150 room Canopy Hotel with rooftop bar
125 room Home 2 Hotel
(2) 80-100 unit apartment / condo buildings
Multi-level parking garage




http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks2.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks110615a.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks110615b.jpg

http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/sketches/picfile/2734/R133581040001qA.jpg


NewsOK Article (http://newsok.com/new-developer-enters-picture-for-east-bricktown-hotel-project/article/5393067)

Wow. When this is all said and done, north of Reno will be a great urban district and south of Reno will be the textbook definition of suburbia. That Chevy lot is going to be a big key it seems.

Great for east Bricktown but it will be interesting with the hotel situation. Especially with the 2 hotels with the steelyard development.

I'd really love to see this property developed but 2 more hotels??

There are already 9 built or planned for Bricktown alone.

Exactly my thoughts Pete. Nice apartments mixed with retail would be much preferred. Steve's had some great quotes from Patel and Mazaheri so it will be interesting to see what who the Canopy flagship go to. Mazaheri seems to think he can get it first or be more preferred for some reason.

I don't believe Mr. Mazaheri has ever developed a hotel.

Most of his property is out on/near Memorial Road:

Properties (http://mazaheriproperties.com/properties.php)

Pete, remind me again who owns and what the plans are for the property just north of this? The property on the south side of Sheridan, just west of Lincoln is what I am referring to.

Exactly my thoughts Pete. Nice apartments mixed with retail would be much preferred. Steve's had some great quotes from Patel and Mazaheri so it will be interesting to see what who the Canopy flagship go to. Mazaheri seems to think he can get it first or be more preferred for some reason.

Why not some for sale housing? I'd be waiting to see if we've hit the saturation point on rental apartments as well as hotels. The demand for for sale housing is likely there as the young people living in rentals age and start having children. The Hill and the new Civic Center housing are currently the only for sale housing, although 3 lots in Maywood just went on the market.

I hope this doesn't derail the proposed Canopy project, which is badly needed infill in the core of Bricktown. That said, it will be great to see another eyesore gone and replaced with (hopefully) a quality development.

The demand for for sale housing is likely there as the young people living in rentals age and start having children. The Hill and the new Civic Center housing are currently the only for sale housing, although 3 lots in Maywood just went on the market.

If that's your target demo, the prices of for sale would need to drop pretty significantly and I don't see that happening. Even stuff in Mesta Park and Gatewood is pretty out of range for that demo. Sure there are some here that live in those places, but why do you think Classen-Ten-Penn is taking off? Young people can actually afford those.

This is so shady.

If this gets built I hope the parking garage allows for the surface parking in front of Chevy & at Bass Pro to be developed.

There are actually 12 hotels built or planned in the area, so this site would make 14:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks2.jpg

Remember when we were discussing the poorly conceived site plan for the Staybridge Suites east of here, and this parcel was brought up by the anti-urbanist as to why the Staybridge project shouldn't have to comply with urban design principles. Funny how that works.

There are actually 12 hotels built or planned in the area, so this site would make 14:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks2.jpg

Damn, look at all that surface parking in Lower Bricktown.

Remember when we were discussing the poorly conceived site plan for the Staybridge Suites east of here, and this parcel was brought up by the anti-urbanist as to why the Staybridge project shouldn't have to comply with urban design principles. Funny how that works.

I can't remember a single person arguing FOR the staybridge suites site plan.

Damn, look at all that surface parking in Lower Bricktown.

It's mindnumbing isn't it? Even if Randy Hogan wanted to use surface parking, what made him think it was the best use for canal-front real estate?

If that's your target demo, the prices of for sale would need to drop pretty significantly and I don't see that happening. Even stuff in Mesta Park and Gatewood is pretty out of range for that demo. Sure there are some here that live in those places, but why do you think Classen-Ten-Penn is taking off? Young people can actually afford those.

As a group perhaps yes, but there are definitely young families who can afford downtown prices. Probably a quarter of the brownstone owners now are under 40. There are young families in Heritage Hills and Mesta Park as well. There may be families with older children who would consider living downtown as well, now that the idea doesn't seem as revolutionary as it did 8-10 years ago. I think it's great that some are choosing Classen Ten Penn though. It's going to end up a great close-in neighborhood.

I can't remember a single person arguing FOR the staybridge suites site plan.

Just look for any comment from the usual suspects.

