Best Western

[Pete]

Plans have been submitted for a new 4-story 120 room Best Western hotel to the east of the proposed MAPS 3 park in the area commonly known as Core to Shore.

The hotel would be at 101 SW 7th Street on the northwest corner of South Broadway and 7th.

The .93 acre property was purchased last fall for $1.2 million by an LLC that tracks back to local investor and developer Mizra Beg.

The hotel would cost $3.4 million and be constructed of wood siding and stone veneer. 68 on-site parking spaces would be provided.

The Best Western is the second hotel proposed in the area to the east of the MAPS 3 park, joining the Fairfield Inn a few blocks to the north.

The entire area is still being considered as possible site for the MAPS 3 convention center.

Plans for this hotel require the approval of the Downtown Design Review Committee.

[Richard at Remax]

This should be good

[jdross1982]

please NO

[bchris02]

That property is too close to the park for a development of this caliber. It's not the place to try to go suburban. This is fit for up on Memorial or maybe out in Yukon or by Tinker in Midwest City. If this gets approved, OKC needs to give up on Core 2 Shore ever being anything special. To reference the old saying, this isn't just "better than crappy," this really is pure crap.

[AP]

This is just bad.

[dankrutka]

This should be good

Lol. What's everyone waiting for?!?

[David]

Oh lordy, no. Not with that design.

[Pete]

It has to go through the Downtown Design Review Committee and I'm sure there will be changes.

[Pete]

http://www.okctalk.com/announcements...ss-owners.html

[jccouger]

There will be improvements, I'm sure. We will probably end up with another Hotel in the same template as all the other Bricktown hotels, which I'm fine with. Wish the brand was a little more prestigious, but their money is just as good as anybody's to whoever is selling the property.

[bchris02]

It has to go through the Downtown Design Review Committee and I'm sure there will be changes.

Hopefully so. I don't like the idea of what is basically a low-end motel being that close to the park, but if its going to be there it should at least conform to urban standards. If this is going to be the standard, OKC might as well not even waste money on the park and instead invest that money into a better convention center or more streetcar.

[TU 'cane]

So, my question is, do these hotel developers know something we don't? Or is the land right now just cheap?
Because from everything I see, C2S isn't even creeping along, it's just stationary right now in regard to any type of meaningful development or change in the scheduled area(s). I guess we're waiting to see what happens with the convention center, aren't we?

[sooner88]

It has to go through the Downtown Design Review Committee and I'm sure there will be changes.

Do you think the DDRC will be stricter on what they accept in these beginning stages as the earlier developments will set a precedent for what is to follow?

[Pete]

Hopefully so. I don't like the idea of what is basically a low-end motel being that close to the park, but if its going to be there it should at least conform to urban standards. If this is going to be the standard, OKC might as well not even waste money on the park and instead invest that money into a better convention center or more streetcar.

Who says it's going to be low end?

Your constant whining is getting really, really old.

[Pete]

Do you think the DDRC will be stricter on what they accept in these beginning stages as the earlier developments will set a precedent for what is to follow?

They apply the standards and guidelines they have been given, and this project doesn't meet several, such as the setback from the street and the proposed exterior materials.

No way does this get approved in it's current state. Virtually all the hotels built or now under construction experienced big changes from the original proposals.

[Richard at Remax]

I think this is why people get annoyed. Just do it right the first time and make it easy on yourself.

[Pete]

Many of these developers are new to urban design and have never built in the districts that have established standards.

This is why we have design standards and review committees.

This whole process is meant to be collaborative.

[AP]

I think this is why people get annoyed. Just do it right the first time and make it easy on yourself.

IMO, it's disrespectful for them to try to propose something like that in the first place. There is no way that if the developer has done any research at all that they would think what they have proposed, at this point, is acceptable..

[jerrywall]

Interesting. Does this make the east park site more attractive for the convention center, between this and the proposed Fairfield?

[AP]

Many of these developers are new to urban design and have never built in the districts that have established standards.

This is why we have design standards and review committees.

This whole process is meant to be collaborative.

I know you are trying really hard to be respectful of these business owners, but are saying they don't have access to the standards and guidelines before they put their plans together? How could they be so far off from what is expected?

[David]

Hasn't the DDRC already set a precedent of waiving the setback requirement in the C2S area, though? The exact name is escaping me at the moment, but that law firm development.

Also, isn't this the same committee that approved the new downtown Chase Bank branch?

[Pete]

I know you are trying really hard to be respectful of these business owners, but are saying they don't have access to the standards and guidelines before they put their plans together? How could they be so far off from what is expected?

This hasn't even been submitted to the DDRC yet.

[bchris02]

Your constant whining is getting really, really old.

I just think the bar should be set a little higher for the Core 2 Shore area given the amount of public investment that is being put into the area. The blocks adjacent to the park are the most important. I don't want to see it turn into another Lower Bricktown where subpar development gets approved simply for the sake of having development. If this gets approved it will set a very bad precedent for future developments. I am sure if it wasn't for my history of negativity on this board you would probably agree with me. I also want to add that there is a difference between criticism of a genuinely bad project and blatant over the top negativity.

While I am hopeful that the DDRC denies this, their approval of the Chase Bank and the law firm in Core 2 Shore has me concerned that they will approve this.

[PhiAlpha]

They apply the standards and guidelines they have been given, and this project doesn't meet several, such as the setback from the street and the proposed exterior materials.

No way does this get approved in it's current state. Virtually all the hotels built or now under construction experienced big changes from the original proposals.

Should be another good test for the DDRC, hopefully they heavily scrutinize this. I would be happy if they pushed it to the street, had some type of retail on the first level and made it look less suburban. Otherwise, don't really mind it being a Best Western. They are starting to build some higher end (for them) hotels and it wouldn't hurt to have some other lower price options downtown.

On a positive note, it appears that Core to Shore is starting to generate some tangible interest somewhat ahead of when it was expected (based on more recent estimates).

[soonerguru]

Sorry for the brevity, but this is ugly and sets a terrible precedent for the area. Demand quality design, OKC. This does not improve the landscape. They need us; we don't "need" them.