Steelyard

[BDK]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_M._Perry

[metro]

OK. I admit I was off-base (no pun intended). Now, could someone please either remind me or chomp on me about who Russel M. Perry was? It's been a while since I read my copy of OKC Second Time Around, or studied my baseball cards...

Russel M. Perry Is STILL around. He owns Perry Publishing and Broadcasting over on 23rd, which includes several radio stations and The Black Chronicle newspaper.

[BoulderSooner]

item of the council docket to allow staff to move forward with the developer in negotiations

[CaptDave]

My biggest problem with street naming is changing the name every few blocks. I don't like streets that have one name for part of them, and another a little ways away. If we name a street after someone, it should be the entire street, IMO.

Agree 10000% Betts. It drives me crazy at times when I try to give directions!

[Spartan]

Who knows?, maybe this is just another separate hotel project that has been leaked, Bricktown would seem to be pretty well saturated/at market capacity with hotels if this is separate from Brooks' proposal and they both came to pass.

I don't think Candlewood is still a viable proposal, but it might be lingering. I know that their proposed hotel was hideous chain architecture, but it falls outside the boundaries of BUDC not that they would make any difference.

[mcca7596]

I know that their proposed hotel was hideous chain architecture, but it falls outside the boundaries of BUDC not that they would make any difference.

They made a difference with Garden Inn/Homewood Suites.

[Spartan]

How so? I thought Pitman was proposing brick all along.

[mcca7596]

It went from this:



To this:

[mcca7596]

I really like that. Curious, why would you not want it brick all the way up? Wouldn't that look better?

That would be ideal if it were all brick, yes. My point was just showing Spartan that BUDC pressured Mr. Pittman to go from the first picture to the latter ones (sorry that I couldn't find a smaller pic of the new design).

[Spartan]

I was always under the impression that the first rendering was just a bad rendering or never really a serious design. Pitman did an exploratory phase to deliberately work with BUDC on the design standards - totally different from McD's and Chris Johnson threatening litigation and refusing to budge and being generally crappy community partners.

[mcca7596]

I was always under the impression that the first rendering was just a bad rendering or never really a serious design. Pitman did an exploratory phase to deliberately work with BUDC on the design standards - totally different from McD's and Chris Johnson threatening litigation and refusing to budge and being generally crappy community partners.

You know, you're right. I totally forgot about that, sorry. The before and after just always stuck out to me and I remember thinking how much I liked the finished product.

And you're right, BUDC is certainly not consistent in how and to whom they apply standards and some results have been underwhelming. But they do get things right sometimes...

[mcca7596]

Back to the thread subject, I hope we see some renderings on this by the end of the year. Perhaps after construction has started on the Edge?

[Spartan]

You know, you're right. I totally forgot about that, sorry. The before and after just always stuck out to me and I remember thinking how much I liked the finished product.

And you're right, BUDC is certainly not consistent in how and to whom they apply standards and some results have been underwhelming. But they do get things right sometimes...

Hey, kudos for trying to defend BUDC. They deserve somebody to stick up for them because I know they mean well, however they need urbanist pressure IMO or else all they will have then is anti-urbanist pressure, which we know will consistently rear its ugly head. Commissioners have to respond to public pressure in some way, even if they just acknowledge it - so as much as I dislike vilifying people who mean well, if I were serving on the BUDC I myself would want all the pressure I could muster to give myself a counter-base to acknowledge against bad developers.

[Rover]

I don't think they face anti-urbanist pressure as much as ignorance of urbanist issues, coupled with a strong pro-capitalistic impulse. I don't think anyone is working to suburbanize downtown, but rather lack urbanistic experience so they do what they know. We need some strong urban style developers to come in and do some major development to accompany the more progressive small organic developers who are trying, but lack real muscle.

[Urbanized]

Regarding the top two floors not being brick, I think an architect - and I am certainly NOT one - might tell you that capping the top two floors with a contrasting material like what is shown in the hotel renderings is done to make the building appear lighter and less foreboding. Of course the preference should be to do this with cast stone rather than EIFS.