Staybridge Suites - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Staybridge+Suites)

Hmmm, i know hes working on this but it seems like hes just sitting on the BoA drive thru....has there been any words about plans for it in a while?

Hmmm, i know hes working on this but it seems like hes just sitting on the BoA drive thru....has there been any words about plans for it in a while?

No.

When I talked to Mr. Mazaheri right after that purchase, he was very vague about his plans.

Not elusive at all, more like he wasn't really sure what he wanted to do on the site.

Damn, look at all that surface parking in Lower Bricktown.

When you look at the revenue generating portion of Bricktown compared to the non-revenue portion it is staggering to think how far the area has to go. Most of what people consider the urbanized portion of Bricktown would fit in the Chevy Event Center surface parking lot.

Honestly, comments like this from the developer have me a little concerned but it shows a basic misunderstanding of what is trying to be accomplished in Bricktown. Given the choice between building on a small piece of land or spreading that same hotel out on 4.6 acres then I vote for small piece of land. His comment was not a selling point for me.


He has a very small piece of land, and we’re looking at having 4.6 acres.”

When you look at the revenue generating portion of Bricktown compared to the non-revenue portion it is staggering to think how far the area has to go. Most of what people consider the urbanized portion of Bricktown would fit in the Chevy Event Center surface parking lot.

Honestly, comments like this from the developer have me a little concerned but it shows a basic misunderstanding of what is trying to be accomplished in Bricktown. Given the choice between building on a small piece of land or spreading that same hotel out on 4.6 acres then I vote for small piece of land. His comment was not a selling point for me.

He's not talking about a hotel on 4.6 acres. He's talking about condos, a parking garage and another hotel as well. This should change the way you think about it if he does all he says he will do.

He's not talking about a hotel on 4.6 acres. He's talking about condos, a parking garage and another hotel as well. This should change the way you think about it if he does all he says he will do.

I totally get that and this project seems like it will fit within the vision many of us have for Bricktown. I just took it to mean that they were specifically talking about the Canopy hotel portions of each development. Once a site plan is made available we can see exactly what it going to look like from a land-use perspective. I'll wait until then to bring the subject up again.

I would rather see the Canopy hotel in the heart of Bricktown where originally proposed. There it would be great infill and in my opinion would be far more impressive at street level and to visitors than it would be out on the edge of the district. I like the rest of what is planned for the Bodyworks site however. It will be great to see an eyesore replaced with a mixed use development.

I would rather see the Canopy hotel in the heart of Bricktown where originally proposed. There it would be great infill and in my opinion would be far more impressive at street level and to visitors than it would be out on the edge of the district.

Agreed.

Most of what people consider the urbanized portion of Bricktown would fit in the Chevy Event Center surface parking lot.

Not to disagree just 'cause, but that wouldn't even be close. You can take the buildings bounded by Reno, Sheridan, Mickey Mantle, and the BNSF Railroad Viaduct and that would fill the Chevy Event Center parking lot alone. Not counting the proposed Canopy or U/C Brickopolis. The rest of the structures that one would consider the urbanized portion of Bricktown could fill it almost 3 times over again. It's pretty simple to see this on the map provided above thanks to alley lines and equal block sizes.

Unless most people consider the upper canal to be the only urbanized portion of Bricktown... Now Lower Bricktown could almost fit into the Chevy parking lot, that's for sure.

Am I the only one who feels like he is just buying it to hold and resell?

Am I the only one who feels like he is just buying it to hold and resell?

Definitely not…especially since he so recently bought the Bank of America Drive Through.

He could very well be a proxy.

I know that you were restricting your comments to the official Bricktown/LBT/DD boundaries east of the tracks, but in keeping with your sentiments it's worth noting that there are five MORE (unlabeled) hotels ALSO in the same photo. The convention hotel (barely out of frame) would make an even 20 in the immediate vicinity.


There are actually 12 hotels built or planned in the area, so this site would make 14:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks2.jpg

^^^^^^^^
Not really germane to the discussion, but mostly just a "gee whiz" moment for me is to consider that 21c and Ambassador would bring the total downtown quality hotel count to 22 - you could even stretch the definition of downtown to allow OUHSC's Embassy Suites to make 23 - only one of which was open in 1999. The Sheraton (which wasn't even a Sheraton at the time) was downtown's ONLY hotel until the Renaissance opened that year. My, how things change.

