View Full Version : Scissortail Park




G.Walker
01-27-2011, 01:25 PM
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/centralparkwiki1.jpg

Information & Latest News
The Downtown Public Park consists of a 40-acre upper section and a 30-acre lower section connected by the SkyDance Bridge that spans the relocated Interstate 40 Highway. The upper park is generally within the boundaries of Hudson Avenue on the west, Robinson Avenue on the east, the future Boulevard on the north (SW 3rd St.) and the new I-40 on the south. The lower park is generally within the boundaries of Walker Avenue on the West, Robinson Avenue on the east, the new I-40 on the north and SW 10th Street on the south, with an additional section bounded by Harvey Avenue on the west, Robinson Avenue on the east, SW 10th street on the north and SW 15th Street on the south.

The Downtown Public Park extends across the relocated I-40 corridor. This will establish park activity south of I-40 (reaching toward the Oklahoma River), and an active southern landing area for the Skydance Bridge, thereby helping to mitigate the barrier effect of the new I-40.

The project will be completed in three phases to include:

The development of an overall Master Plan and design and construction of the first phase of the upper section which may include basic amenities such as developing an edge with the new Boulevard and the access to the SkyDance bridge.
The second phase will include amenities related to the planned programming for the upper section of the park.
The lower section will be completed in the final phase and may be less programmed than the upper section.

Amenities included in each phase will be determined by the available budget and will be addressed during the Master Plan for the Downtown Public Park.

The Downtown Public Park will become the signature open space of the City’s Core to Shore plan - a 750 acre redevelopment plan which was envisioned to build and connect a series of neighborhoods, parks, and economic opportunities that will reinvent downtown Oklahoma City, leading to new jobs and a higher quality of life for residents. The park will also form an integral connection component of a larger downtown open space system that includes the river edges, the Myriad Botanical Gardens, Bicentennial Park and other public and private open spaces.

The 40 acres of the park north of the new I-40 will be acquired and cleared, preserving as many trees and historic structures as possible. A former U.S. Federal Post Office facility on the site has been demolished along with other residential and commercial properties.

Acquisition of the 30 acres for the lower section of park south of the new I-40 is scheduled to begin in 2014.

The new Downtown Convention Center is currently planned to be located directly north of the Downtown Public Park on the other side of the proposed Boulevard. The Convention Center design is scheduled to begin in 2014 with construction to begin in 2016.

An electrical substation is located across the street from the northeast corner of the Downtown Public Park. There has been discussion about possible means of mitigating the impact of the substation on the Downtown Public Park, including various methods of screening it from view. Options for such mitigation, if deemed necessary, should be included in the Master Plan.

Links
Central Park Conceptual Plan (http://www.okc.gov/planning/coretoshore/images/park_concept_plan.pdf)
Gallery

UnFrSaKn
01-27-2011, 01:36 PM
Bad link.

G.Walker
01-27-2011, 01:38 PM
http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/cache/2/tm0nqn551nvgj5454tloyo45/112869301272011021722772.PDF

G.Walker
01-27-2011, 01:39 PM
same thing happened on other thread started by okclee, don't know whats wrong...

UnFrSaKn
01-27-2011, 01:49 PM
http://www.okc.gov/agendapub/meeting.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&docid=28963
It's one of these right?

http://www.okc.gov/agendapub/view.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&fileid=1128693

mcca7596
01-27-2011, 01:58 PM
UnFrSaKn, the second one is good for me, thanks.

OKCisOK4me
01-27-2011, 02:02 PM
First link in post #5 works but it's not a map and all the other ones blow like WWLS!

UnFrSaKn
01-27-2011, 02:08 PM
I was bored, so here's a giant map of the area via Google Maps.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/downtownparkmap2011large.jpg

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j286/UnFrSaKn/downtownparkmap2011large.jpg

OKCisOK4me
01-27-2011, 04:39 PM
Is there a way to highlight the areas that have been acquired?

Pete
01-27-2011, 04:48 PM
Does anyone know if the old postal facility has been demolished yet?

betts
01-27-2011, 05:18 PM
Last time I went by the old post office, about ten days ago, there were big holes in the east side walls, but the building was still standing.

Snowman
01-27-2011, 06:16 PM
Is there a way to highlight the areas that have been acquired?

It was done as conceptual spacing, it did not over lay well with an actual map. had to distort the blocks to fit in actual grid.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/5393950641_714555802b.jpg

slightly larger version (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucaswells/5393950641/sizes/l/)

OKCisOK4me
01-27-2011, 06:55 PM
Thanks Snowman!

Spartan
01-28-2011, 12:09 AM
I hope the city is not being taken for a ride...

Rover
01-28-2011, 10:13 AM
I hope the city is not being taken for a ride...

Do you have a reason to believe it is? Do we know what they have paid for properties vs. appraised value? Is there a report anywhere?

