Downtown Housing - Round II

With two new housing projects recently announced, one very large one just completed, two hopefully nearing groundbreaking, and more than ikely more in the planning stages, I think we are entering the second wave of downtown housing.

The addition of the Brady Park and (fingers crossed) the Land Legacy Park in the East End will only make housing in downtown more attractive. I truly think we are at a tipping point with our downtown, and I'm not just saying that to include some cliché saying in my writing. I truly believe that.

Now for a list of the projects:

Completed: The Metro at Brady (Tribune II)

Under Construction: _________________________

Planned: Greenarch, Brady Flats, Urban8, and Elliot Nelson's apt building.

Brady District Name Change....?

A Frequent topic of discussion lately has revolved around this issue: "Should the name of the Brady District change?"

In my opinion, no. I don't feel that there is a need to change the name of the Brady District. Yes, I understand that Tate Brady was a racist. Still, I don't see the legitimate need. It has been called the Brady District for a loooong time, so why is there a sudden 'movement' to change it. I would probably still find myself calling it the Brady District, as would many other people.

Leave the name as it is. There is, in my opinion, no legitimate need to spend money to change the name of this district.

One Place Phase II

For the second phase of One Place, I would love to see a stark change from the office tower of the first phase. I want the developers to make the hotel and residential stand out. Think curtain walls, tasteful brick, an interactive street level. Basically, I want a design for these that catches your eye and calls for more attention than a simple first, and last, glance.

I want them to think big. Think outside the norm for Tulsa. Bring in a design that looks modern, clean, and sophisticated. I want it to complement the BOK Center, but not look exactly like it. That's why I think brick would be a good idea, as it would contrast well with the flawlesness of the glass, and at a timeless element.

If I were on the design board, this would be my proposal.

Addressing last week's poll

Thank you to all who voted in last week's poll. I appreciate your participation, when mine has been lacking. This has been a busy, often times stressful week for me. I'm sorry for not posting, but to be honest, it was at the bottom of my list. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the second phase of One Place, but as for now it's late, my head hurts, and I can't think.

PS. I've gotten too used to twitter. I almost put a hash tag on this post.

New plans for the blog

I've decided to try something new with the blog. Instead of doing polls that last for a month or so, I am going to start doing weekly polls. They will be open from Sunday to Saturday, and I will sort of recap and discuss the results in a post at the end of the week. I will still be doing posts outside of the "weekly theme," so this is going to be an addition to the activity in the blog, not just a change.

These changes are coming about because I have seen a dramatic increase in the number of page views and activity on this blog in the past few weeks, which has come as a complete shock to me. I feel that I have hindered my own growth by not posting nearly enough and therefore causing this to be a website that you only want to check once every week or two for an update. My goal is to change that. I would like to thank all of my readers by way of making this a more interesting website to visit. That's not going to happen unless I make some changes to how I run this blog.

As always, thank you very much for reading and caring about what I have to say. I feel like I say this all the time, but I truly cannot thank you all enough. You are what make and grow this blog.


Whoops....almost forgot. This week's theme will be the "One Place" development, and speculation on what is to come with the second phase, or whether or not it will even happen. I'll have the poll up and running tonight so be sure to vote!

Will the Land Legacy park ever be built?

Apparently, those that participated in the poll think not. And I think that I agree with them. My biggest reason for saying this is that I haven't seen (or at least can't remember seeing) any detailed plans for the proposed park. Someone please point me in the right direction if I have simply missed the plans.

I would absolutely love to be proved wrong though. I want to see a park built on that location, as I think it would really spur development in the East End. However, the developers behind the project a few posts back seem to think that this project has a chance, and I'm sure they know more than I.

Perhaps more will surface soon, as it definitely seems as though the East End is gaining some momentum. I think there is much more going on behind the scenes than we know, so here's to hoping that we will be surprised with something great in the East End very soon.

