Downtown park, sculpture approved for development
I really applaud McDermid and his group for adding public spaces and art to their projects. Wish more developers would do the same.
Downtown park, sculpture approved for development
By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
Designs for downtown's newest park, with plans for a sculpture up to 53 feet high, won unanimous approval Wednesday by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority.
Anthony McDermid, a developer with the Brownstones at Maywood Park, told Urban Renewal commissioners the park and sculpture will be built using tax increment financing totaling $350,000, but will be maintained by a homeowners' association being formed as part of the development.
Architect Stan Carroll was hired to design the sculpture, which will be built at the same time construction is under way this summer on the first 15 townhomes along NE 3 and Oklahoma Avenue.
Construction is expected to take about six months. Materials will consist of steel pipe and galvanized cables constructed into a series of masts.
Carroll said he was inspired by the developers' theme of making Maywood Park a place to "live, work and play."
"The sculpture is really an articulation of live, work, play, and how those aspects of your life interplay and constantly pull at you in different angles," Carroll said. "This is a project architects, artists and designers get to do once in a lifetime."
The sculpture will be between 35 and 53 feet high, depending on construction costs, with a small performance stage. Carroll said the stage was inspired by the corner lot itself, which includes an incline that is ideal for a small amphitheater.
"It really makes for a nice stage that won't be big enough for bands, but for trios and very intimate performances," Carroll said. "From the park, the sculpture will put a punctuation mark on the city skyline."
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