Plans have been submitted to the Planning Commission to rezone several lots near the Western District for the purpose of two-on-a-lot construction of 10 new homes.

Although the architecture is quite different, the project is similar to what David Wanzer has been doing in the Meadowbrook Acres neighborhood south of Classen Curve.

The developer is Monte Turrentine, who owns Legacy Cleaners and several surrounding properties on 48th & Western.

The lots are directly north of the large surface parking lot for Will Rogers Theater.



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The residents of Crown Heights will go swimming in that weird, sewage-smelling creek that runs through their neighborhood before they allow this development to take place.

I bet the Nextdoor thread about this development is already 45 posts deep and contains at least: 10 catastrophic proclamations about what this will do to property values; 5 references to a "slippery slope"; 6 unfounded declarations that "these kind of developments always end up as Section 8 housing sooner or later"; and 4 aspersions of the developer's character.

Good popcorn material, in other words.

I'm sure you're right but technically this isn't in Crown Heights, as the boundaries are south of 42nd, north of 36th, east of Western and west of Walker.

Perhaps their concerns will be assuaged by developer concessions for deed restrictions against sex shops.

I'll be truly amazed if this gets protested. I mean has anyone seen what is there now?

Look at this: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.5155296,-97.5280174,3a,75y,357.95h,87.27t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sr-otkO7muTd74M1i5pB1cw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2F cbk%3Fpanoid%3Dr-otkO7muTd74M1i5pB1cw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_cli ent%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26 h%3D100%26yaw%3D274.87738%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i66 56

The only thing I would like to see if them keeping as many mature trees as possible. That one tree with the big leaves, even though not native, I really like. Hopefully they find a way to keep it or at least try and transplant it.

This project passed Planning Commission without protest.

So, moving forward.

We need a plan for this area ASAP.

BTW, the actual developer of this project is Turner & Co., who has done a ton of residential and commercial development, mainly in Edmond:

Home | Turner & Company (http://www.turnerandcompany.com/)

Yeah we really need a plan.

A lot of guys who don't normally do urban redevelopment have been lured into this area by CHK and other corporate incomes in the area. I think rooftops follow retail, not the other way around, which goes against the grain but subliminally we probably all know to be true. The more retail that flourishes around 63rd and Western, and really I'd say the whole area from Penn Square to Nichols Hills down to Western Avenue - the more that this area is going to explode on the metro radar.

We need a plan. The investment is going to keep coming. The developers will be of all differing levels of sophistication. They will all have different visions for what 63rd Street Uptown living should be about. For some, like Wanzer, it's a 21st Century take on 23rd Street Uptown (which developed along a nearly identical pattern, driven by retail). For others, like Say, it's about bringing the finer things in life (gates, cul de sacs) to this area where that is totally inappropriate.

We need a plan for this entire area. An added benefit could be fixing the disjointed connectivity between Northwest Expressway, Classen, and Western. OKC could really turn this mid-section of the city into an economic and quality of life driver for the whole metro.

I see this as taking away affordable housing from people that would likely never be able to afford the new alternative being proposed. Is this truly for the good of the City or just a few with the checkbook to cover the mortgage? Developments like this just continue to push the poor out of where they might enjoy living, into a less desirable spot , alienating them even more.

This is 5 lots.

Search homes for sale within a 2 mile radius of this project and you'll see dozens that are very affordable.

It looks like there are going to be 11 homes, no?

Yes, 11 homes on 5 lots.

Very similar to what David Wanzer has been doing near Classen Curve with great success.

Why does that last square not have a house on it? Extra parking or a park?

Probably because those two lots are not as wide as the rest -- you can see the dimensions on the drawing.

Ok thank you! This will be a very nice project.

I see this as taking away affordable housing from people that would likely never be able to afford the new alternative being proposed. Is this truly for the good of the City or just a few with the checkbook to cover the mortgage? Developments like this just continue to push the poor out of where they might enjoy living, into a less desirable spot , alienating them even more.