Why we don't need to keep up with OKC

This post is written as a response to Jake, who left a comment on the previous post regarding the talk in OKC of another new skyscraper(s) that will most likely be announced relatively soon. He also said that Tulsa needs to build one to "get in on the race." I will preface this post by stating that I do not intend to be rude or put anyone down, it is just me giving my full and unedited opinion. I enjoy all feedback from readers of this site, and I welcome differing opinions from mine.

Let me start by saying this, the city of Tulsa cannot simply build a new skyscraper at will. It takes a corporation willing to spend the money to do so. It doesn't matter how much we *really* want a new skyscraper, it will not happen until either a corporation or investor sees the need for one. OKC has seen this with Devon, and will probably end up seeing it again with another company.

"Wait, what? You mean that OKC currently has a skyscraper under construction and is likely to see at least one more in the coming years? But what about us? We must build a taller one in order to proclaim our superiority!" In my opinion, this thought process is totally wrong. I have grown tired of the attitude that we must mimick everything OKC does, or we will fall behind. This next part will damage the prides of many of you, but I believe it's true. OKC has already "outdone" us in terms of business and population growth. I don't think Tulsa will ever be as big as OKC, and that is okay. That does not mean that Tulsa cannot be as good as, or even better than OKC in terms of actual human-scale day to day life.

Why does it matter to us if OKC has the bigger skyline, or is adding population at a faster rate? Bigger does not equal better.

Here in Tulsa we have beautiful, historic neighborhoods. A downtown that is growing and revitalizing at an extremely quick pace, and many neighborhoods around it that are beginning to gentrify. We also have several very nice and rapidly growing suburbs.

So why are we so worried about OKC "outdoing" us? They are simply experiencing different circumstances than we are now. Who knows, we could be in their shoes in 5-10 years. Besides, some of the citizens are starting to get inflated heads, we should be happy that we're keeping all the nice people here. :)

Possible Changes

There is a very good chance that I will be changing to a different blogging platform, thus changing my web address among other things. Blogger has been very hard to use as of late. I will let you know through here if I do in fact change websites.

I'm sorry to say this, but hopefully I can make some real improvements soon.

(PS. I'm sorry that everything is in a continuous block without any formatting to the writing. It is not how I am typing it, it is how Blogger is saving it. This is one of the reasons that I may soon be switching websites.)

It looks as though my near rage quit on Google will not be happening. While not all the issues have been worked out, many of the issues I've been experienced have been addressed. Hopefully I won't have to move, that does not sound fun.

I feel like ranting...

Today I feel like ranting. I don't know why, but I do. As much as I would like to rant about Blogger being very difficult when it comes to changing the look of the site, and how they seem to hate Apple, I won't because that has no relevancy to this blog.

So my rant for today is about a phrase that I commonly hear and read. "I love downtown, but it will never be as good as it was in the 20's, and that's okay." Let's begin our annotation with the first pure in this quote, "I love downtown..." This is the only part of the quote that pleases me. It shows that the person does in fact enjoy downtown, and probably visits fairly often, and is not just some close-minded person who hasn't been downtown in twelve years and is still spewing their opinion as though they frequent it. Now the second phrase, "...but it will never be as good as it was n the 20's..." Wait, what? But I thought you loved downtown. If so, then why are you giving up hope on it now? I believe downtown has the full potential to achieve a level of vibrancy, importance, and vitality equal to or greater than it was in years past, but it needs the full support of citizens. And now the worst part, "...and that's okay..." This drives me insane! No, it's not okay. Downtown and surrounding areas very much have the potential to become just as great as they were before. We should not settle for anything less. Our city will only improve as long as we strive to make it better. That does not include deciding ahead of time that Tulsa has already seen its best days, and that days like those will never return.

Come on Tulsans! Let's have some faith in our capabilities and not limit ourselves by language such as this. We have the potential, so why hold back?

Is something coming together in the East End?

So earlier this week, a developer who posts on Tulsa Now leaked a tiny bit of info about not one, but two housing projects planned for the same block at 3rd and S. Greenwood, which is adjacent to the planned park by Land Legacy. Here are the renderings for one of them:

(Keep in mind that these are early renderings and do not expect the final design to look exactly like this.)