Yes, 21 built or planned plus these two:

Downtown Hotel Summary - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Downtown+Hotel+Summary)

Which is why some of the recent nonsense in the convention center hotel about it needing to be 1000 rooms or why bother is just that. I haven't been to a convention in my life (well, other than a small regional one down in Dallas for a very niche fandom) where all of the attendees fit inside the attached hotel, just the lucky ones who registered early enough. What truly matters is the strength of the room count in the surrounding area, and we're starting to have that in spades. Not enough for the very largest conventions (the primary business one I occasionally go to has 5000+ guests, 8000 or so my first year there), but plenty enough for many of them.

and one more, Homewood Suites Bricktown.

The good news with all the hotels is that they are easily converted to residential.

https://umigameadventurer.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/debbie-downer.png

It'd be nice if at least some of the hotels tried to interact with the passerby at least a little bit, with some restaurants, clubs or retail.

Edit: How cool would it be if the Hampton put in a roof deck club, where you could watch games, drink, eat, etc?

Edit2: How cool would it be if I could post without typos?

That would be awesome!

Is there a chance the city will reject this project because of area hotel saturation? Or is this something that the city doesn't have the authority to intervene in?

Is there a chance the city will reject this project because of area hotel saturation? Or is this something that the city doesn't have the authority to intervene in?

The City doesn't have the authority to dictate use as long as the development falls within zoning and design standards.

I don't know why you guys think this is a lot of hotel supply. The public is about to be forced into a deal to support a supersized convention hotel, presumably because the private sector won't invest in all of it.

The more supply that the private sector will bear, the better. Each of these hotels boost our convention attractiveness, which is already a huge chunk of Bricktown's business.

The good news with all the hotels is that they are easily converted to residential.

I think we've got another generation before that happens. Not that it's a bad idea, but I think you'd need a really big oversupply, and you'd need hotel operators to start losing money. And you'd need in that same environment, for there to still be significant demand for housing.

With the new convention center, there should be significantly more demand for hotel rooms. Now maybe in 10 years, when two dozen new hotels and a few thousand rooms have been built downtown, some of the older hotels will start having problems booking all their rooms. Maybe a few will look at converting to residential. I think it will probably take longer than that, though. At some point, this city will have an economic downturn. It might be right now with dropping oil prices, but I think probably not. But if you were to skip ahead 30 years in the future, people would remember the big oil bust of 2032 or something. I think after that downturn, when the city rebounds out of it, that's when you see the stuff they're building now getting renovated into something else.

I'm not worried about an over supply. I was just saying that those worried about it need not worry because the hotels can be flipped to studio units very easily, or even to a condo hotel.

This property is set to close in 60 to 90 days, pending due diligence.

Assuming there are no hitches, we'll soon see more about their plans.

I hope this can be developed into something else and Canopy go to the Patel locaiton in upper bt. I'm all for development but I dont think OKC is yet ready for competing proposals for the same flag. I'd like for everyone to play 'together' if you will, 10 years down the road (with 120K+ more residents); OKC will be able to handle competitive competing projects. ...

Building up Bricktown: Investment group plans hotels, multifamily development
By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record April 22, 20150

OKLAHOMA CITY – An investment group composed of local developers has purchased land in east Bricktown with plans to build hotels, a multifamily complex with retail, and a parking structure.

Lifestyle Hospitality at Bricktown LLC purchased 4.6 acres for $8 million. The entity is made of Fred Mazaheri with Mazaheri Properties and Champ Patel with Champion Hotels. The property is north of E. Reno Avenue, south of E. Sheridan Avenue and between S. Byers Avenue and S. Lincoln Boulevard. It sits behind McDonald’s and has two existing buildings on it. It was previously the home to Body Works Inc. and is owned by Pumpco LLC. The company has owned the land since 1978 and built Body Works in 1979.

Price Edwards & Co. broker Paul Ravencraft said the Price Edwards Retail Investment Group had the property listed for lease. Mazaheri was looking for an area to develop in Bricktown, so Ravencraft and his team approached Pumpco about selling. He said the deal has been in the works for about four months.

Mazaheri said he is planning multiple buildings that will be the maximum 11-story height for the Bricktown design guidelines. He is working with Richard R. Brown Associates Architect firm Managing Principal Architect Rick Brown on the design. He said he will have a parking structure in the center.

Mazaheri said he applied for multiple hotels and expects to have a brand announcement within the next month. The multifamily complex will be condominium-style homes. He was sure to emphasize that the area will have plenty of parking.

