View Full Version : Committee to form vision for area between CBD and new I-40



Pete
10-06-2006, 07:30 AM
Core to Shore committee discusses future of downtown by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record

10/6/2006 OKLAHOMA CITY – A steering committee charged with planning the future of the area near downtown, which will be affected when Interstate 40 is moved, were told on Thursday what makes a great city. Now it will be their turn to try to make Oklahoma City one of those great cities by helping to plan the development of 590 out of 1,375 acres over the next few decades.

“We only get one chance to do this right,” said former Oklahoma City mayor and Core to Shore committee member Kirk Humphreys.

The URS Corp., along with TAP Architecture, presented a slide show that included 10 factors that make a great city including such things as a central marketplace, a concentration of housing, a distinct image and a soul.

URS, a $4 billion global engineering design firm, won a $387,000 contract from the City Council in June to determine the best use of the first 590 acres to be developed. TAP will represent URS locally.

Citing the success of the MAPS project and increased downtown housing, Mayor Mick Cornett said when the interstate is moved in 2008 he wants to see downtown expand south and eventually grow to the shores of the Oklahoma River. What will occupy that space, however, is not yet known.

“All ideas are on the table,” Cornett said.

The 35-member steering committee is made up of stakeholders and community leaders who have a vested interest in the 590 acres to be developed and its impact on the city, the homeless, the environment and future generations.

Cornett said the committee will first determine what to do with about 70 city blocks that will open up when the interstate is set to be completed in the fall of 2008.

The plan calls for two phases. A key component of the first phase is the planning for a new at-grade boulevard that will take the place of the existing interstate bridge.

Cornett said the committee is concerned with the property owners in the area since much of the land is privately held. He said most of the property owners in the area are on board for the project.

The second phase will look at expanding an additional 785 acres that will cover a swath of land bordered by Agnew, Interstate 235, the Oklahoma River and the current Interstate 40.

The committee plans to meet eight times over the next nine months and at the end create a document of their findings and suggestions for the first area to be developed.

“We’re not trying to create a document as much as we’re trying to create a vision,” Cornett said. “We hope the document will not be as important as the vision it represents.”

ChristianConservative
10-06-2006, 07:33 AM
I personally would love to see a new, wide-spread community of downtown living options, with plentiful options of "for sale" urban townhomes.

Pete
10-06-2006, 07:44 AM
I'm glad to see the city trying to get out in front of these new areas of opportunity.

That is going to be a very large area that suddenly becomes the gateway to our downtown. And I'm glad to see TAP & Co. leading the charge -- they are a forward thinking group.

aintaokie
10-06-2006, 08:00 AM
It's great to see something finally being done with the run down rathole area. However, I hope some of the old buildings can be renovated. The next project should be to clear out the ghetto neighborhoods on the southside of the river.

Karried
10-06-2006, 08:07 AM
This is such great news! How many cities just throw together a chaotic plan with no vision and regret it?


“We only get one chance to do this right,” said former Oklahoma City mayor and Core to Shore committee member Kirk Humphreys.


The URS Corp., along with TAP Architecture, presented a slide show that included 10 factors that make a great city including such things as a central marketplace, a concentration of housing, a distinct image and a soul.

I love that.

ChristianConservative
10-06-2006, 08:29 AM
If Kirk Humphreys is in charge of this, expect Stonegate-Hogan to get a bigger role in this.

Midtowner
10-06-2006, 08:39 AM
^ Terrific.. We can look forward to slow-developing half-done, cheap developments with little character.

Patrick
10-06-2006, 08:40 AM
^ Terrific.. We can look forward to slow-developing half-done, cheap developments with little character.

We're not being negative now are we?

Karried
10-06-2006, 08:56 AM
Where's jonnieboy when we need him? lol

Patrick
10-06-2006, 09:11 AM
Casino district, anyone?

Easy180
10-06-2006, 09:22 AM
Casino district works for me...All we have to do to prevent the poor from gambling away their mortgage money is to require gamblers to present their most recent paycheck at the door :tiphat:

Oh and :ou

Midtowner
10-06-2006, 09:36 AM
We're not being negative now are we?

My predictions are based on past performance. Until a better method can be divined for predicting the future, I'll continue to predict in said manner.

Midtowner
10-06-2006, 09:38 AM
Casino district works for me...All we have to do to prevent the poor from gambling away their mortgage money is to require gamblers to present their most recent paycheck at the door :tiphat:

Oh and :ou

I have no problem with poor people gambling away their mortgages. It just allows smart people to be able to buy those homes out of foreclosure.

