Automobile Alley

[Pete]

$25,000 building permit to renovate the 7,000 square foot building at 725 N. Broadway for office space:

[Spartan]

They must not be doing much of anything...

[USG'60]

Probably just filling in the for overhead doors on the north side there.

[bombermwc]

office space huh...that's actually what should be around there...none of that large retail crap like Old Navy they tossed around...screwing up for "pedestrian friendly" roads and all that. BOOO.

[oakhollow]

What Steve Mason is about to do is going to be amazing!

[okclee]

What Steve Mason is about to do is going to be amazing!

You've got to give us more than this, Riddle, Clue, Hint, something more? Retail, Residential, Both???

Where along AA is the "amazing" going to happen? Seems like Mason is running out of space along 9th street?

[betts]

Mason still has Mel's garage. There were some great plans for it originally, but the last time I talked to him he was going to wait on it for awhile. I'd love to hear about something new he's going to do.

[oakhollow]

What would you guys like to see happen in the 9th street area?

[mcca7596]

office space huh...that's actually what should be around there...none of that large retail crap like Old Navy they tossed around...screwing up for "pedestrian friendly" roads and all that. BOOO.

Please tell me you're being sarcastic; why would you not want true retail on Automobile Alley?

[Spartan]

I think Mel's garage is kinda cool, actually.

[mcca7596]

Sorry, but I'm kind of confused as to the long term status of 1100 N. Broadway. I know that the Lego cityscape will be there again this year, but is the goal to have a permanent tenant there eventually or just to rent it out for short terms for events, receptions, etc...?

[metro]

Mason also has the large vacant lots on the south side of 9th...FYI

[betts]

What would you guys like to see happen in the 9th street area?

Besides Mel's garage, which has a lot of potential, as has been mentioned, there is the south side of 9th. I'd like to see a great bar go in there....something smallish, either very hip or with a neighborhood type of feel. More retail would be great too.

[MikeOKC]

You know, I'm with Pete on something very important. He's pointed out several times about the stretching ourselves thin with "districts." We're going to have a hard time developing true "districts" unless we develop them and keep on developing them until there's some density. Right now, we've got so many "districts" that they are really only mini-districts because if there's one or two bars there is worry of saturation and competition. A true "district" will build success one business on top of another. I'm not sure how this relates to AA except that it's just another example of everything being so spread out and retail/bar/restaurant development moving at such a snail's pace that it's hard to see real energy. Just a smattering of "oh, that's nice." Make any sense?

[Spartan]

Well, A-Alley has never really had a collecting place yet. I think that's a big factor. Indeed, Iguana has given it that. Hideaway will be another strong collecting place. It's always been there. It's just now coming together. Every district needs to be built around massively popular restaurants, at least in the fledgling stage. That's why Joey's moving to Film Row is so exciting. That's what McNellie's does for Mid-town. And on and on.

And I'm so extremely optimistic about keeping these districts moving forward. It's great that OKC doesn't just have Bricktown. The streetcar, going through Automobile Alley, will be just an incredible impetus for density. This is going to be "THE" corridor in all of OKC, "Oklahoma City Boulevard" be-damned.

[Pete]

Mike, at least Deep Deuce (besides Bricktown) now seems to be nearing critical mass. With the Aloft and Level and new Bradshaw apartments, a good majority of that area will be filled in and then I think the rest will quickly follow.

Sure would like to see that happen in these other areas as well. Midtown is getting close and the old Mercy site project (whichever in chosen) will go a long ways towards making this happen.

If I had my choice, I'd like to keep all these places (AA, Film Row, Plaza, Paseo, NW 23rd, Lincoln, etc.) on slow boil while we knock off a somewhat actualized area once every year or so. Even at that aggressive rate, we have a long way to go to absorb and fully develop all these districts.

My previous comments were really more about the Core to Shore stuff but it seems that is now being viewed as much longer term, as in 10 to 25 years. Which is probably about right.

[dankrutka]

What would you guys like to see happen in the 9th street area?

Without a doubt this street needs a little bar where people can go after all the businesses close. A smaller venue with live music would probably fit with the synergy on this street...

[Spartan]

Regularly schedules live music would be huge on A-Alley directly, or NW 9th.

[ljbab728]

If this has been mentioned here previously, I never saw it. I came across this today when surfing for interesting things to do when my brother comes here for a visit in May. Maybe everyone else knows about this but I was totally unfamiliar with this theater and something like this is a tremendous asset to the Broadway area.

http://www.reduxiontheatre.com/index.html

[mcca7596]

I had heard of a theater going in there but didn't know they were already open. Sounds like a good part of the inner city to take a family member to.

[bombermwc]

I actually wasn't really being that sarcastic. What I don't want to see is the area turned into some stupid box retail area. Remember the discussions of trying to attract places like Old Navy. That's exactlly what i DO NOT want there. That's trying to change the identity area into something it isn't, and shouldn't be. This area needs to stay local. That's part of its charm....that it's not chain crap. If it means it stays office space, i'll take that any day over chain boxes whether they are inside these buildings or not.

[Spartan]

Bomber, have you seen some of the nicer instances where a national retailer has gone into a setting like this and not done a "stupid box retail area" but really conformed to what the area is like already? You should look into the downtowns of cities like Lawrence and Boulder.

I respect that point of view a lot actually, but I think we're at a point where we need a big catalyst. Somebody with an existing reputation doing something big needs to move downtown and create some momentum. It could be Full Circle. Or it could be a national chain. But it's impossible for these local charm shops to survive all on their own, scattered around downtown. We're missing that retail lynchpin.

[BoulderSooner]

just a note the store front of the future hideaway pizza location has been ripped out and it looks like they are ramping up demo/renovations ..

[okclee]

Holy "Hideaway" Batman!!

I had to take a double take while driving by, half of this building is gone. It is just a shell now and you can see nearly all the way through.

Major progress happening with this store this morning. Countless contractors on site this morning, plumbing, demo, electrical, and more. Does anyone know if they have an estimated opening date?

[BDP]

But it's impossible for these local charm shops to survive all on their own, scattered around downtown.

Scattered being the keyword. You put them all in one place and I think it's a different story.

I agree with bomber though. An Old Navy would be a failure. I'd like it to stay local, but if it does go national in some way, I think it has to be something that the city does not currently have and I think it needs to be something that isn't as much of a mass value merchandiser with volume oriented price points. It has to be destination oriented and I can't see anyone passing 1 or even two other Old Navies on the way to the one downtown. And a destination CAN be created without a traditional "anchor". If you reach a critical mass of unique smaller locally oriented shops, the collection of stores would create the destination while also creating something Oklahoma City does not have, instead of just more redundancy in the retail market.