analogy is a non-starter, but you can rationalize it anyway you want. Bottom line is that some (not all!) parking lot owners in Bricktown are more interested in short-term gains (read: $$$) than long-term viability of the entertainment district. It's these guys' lack of foresight, or sheer indifference that bugs me.

It's not a good sign when the "executive director" of the website has an AOL e-mail address.

What do you mean? The website says the Executive Director's e-mail address is at bricktownokc.org.

Don't have to like it, but its true. If it weren't for the foresight of those folks this would be a non issue and we would be talking about building an island or something in our river. Everyone has a right to
make a return on their investments. If your selling
burgers or parking spots.

BTA directors email is bricktownokc@aol.com.
Playing off the original site from the the beginning.
Bring some new ideas. Be original. Riding the
coattails for his own personal gain. Pick up
a Key Magazine. He needs the support.

Let me help you. Your analogy doesn't work because Wal-Mart owns the parking lot and can therefore choose whether to mark up prices accordingly. They don't, of course, that's one of the reasons their prices remain low. In the case of Bricktown parking, the merchants DON'T own the majority of the parking, and therefore have no control over a big part of how Bricktown is perceived. Instead, some profiteer is taking advantage of the average Bricktown consumer with no thought to the customer base, the image of the entertainment district, the other merchants, or even the future of his own business. His thoughts are only bent to determine how much will the traffic bear today.

As to your other irrational comment: "Playing off the original site"? Why wouldn't the Bricktown Association want a website called Bricktown?

Get a clue. I don't know why you're so down on Bricktown, especially if you're the clown raping - I mean raking - it in on the parking, but for crying out loud, lighten up already.

Clown? Business expenses are passed
down to to the paying customers wether its the
paving of the parking lots, A/C, or payroll.
Its not the parking operators fault that the
merchants didn't acquire their own parking. I haven't
heard these operators complain about poor sales do to
a restaurant serving bad food and the customers not coming back to
park.

bricktownassociation.org sounds perfect

two questions to think about and then I will
lighten up.

1) If you purchased a home twenty years ago for $10,000
and you sell it now for $100,000 are you raping or considered a profiteer?

2) If you had 2M plus invested in a parking lot,
what would be your business plan?

There's a big difference between making a reasonable profit and price-gouging.

All I'm suggesting is that Bricktown's customers, merchants, and overall image would be better served if the more "agressive" parking lot owners would look long term and be more consumer and Bricktown-friendly.

Point taken. The lots in BT are clean, well lit,
secure, and resonably priced. I wish the paper
would do a piece comparing the prices charged for
parking around the country (capitol cities only)to what we are curently paying. I think this would show
we have it very good here. Along with housing and other costs' of living.