Good argument for SF or DC. OKC is depressed enough though that some upgrading is definitely good for the whole. Our abysmal home values prevent the middle income from generating wealth, compare to Boston where home prices have risen six-fold in some areas, generating a LOT of wealth for the middle class there.

Affordability shouldn't be about maintaining retrograde property. That should be done w subsidy that helps elevate the quality of accessible housing in proportion to income set asides. Our equitable housing challenge is lessening our glut of cheap ranch houses and increasing diversity in housing. This project and other forms of redevelopment will provide that within the context of our situation.

People's lifestyles here are limited bc they're shackled to these awful ranch houses FOREVER beyond their intended use for growing families bc the market isn't generating much else. High-end apartments are strategic bc they can serve as a market leader toward a stronger rental trend, where we are shockingly behind.

It's not the cost of the home, it's the amount of appreciation.

And the OKC area has been out-performing the national average for some time.

You're right about appreciation, but OKC is not a hot housing market. We just have long-term gradual appreciation.

OKC has always had housing prices that were much lower than almost any other city. That's consistently one of the selling points of OKC. If you want a suburban home, you can get more house for your money here than about anywhere else. The amount of appreciation is what matters, which OKC has historically done very well, despite the lower costs of the homes.

In terms of being a hot housing market, OKC really doesn't want to have the kind of real estate bubble that plagued places like Phoenix and Las Vegas during the 2000s. When you look at how that ended, I have a hard time believing that is a good thing.

OKC has always had housing prices that were much lower than almost any other city. That's consistently one of the selling points of OKC. If you want a suburban home, you can get more house for your money here than about anywhere else. The amount of appreciation is what matters, which OKC has historically done very well, despite the lower costs of the homes.

In terms of being a hot housing market, OKC really doesn't want to have the kind of real estate bubble that plagued places like Phoenix and Las Vegas during the 2000s. When you look at how that ended, I have a hard time believing that is a good thing.

Well it's not possible, for example Vegas in the heyday was pulling 30k permits a year, Phoenix was pulling 60k, Houston was pulling 60k + , Oklahoma Citywith a 30 mile radius was only pulling 4-5k and last year we only built around 3500........

You're right about appreciation, but OKC is not a hot housing market. We just have long-term gradual appreciation.

The city as a whole may not be, but I would argue that the inner core is very hot based on what I experienced when searching for a home and what I've seen since that time. For the last few years and even now to a point, houses only stay on the market for a day or two. Three people on my street sold their houses last year, all were listed for 2 days at most, received multiple offers and sold well over the asking price. One of the three basically went on the market at 8 AM on a Sunday for an open house which 80+ attended and had 4 offers by the time time it shut down at 5:00 that night. There have been similar situations in other parts of OKC and the suburbs. Over the last two or three years, home values in parts of the inner core have increased between 25% and 50%. In 2015 some of the higher end homes have been hanging on the market longer, I would assume due to the decline in oil prices, but low to mid range houses are still selling very quickly. We may not be Denver or Austin, but I don't know how our real estate market couldn't be considered at least somewhat hot.

New construction downtown is selling for $275 per square foot.

I don't think we want it much hotter.

Condos in the Centennial have been selling for ~$359 sq/ft in the past 90 days. That's incredible if you ask me.

New construction downtown is selling for $275 per square foot.

I don't think we want it much hotter.

Its unaffordable for most, except for super wealthy...Looks like thats the reason for so many apartments that have been built in that area, that majority of people that want to live downtown & midtown are young , but lacking a an excellent paying job.

The for sale units that are being built are being snapped up before they are even complete, even at these very high prices.

Turrentine -- who had assembled all these properties -- just sold them to Turner Homes out of Edmond.

I suspect construction will be starting soon.

They have cleared all the lots and have already built and sold two units.

Foundations for several others are in process. This is a slick little development in a fantastic location.



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Do you know what's up with Helm project?