BoulderSooner
01-28-2011, 11:49 AM
Does anyone know if the old postal facility has been demolished yet?

in the process .. at the last maps 3 committee meeting the city said it will be finished in about 6 weeks

Larry OKC
01-29-2011, 02:01 AM
Do you have a reason to believe it is? Do we know what they have paid for properties vs. appraised value? Is there a report anywhere?

Probably just as much reason to believe either way..do you think the Post Office and Goodwill sites were worth the $6 million or so that were paid for them (considering the building had to be removed, cost of environmental etc etc.)?

betts
01-29-2011, 05:57 AM
The last property they are acquiring cost a little over $300,000. I can't tell if it's an entire block but it looks as if it's multiple properties. That doesn't sound so bad.

Larry OKC
01-29-2011, 07:49 AM
Betts:

Agree, much better than $6M

Spartan
02-01-2011, 06:24 PM
Do you have a reason to believe it is? Do we know what they have paid for properties vs. appraised value? Is there a report anywhere?

Yes, there were some concerns earlier about C2S that the city would not use eminent domain and that property owners were taking advantage of that by hiking up their asking price to leave. I think the city paid too much for the post office and goodwill. Goodwill absolutely took the city to the cleaners, or to the goodwill in this case lol.

Larry OKC
02-01-2011, 11:19 PM
Do you have a reason to believe it is? Do we know what they have paid for properties vs. appraised value? Is there a report anywhere?

Saw part of the last MAPS 3 oversight committee where two properties needed for the Skydancer bridge recommendations were approved. Both of the properties negotiated price exceeded the appraised value. Discussed that it was cheaper/faster to pay the escalated price than to delay things/expense of eminent domain process. Comment was made by Mr Wenger that one property was significantly over based on percentage of appraised value. Sorry but didn't catch any of the details (size/location/appraised vs. etc)

lrostochil
08-03-2011, 11:34 AM
Here are a couple of photos of the downtown post office in mid-demolition:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25726169@N03/6005993104/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25726169@N03/6005449419/in/photostream

metro
08-03-2011, 02:26 PM
Great pics! I drove by the other day, but didn't have a camera.

Pete
08-03-2011, 02:31 PM
Thanks for sharing!

Good grief, this thing has been under demolition for months.

I'm anxious to see the vistas of Union Station when it is completely removed.

Larry OKC
08-03-2011, 02:33 PM
Agree!

Tritone
08-03-2011, 06:20 PM
Went on a Cub Scout tour of that building (PO), top to bottom, about 1967 or so. I agree, it will be nice to see Union Station out in the open again.

George
08-03-2011, 08:03 PM
Lynne, your pics on flickr are wonderful! Thanks!

Pete
08-03-2011, 08:15 PM
Anyone know why it is taking them months to tear this place down?

LakeEffect
08-04-2011, 07:19 AM
Anyone know why it is taking them months to tear this place down?

They are dismanteling, not demolishing. The brick is pretty valuable I guess.

JayhawkTransplant
08-06-2011, 10:31 AM
^^^Yes.

EBAH
08-06-2011, 12:15 PM
You know, I kinda like the building, but it makes sense to tear it down. I went to Momentum a couple years back when it was housed in the postal building and was thinking it is a shame we can't find uses for massive buildings like this, but we really just can't.

betts
08-06-2011, 01:45 PM
They are dismanteling, not demolishing. The brick is pretty valuable I guess.

Actually, the steel is really valuable too. I've been watching this over time and noticed the steel is always carefully piled up during demolition. In fact, I was wondering how much of the I-40 dismantling could be paid for just by recycling the materials in it. Maybe that's why we've never heard there's a problem with taking it down.

Larry OKC
08-06-2011, 07:39 PM
betts; ran across something that mentioned they are going to be salvaging much of the steel from the Crosstown when it comes down. If i run across it again, I will post.

Just the facts
08-07-2011, 07:36 PM
betts; ran across something that mentioned they are going to be salvaging much of the steel from the Crosstown when it comes down. If i run across it again, I will post.

Just put the word out that there is copper in the freeway deck. It will be gone in 24 hours.

betts
08-07-2011, 08:50 PM
Just put the word out that there is copper in the freeway deck. It will be gone in 24 hours. Like my downspouts....

Larry OKC
08-07-2011, 08:51 PM
Well that's not nice at all....

Urban Pioneer
11-16-2011, 06:49 PM
I find Steve's article interesting today. It sounds as though Carrier wants engineers to shift the Boulevard south for more room for the Convention Center complex. In theory, might that potentially affect the size of the park? Did anyone go to the Park Committee meeting this afternoon?

Snowman
11-16-2011, 06:58 PM
I find Steve's article interesting today. It sounds as though Carrier wants engineers to shift the Boulevard south for more room for the Convention Center complex. In theory, might that potentially affect the size of the park? Did anyone go to the Park Committee meeting this afternoon?

From past behavior I expect not. Though I think the between the six lanes and the parking slips, it probably would not technically loose space from the previous plan. Even though they would probably be asking for every square inch shaved off the original massive width for a boulevard.

dankrutka
11-16-2011, 09:11 PM
I'm not trying to be grammar police, but how come people spell "lose" as "loose" all the time? Is there an alternative meaning or something? People do it all the time and it's a different word. Just curious, not trying to hate.