“It’s going to be several higher-end hotels,” he said. “It’s going to be good brands.”

He said he has also reached out to high-end retail businesses and restaurants for the development, but couldn’t disclose anything further.

“In the next few weeks, we’ll have more direction,” he said.

He said demolition on the existing structures will start after May 30 when a design is finalized. He said construction will start in the next six months.

East Bricktown has attracted a lot of development lately, with two hotels announced, along with The Steelyard mixed-use development. Dallas-based Newcrest Image is developing a Hyatt Place and AC Hotels at the Steelyard. The Criterion, a music venue, broke ground in March and will be in the vicinity as well, at the corner of E. Sheridan and Charlie Christian avenues.

Price Edwards & Co. brokers Ravencraft, Phillip Mazaheri and George Williams represented the buyer in the transaction, and Price Edwards & Co. broker Mark Patton represented the seller. Phillip Mazaheri is Fred Mazaheri’s son.

Thanks Pete! I figured it had to be the bodyworks site but it is good to know they have more direction. With the hotels I'm not really sure how many more Downtown can support with all that are planned including the Conventional Hotel but the housing and retail sounds great just across from the steelyard.

I was hoping they would start selling soap and bath salts on the site and change it to Bath and Bodyworks.

Thanks Pete! I figured it had to be the bodyworks site but it is good to know they have more direction. With the hotels I'm not really sure how many more Downtown can support with all that are planned including the Conventional Hotel but the housing and retail sounds great just across from the steelyard.
I don't think the question is how much downtown can support but rather at what point downtown hotels put stress on hotels outside of the core. Despite all of the new properties, downtown continues to sustain extremely high occupancy and top-of-market rates. Most business and certainly a large number of leisure travelers prefer to be as close to downtown as possible, for a number of reasons.

^

Exactly.

Case in point, last weekend I was in a wedding at Cole's Garden and the groom put all the out of town guests in hotels downtown. They were all raving about staying down there afterwards.

Plus, with Uber being so ubiquitous, it's very easy to move around even if you have something (like the wedding) away from downtown.

I wonder how OKC got along with so few hotel rooms for so long. There must of been an incredible need with downtown, the Captol, and the hospitals all in the central area not to have more than what was available in OKC for so long. I wouldn't worry too much about supply and demand as I assume anyone investing millions in a development must do research to know if there is a need or not.

Downtown OKC didn't get along, and politicans prior to 2000 seemed to be content with the seedy hourly and adults- only motels that lined Lincoln Blvd at the time.

Former Bricktown auto body shop sells for $8 million | News OK (http://newsok.com/former-bricktown-auto-body-shop-sells-for-8-million/article/5413158)

Found this site plan which shows:


150 room Canopy Hotel with rooftop bar
125 room Home 2 Hotel
(2) 80-100 unit apartment / condo buildings
Multi-level parking garage




http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks110615a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks110615b.jpg

I'm surprised they're still talking about building hotels. How close are we to market saturation?

I'm surprised they're still talking about building hotels. How close are we to market saturation?

Nationwide hotel occupancy rates are at their highest level (seasonally-adjusted) EVER. I haven't seen the numbers for the OKC metro but if they are anything like the national numbers you can easily see why banks are eager to finance these things.



http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2015/10/hotel-occupancy-2015-on-pace-for-best.html

Man, something needs to happen to that big ass parking lot in front of BEC.

Man, something needs to happen to that big ass parking lot in front of BEC.

Something needs to happen with that parking period. Getting so tired of seeing surface parking lots. They ought to be banned at least in the downtown area or taxed like hell per space. Structured parking is the way they should go and it is a win-win.

Edit: I just noticed it is a parking garage but it looks to be only 2 stories. Would be nice to see it taller and take up less room so some buildings can front Lincoln.

Man, something needs to happen to that big ass parking lot in front of BEC.

In the worst way.

They need to take another stab at that site plan. I am willing to offer free consultation.

Something needs to happen with that parking period. Getting so tired of seeing surface parking lots. They ought to be banned at least in the downtown area or taxed like hell per space. Structured parking is the way they should go and it is a win-win.

Edit: I just noticed it is a parking garage but it looks to be only 2 stories. Would be nice to see it taller and take up less room so some buildings can front Lincoln.

He's talking about Bricktown Event Center.