So the dumb person is homeless, and the smart person owns the home. To me, that sounds like the best use of any property.

shane453
10-06-2006, 08:09 PM
The Humphreys have their own opinions on downtown development, and they're quite good. And there are a lot of forward-thinking people on this 35-member team.

And I like that Cornett said this (as quoted by OKCbusiness):

"We need to be thinking about re-use, how it affects people and not cars. We need to create a plan with the flexibility for generations to come.”

Patrick
10-06-2006, 08:17 PM
The Humphreys have their own opinions on downtown development, and they're quite good.

If you happen to like Randy Hogan's work!

shane453
10-06-2006, 08:19 PM
Or Block 42, or the Flatiron Lofts (which is IMO one of the cooler proposals right now).

Patrick
10-06-2006, 08:24 PM
Or Block 42, or the Flatiron Lofts (which is IMO one of the cooler proposals right now).

Ahh, I thought we were talking about Kirk. The son seems to know more about what's going on.

floater
10-08-2006, 08:14 PM
And I like that Cornett said this (as quoted by OKCbusiness):

"We need to be thinking about re-use, how it affects people and not cars. We need to create a plan with the flexibility for generations to come.”

Sometimes it just amazes me how much Mayor Cornett gets it. He talks about broadening the economy outside oil and gas, about repopulating the core, and creating a downtown for people. It makes me proud.

okcpulse
10-09-2006, 08:30 PM
What would be very interesting about all of this is to see Oklahoma City's skyline expand south, leaving the original skyline completely visible and intact, yet expanding the skyline. In Houston AND Dallas, it's hard to picture the old downtown skyline, much less figure out where older tower are.

Kudos to Mayor Cornett, and if he's careful, Randy Hogan won't get his hands in this.

okcpulse
10-09-2006, 08:39 PM
I have no problem with poor people gambling away their mortgages. It just allows smart people to be able to buy those homes out of foreclosure.

So the dumb person is homeless, and the smart person owns the home. To me, that sounds like the best use of any property.

Sounds like something George Carlin would say. I love it!

I think (and not to get off the topic of our new OKC interest) this is George Carlin's best quote:

"The rich people make all of the money, pays none of the taxes. The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work. The poor people are there just to scare the s**t out of the middle class. Keep them showing up at those jobs."

OKCNDN
10-09-2006, 10:16 PM
This is a wonderful opportunity to attract a major business. They would get prime real estate and could develop it like the want to rather than have to take it the way it is.

Quality jobs is much much more important than another "promised" housing development that takes too long to build and isn't quite what we thought it was going to be.

BG918
10-10-2006, 02:21 AM
The Riverside district is really a clean slate and can be redeveloped into a vibrant district. I think the focus should be on residential but a mix of office and retail will be important. I could see more office/retail/highrise residential just south and along the current I-40 (when it becomes a new downtown blvd. in a few years) and then more residential, a mix of lofts and houses, south of the "new" underground I-40 to the river. The areas on the south bank should remain parkland and recreation areas (and a buffer between Riverside and Capitol Hill) while some developments on the north bank could be right on the water. I like the central marketplace idea, maybe it could be centered around a revitalized Union Station?

ChristianConservative
10-10-2006, 01:14 PM
Before we get too carried away let's focus on getting KerrMcGee Tower and First National filled first.

traxx
10-13-2006, 01:38 PM
Does anyone know if this steering committee will have an open forum to hear ideas or if there's a way to get them to listen. I'm not saying I have plans or money to develop the area, I'm just saying that it would be good for them to hear some ideas on what the citizens would like to see in the area instead of them just going ahead with what they think is best. Maybe some of the citizens have great ideas that the committee hasn't even considered.

If we had been able to tell the powers-that-be what we wanted and didn't want in Inferior Bricktown, then we wouldn't have the problem that we now have south of reno.

They need to know that we want quality development. Fewer chains and no big box stores. Something unique.

Patrick
10-13-2006, 08:38 PM
I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I'm expecting nothing more than a new Northwest Expressway or Memorial Rd. Boulevard. After Randy Hogan's disasters, I've stopped expecting too much.

jbrown84
10-15-2006, 10:42 PM
Where did we get that Kirk Humphreys or Randy Hogan have anything to do with this?

Midtowner
10-15-2006, 10:45 PM
Don't they always ;)

Spartan
10-15-2006, 11:10 PM
Kirk is a fine guy.

HOT ROD
10-16-2006, 12:39 PM
Before we get too carried away let's focus on getting KerrMcGee Tower and First National filled first.

Its called planning, conservative. Most successful urban areas discuss plans or ideas of areas long long before actually building it. Our plans serve as ideals which will serve as a vision of the new Downtown South area.

And that is the whole point of this forum (by the way).