Snowman
11-16-2011, 09:43 PM
I intended it with only one o, but as another word in the spellchecker did not catch the mistake

ljbab728
11-16-2011, 11:26 PM
http://newsok.com/options-for-oklahoma-gas-and-electric-substation-near-maps-3-park-site-to-be-studied-later/article/3623856?custom_click=lead_story_title

Pete
11-21-2011, 10:45 AM
You can see on this ODOT photo that the facility is finally gone.

Don't know why they haven't touched that smaller building on the southern edge of the property:

http://www.40forward.com/gallery/photos/Western_&%20Vicinity%20%2001.jpg

LakeEffect
11-21-2011, 12:30 PM
You can see on this ODOT photo that the facility is finally gone.

Don't know why they haven't touched that smaller building on the southern edge of the property:

http://www.40forward.com/gallery/photos/Western_&%20Vicinity%20%2001.jpg

I think Allen Contracting is using it for a field office for Crosstown work.

Steve
11-21-2011, 12:53 PM
cafe is correct

betts
11-21-2011, 01:22 PM
They were laying sod on the site the last time I went by. No trees being planted though.

ljbab728
11-21-2011, 10:04 PM
They were laying sod on the site the last time I went by. No trees being planted though.

I wouldn't expect any trees or other landscaping plants until the park development begins and they have definite plans in place.

rcjunkie
11-22-2011, 04:02 AM
I wouldn't expect any trees or other landscaping plants until the park development begins and they have definite plans in place.

you are correct, the sod is just for erosion control.

Just the facts
11-22-2011, 07:48 AM
It wouldn't be a bad idea to plant a bunch of trees and start a nursery on site. If this park is still 5 to 8 years from being done then planting trees now to be relocated later would give the park a leg up on maturing the trees.

OKCisOK4me
11-22-2011, 01:16 PM
it wouldn't be a bad idea to plant a bunch of trees and start a nursery on site. If this park is still 5 to 8 years from being done then planting trees now to be relocated later would give the park a leg up on maturing the trees.

like

ljbab728
11-22-2011, 10:28 PM
It wouldn't be a bad idea to plant a bunch of trees and start a nursery on site. If this park is still 5 to 8 years from being done then planting trees now to be relocated later would give the park a leg up on maturing the trees.

There's nothing wrong with that idea as long as it isn't a duplication of efforts already underway elsewhere and another summer like we had this year could make it difficult without a lot of maintenance and water in an area not set up for that yet.

Snowman
11-24-2011, 01:50 AM
It wouldn't be a bad idea to plant a bunch of trees and start a nursery on site. If this park is still 5 to 8 years from being done then planting trees now to be relocated later would give the park a leg up on maturing the trees.

Possibly but the soil may need remediation and sod is less likely to get tangled around a forgotten pipe or something over the next six or seven years.

metro
11-24-2011, 09:11 AM
I snapped a bunch of pics yesterday of the site and the new bridge, will try to post soon.

UnFrSaKn
11-24-2011, 07:01 PM
You know... I did record some dramatic video of them demolishing it a few months ago but never did anything with the footage. Had too much going on at the time.

G.Walker
12-12-2011, 01:52 PM
Reviewed land acquisition status map for the new park from the MAPS 3 Board meeting on Thursday, and looks about 85% acquired! Should be 100% acquired by March/April, so hopefully we can see some site prep starting late Summer/Early Fall of 2012!

Pete
12-12-2011, 03:05 PM
Here's the latest acquisition map:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/centralpark1212.jpg
http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/centralpark1212legend.jpg

G.Walker
12-12-2011, 03:14 PM
Parcels under contract are as good as acquired, it means that the property owners are agreeing to sell, and the City is just working up final contracts to purchase parcels.

mcca7596
12-12-2011, 03:17 PM
I would assume the block bounded by Harvey, 3rd, 4th, and Robinson will be easy to get since that's pretty much just a landing area for the highway exit.

Pete
12-12-2011, 03:34 PM
All those properties are owned by Hilltop Parking who acquired them from the rescue mission in 2007.

Not sure the status of acquiring them.

G.Walker
01-24-2012, 07:47 AM
looks like the park acquisition is well underway, and almost complete, except for parcels V3 and V4 in the top right corner? It seems there has been no movement from the city to acquire these parcels for the park? Maybe this is for a reason, maybe it is a future site for some type of development we don't know about yet, as it will border the new boulevard and new park....

king183
01-24-2012, 08:08 AM
looks like the park acquisition is well underway, and almost complete, except for parcels V3 and V4 in the top right corner? It seems there has been no movement from the city to acquire these parcels for the park? Maybe this is for a reason, maybe it is a future site for some type of development we don't know about yet, as it will border the new boulevard and new park....

V3 and V4 are in the park (not bordering it), right? Why would some type of development be inside the park (besides the type fo development specifically done for a park)?