If you brick all the way to the top of an otherwise architecturally unremarkable mid-rise building you end up with Stuyvesant Town (NYC). It's not terrible, but it looks awfully plain (and heavy). By the way, calling the hotel "architecturally unremarkable" is not meant to be a dis; it's just a nice building that doesn't - and doesn't need to - strive to go far beyond the historic utilitarian brick warehouse architecture that surrounds it.

Stuyvesant Town:

[Urbanized]

And for the record, that last post was NOT an endorsement of EIFS use; just an endorsement of the use of contrast materials on upper floors where warranted.

[BoulderSooner]

It went from this:



To this:

the amount of brick stayed almost 100% the same .. it was just the test case the i guess .. it is "RED" brick town ...

[Just the facts]

I don't think they face anti-urbanist pressure as much as ignorance of urbanist issues, coupled with a strong pro-capitalistic impulse. I don't think anyone is working to suburbanize downtown, but rather lack urbanistic experience so they do what they know. We need some strong urban style developers to come in and do some major development to accompany the more progressive small organic developers who are trying, but lack real muscle.

I think you hit it right on the head Rover and I wish that the local developers would take OKCtalk comments under advisement when designing developments in the urban core. Lower Bricktown, Toby Keith's hotel, and the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association come to mind.

[Pete]

Huge news on this project... Today, the current property owner filed an application with the Bricktown Design Review Committee to demolish a bunch of buildings.

However, I'm having trouble matching the addresses on the application to those shown on the County Assessor's site.

The applications says: "demolition of all buildings at 411, 421, 500, and 505 E Sheridan Ave". Below, see all the Meinders-owned properties in yellow and blue are the actual legal addresses, all on E. Sheridan.

My guess is the plan is to raze everything on the north side of Sheridan and then everything at 500 E. Sheridan. I didn't realize how much property he owned in this area and that OCURA holds a big chunk as well.

I'm still not clear on which properties would be part of the proposed development. I would assume everything in yellow north of Sheridan.

[wschnitt]

I hope the 420 Sheridan building does not get demolished.

[HangryHippo]

Huge news on this project... Today, the current property owner filed an application with the Bricktown Design Review Committee to demolish a bunch of buildings.

However, I'm having trouble matching the addresses on the application to those shown on the County Assessor's site.

The applications says: "demolition of all buildings at 411, 421, 500, and 505 E Sheridan Ave". Below, see all the Meinders-owned properties in yellow and blue are the actual legal addresses, all on E. Sheridan.

My guess is the plan is to raze everything on the north side of Sheridan and then everything at 500 E. Sheridan. I didn't realize how much property he owned in this area and that OCURA holds a big chunk as well.

I'm still not clear on which properties would be part of the proposed development. I would assume everything in yellow north of Sheridan.

Have we seen any conceptual designs or anything yet? I'd like to have some sort of false hope or something to cling to.

[Pete]

They have not yet submitted any type of project plan to the Bricktown Design Review Committee.

They've been working on a grant to help subsidize the apartments and I would say this move is a very good sign of things going forward.

Meinders bought all these properties in 2004 and hasn't done anything until now. Going through the great expense of demolishing all these empty buildings tells me he thinks something is going to happen here.

[HangryHippo]

Does Meinders still own all these properties? Was the grant they were applying for going to help Gary Brooks purchase these properties or just help fund the development of something?

[G.Walker]

They have not yet submitted any type of project plan to the Bricktown Design Review Committee.

They've been working on a grant to help subsidize the apartments and I would say this move is a very good sign of things going forward.

Meinders bought all these properties in 2004 and hasn't done anything until now. Going through the great expense of demolishing all these empty buildings tells me he thinks something is going to happen here.

Good deal, its about time, these buildings are one the biggest eyesores in Bricktown, second only to the Rock Island Plow Building...

[Pete]

Does Meinders still own all these properties? Was the grant they were applying for going to help Gary Brooks purchase these properties or just help fund the development of something?

He owns everything shaded in yellow in that aerial.

The grant was for federal funds as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization program. The money is to be used towards making at least some of the apartments more affordable. In order to get the money, they have to build the apartments, not just buy the land.