I just drove by 9th and Robinson. Looks like they removed something or a parking lot on the NW corner. Does anyone know what is going on there? Also looks like a lot of progress being done elsewhere. The Cline and Marion have received major cleanup and some new windows. The Plaza Court is almost finished. I noticed a lot more original historic signage around the building (in little places, above doors, windows, etc). Midtown is on it's way to becoming the next official hip district without a Bricktown touristy flair. I ate lunch at the Grateful Bean, it was hopping, Subway was open, Browns Bakery and Cafe' Do Brazil are right across the street as well. I can just see it now..........

OKC's BEST BURGERS COMING TO PLAZA COURT!

I hear that Irma's is opening at Plaza Court. I don't know if it is an additional location or a relocation of the original on 63rd Street. Perhaps Chesapeake's appetite for real estate gobbled up their tiny little corner restaurant along with everyting on Western. But no matter what the reasons, I'm looking forward to pulling up a bar stool and ordering a "No Name Ranch Burger", medium, with swiss cheese, a side of onion rings and a very cold Red Strip.

IMO, Malibu, the jury is still out on Banta. I was disappointed at the loss of the unique red brick apartment complex on Classen, but it will be years before sufficient revitalization accumulates on the west side of the street to have made that rehab viable and it would have been a constant battle to keep the buildings secured.

I preceive him as a thoughtful developer that sees the big picture that can be a revitilized Midtown by maintaining well refurbished old buildings with high quality new ones. I am anxious to see what his finished products on Francis look like as well as the Cline rehab. He definitely isn’t taking a total scrap and rebuild approach, but whether he is being sufficiently attentive to the material selections and historic detailing that set his recently acquired older structures apart, remains to be seen. I am guardedly optimistic.

__________________
The Old Downtown Guy

It will take decades for Oklahoma City's
downtown core to regain its lost gritty,
dynamic urban character, but it's exciting
to observe and participate in the transformation.

That would be great. A district friendly to locals will be great and may help some displaced by Chesapeake's take over.

I agree, the jury is still out on Banta. He hasn't really had time to finish any projects yet, in fact, barely start them. Like I've said before, I don't think you can judge him on how Plaza Court has been thus far. He took over after it was 80% or more remodeled. How he executes tenants from here on out remains to be seen. As far as the apartments off Classen that were torn down, I too was saddened. They were very unique but also very dilapidated. My guess is that it was going to be too much to rehab them and secure the foundation, than they could actually be worth. The foundation was pretty shakey. As you mentioned, he seems to be taking respect to older structures. As far as historical designs, etc. He has to on the exterior, as it has to go through the Urban Design Commission before he can do it. As far as interiors, that's up to him. Either way, you can already notice a big improvement down his corridor. Especially with the Cline and Marion already getting cleaned up and Pat's Lounge gone now. I can already hear our property value going up $$$.

That's very good news about Irma's.

Plaza Court could become the hub of Midtown.


Regarding Banta, I'm worried that he's taken on so many properties that he won't have the capital to put back into all these buildings. But as long as he doesn't completely screw up the outside, I suppose he can't do any real harm.

Last time I was in town, I was pretty shocked by how many empty or nearly-empty lots there were between downtown and 13th. At some point, I hope some in-fill projects are kicked off because even if Banta remodles everything he owns, it's still going to feel somewhat dead there for a while.

You're right about the wide open spaces Malibu. A group headed up by Bert Ballanger is doing some rehab condos between 11th & 12th on Harvey and if those sell out quickly, that could speed up the infill building on those nearby vacant lots. I'm not sure about the ownership on most of that property. It could be in the hands of land-bankers waiting for the prices to go up some more and that could slow things down.

Hopefully, the OKCURA will put out an RFP early next year on the former Mercy Hospital site at 13th and Walker. There should be a lot of interest in that site now and the RFP could attract a lot of attention. Consturction could easily get going within 18 to 24 months with any luck.

There is a guy that has a decent auto repair on NW 10th Street, not the pile o'crap on the corner at Harvey, but next door to the west. He owns the frontage directly across the street to the north, and has plans for a new repair center. He keeps schleping the design down to the Urban Design Commission and they keep saying change this and fix that, but I think he has a fairly workable concept now. I'm not sure when he plans to start construction, but it could still be a while.

Remember that I owe you a beer Malibu and there are getting to be more and more venues around here available for me to pay my debt. Any plans for a visit?

__________________
The Old Downtown Guy

It will take decades for Oklahoma City's
downtown core to regain its lost gritty,
dynamic urban character, but it's exciting
to observe and participate in the transformation.

A fountain in the middle of a round-about is a bad idea. It creates dangrous driving conditions for 3 reasons. One, the fountain obstructs the view of cars both in and entering the round-about. Two, wind sprays the water on car windshields (even worse with people in convertables) and three, that same wind push a lot of water on to the road which by design is a curve. The water stays for a long which produces a layer of slime that is very slick.

They tried this in Clearwater Florida about 5 years ago at an intersection that was considered congested. Within a year it was number one accident site with an average of 2 accident per day! When the fountain was removed the number dropped to almost 0.

Here is a quote from a traffic study performed on the Cearwater fountain roundabout:

"The Clearwater Beach Traffic Study prepared by DKS revealed that a total of 76 vehicle
crashes occurred at the intersections that were replaced by the roundabout in the 30 months
from January 1995 to June 1997. This is an average of 0.58 accidents / week.
In the 3 months from the 21st December 1999 to 21st March 2000 there have been 131
Crashes. This is an average of 10.07 accidents / week. This crash rate has remained constant
over the subsequent three-month period up until June 2000."

Here is the link to the document:
http://www.ourston.com/clearwater_%20report.pdf

There are no plans to put a fountain at the 10/Walker round-about. That idea was pitched a couple of years back by a local designer but was rejected for the very reasons you state Kerry.

While working with The City on the designs for streetscape projects in the area, The Midtown Redevelopment Corporation planned for there to be a major public art installation at that location. An RFP for the site and fund raising should get going next year.

__________________
The Old Downtown Guy

It will take decades for Oklahoma City's
downtown core to regain its lost gritty,
dynamic urban character, but it's exciting
to observe and participate in the transformation.

I believe the RFP for the old Mercy site already went out or is going out shortly.

Good. There needs to be something there.

I hope the new Irma's is just an additional location. I don't want mine to move!