Harrison & NE 5th

[TheTravellers]

I think office space is the highest best use for this location. Just not a fitting location for housing. Therefore if the BerryRock proposal is done right, would go for that one.

Why office and not housing?

[G.Walker]

Not housing because it situated in a weird location, not close to any amenities, no room for expansion, bounded by a major freeway. Hardly high best use for a 5 story apartment complex with only 164 units.

[TheTravellers]

Not housing because it situated in a weird location, not close to any amenities, no room for expansion, bounded by a major freeway. Hardly high best use for a 5 story apartment complex with only 164 units.

Do housing developments expand often? I know a few here that have, it's not usually the norm (unless it's planned on and land bought at the beginning of the project) but that would seem to be pretty low on the list for reasons to not do it. As far as amenities, they're only a few blocks away from Automobile Alley and Deep Deuce (whether or not people would walk there in this super-car-centric city is another matter, but I think the population is getting better at that). Bounded by a major freeway is the location of tons of housing across the city, it's just the way it is with this location, personally I wouldn't classify that as a show-stopper for housing.

[HOT ROD]

of the choices, must be CohenEsrery proposal. Wish they could build the apartments atop the garage.

Definitely NOT the SLT suburbia (maybe at Penn/Oak or memorial rd) proposal, and, some of the others could be purposed elsewhere in the OHC district.

[shawnw]

Not housing because it situated in a weird location, not close to any amenities, no room for expansion, bounded by a major freeway. Hardly high best use for a 5 story apartment complex with only 164 units.

Kinda disagree. Housing is exactly what's needed here.

[Pete]

The Metropolitan (apartments) due north has been full since the day it opened.

And that was before Parlor and lots of other things opened in the area.

[OkiePoke]

I imagine living in apartments will feel like an island unless that do some major improvements to the intersections nearby.

[Anonymous.]

The Rhythm proposal is the best of these. Affordable housing is desperately needed in DD.

The hotel would be nice if it didn't use 60% of the land for surface parking. The smaller parcel's use for the hotel concept is actually fantastic. And the pool on the main structure would have better skyline views than the Omni.

[Plutonic Panda]

I like the COHEN-ESREY plan.

[dankrutka]

I agree with most that the Cohen-Ersey Rhythm proposal is the best for the area. Including affordable housing is so important to prioritize as the core continues to develop.

[5alive]

Cohen-esrey ++

[HangryHippo]

Wow, I noticed one of the names on the Cohen-Ersey proposal document. A former (inactive) OKCTalker and Oklahoma City native.

Blast from the past!

Didn’t the username start with an S?

[Mississippi Blues]

Blast from the past!

Didn’t the username start with an S?

If we’re all talking about the same person, then I’m 99% sure it was Spartan.

[Teo9969]

The way the Cohen-Esrey RFP is worded, sounds like they were the ones who approached the city and got the RFP up and running.

Sounds like they'll be asking for TIF already lol.

[catch22]

BerryRock and the Barsana proposals both appear to completely ignore what looks to be a pretty big overhead utility right of way on the western half of the easternmost property. (Parcel B?).

SRLT seems to acknowledge this in their Microsoft Paint site plan, and Cohen-Ersey appears to recognize this head-on in the fact that their renderings even feature the overhead utilities. It seems clear to me that proposal is the most realistic and is likely the one that triggered the RFP. It will be good to have more affordable housing downtown. Looking at those renderings you can already tell which units will be below market rate. That interior courtyard between the garage and the inside corner of the building looks like it won't get much light...

[Rover]

Definitely prefer Cohen proposal.

[Laramie]

Definitely prefer Cohen proposal.

Good choice Rover, that's my favorite as well.

[David]

I'm a bit late to the party, but that Cohen-Ersey proposal for sure.

The glass box from the Berry Rock proposal feels very out of place for this location and I don't like that it has no housing, Barsana has way too much surface parking, and the SRLT choice should have come with an actual rendering and is probably too high dollar than is needed for the area.

[CS_Mike]

The Berry Rock proposal doesn't seem to include any plans for the lot on the other side of Walnut. Why bother submitting a proposal at all if you're going to exclude that lot from your plans?

[riflesforwatie]

There's nothing wrong with housing at this location. It wouldn't feel any more isolated than the Metropolitan or than Block 42, both of which are bounded by the highway and back onto 4-lane roads. (Metropolitan does have an advantage in that N Oklahoma Ave. is two lanes.) The truth that the automobile infrastructure is so overbuilt in this area that the only times the roads are difficult to cross are during brief rush hours - about 45 minutes every weekday morning and about 30 minutes every weekday evening. The rest of the time the traffic on Harrison/Walnut/NW 6/Oklahoma/NW 4 is pretty minimal. Pretty good argument for putting all of these roads on a diet, actually.

Also, we keep hearing that we've overbuilt office space in the CBD and adjacent areas, while apartment and condo demand continues to be extremely healthy. Rooftops drive retail, restaurants, and other amenities while office space really doesn't.

[TheTravellers]

...Pretty good argument for putting all of these roads on a diet, actually. ...

Which the Cohen-Esry RFP actually addresses in those exact words.

[BDP]

What stands out to me about the Cohen-Ersrey proposal is that it actually seems to know where it would be built in regards to cultural and historical significance. A lot of times these proposals seem to take a concept that was developed out of context and "make it fit" the parcel(s). Their proposal is consciously trying to add to and participate in the area's importance. Or, at the very least, recognize and acknowledge it, as opposed to just ignoring it.

Personally, I think this should always be considered when public incentives are involved.

[rayvaflav]

Though I realize that the alignment of the streets including I-235 has changed a bit over the years is this the same west of the highway lot where the somewhat famous "This Block For Sale" structure once was ?

[Pete]

[soonerguru]

^^ Thank you for the visualization.