The project shown in the renderings above could start as soon as this spring, and would consist of for sale tri-level row houses with rooftop patio space. The massing behind it is another project that has not had any information officially released, but would appear to be more of a multi-family apartment or condo building. If these two projects actually do come to fruition very soon, I believe we will see the East End really heat up. And if the park is built soon as well, we will have another fantastic enclave of downtown appear. So far most development in downtown has been confined to the Blue Dome and Brady districts, but I think if these projects get going soon, we sill see more development spread east and south, and hopefully begin to connect into making downtown a cohesive neighborhood, and not several little districts. This area will definitely be one to watch as the year progresses, and I look forward to hearing more about it.

Random Opinion

Recently I have been reading in TNF a discussion that brings to light the notion that there is nothing to draw people in to our downtown. That it is a nice little area, of which is developing into just another neighborhood. No, those aren't the poster's exact words, but it's what I got out of it.

And to add my opinion, I would have to say that I completely disagree that there is nothing downtown to draw people in, or that makes it unique from other cities. I know many people who make trips to downtown specifically for the amazing restaurants. I frequently hear people at school rave about how good Joe Mommas, McNellies, etc. are. I see the restaurants in downtown as the number one (aside from BOK and ONEOK) draw for people that would not normally go downtown to make a special trip there.

And aside from restaurants drawing people in, think about how many 5k's are held downtown every year. More than I can count, and they certainly draw people in. Thousands. And what about all the Brady and the Cains. They draw hundreds to a couple thousand people in nearly every weekend. If you include the BOK Center then you have several thousand people lured into downtown for every event. And you of course cannot deny that many people would not be in downtown on a regular basis if it weren't for ONEOK and the Drillers.

Now think about the museums being constructed on the Matthews Warehouse block. They will definitely be something that many people consider worth visiting. And along with the art museums, there are all the art festivals and Friday night Art Crawl held in the Brady throughout the spring and summer. Talk about unique and full of character.

So overall, I think that the fear that our downtown has nothing unique to bring people, as well as money, in is unwarranted. It is a neighborhood that is devleloping a distinct character and personality, and we should encourage that. So far downtown has developed very organically and I think that is why it is what it is today. Let's not hinder what it has going because we are afraid that it is not enough.

Downtown Update II

After reading the KRMG interview of Sager, with him once again proclaiming that his project is moving forward, I thought about what that project could mean for the area if it was ever completed. The article also talked about several other developments that are either nearly completed or close to breaking ground. I thought about now great downtown is going to be when all these projects are completed. And when those are completed, how many more projects will be planned or under construction.

First off, one of the projects that was mentioned in the article was Greenarch. A project that I was beginning to fear had died. From a design standpoint, it is my favorite project of the ones currently planned or under construction. It's modern design complements that of ONEOK Field, using similar materials, but separates itself by adding clean, square lines and fantastic colors. It really is a very good looking project if you ask me. The article stated (or maybe quoted) that Greenarch has overcome hurdles in its early stages and will be breaking ground very soon. If this project does in fact come to fruition, it will be the first major development within immediate proximity of the ballpark, and will hopefully encourage more activity around there.

Staying in the ballpark area, Blake Ewing's new grocery concept Archer Market is due to be open soon. The space is well under construction, so hopefully within a few weeks downtown has its own grocery store!

Another grocery, this time in the Blue Dome, Cam's Grocery, is set to be open this spring in their renovated building. The store's proprietor, Daniel Cameron, has been in the grocery business before in Oregon, so it sounds like we will be getting a solid new business with this development.

Jumping northwest a few blocks, the Brady is undergoing a true boom right now. I can't think of any other place in the city that has as many construction projects in such a concentrated area as the Brady.

The Metro is all but completed, and will bring 77 new lofts into downtown within a matter of weeks. Sit back for a minute and think about the economic impact that this is going to have on the area around it. The whole of downtown really. So many business owners would kill to have 77 residences within blocks of them. Along with that, it will bring even more pedestrians and life to the Brady during the day. Residents do more than bring an area nightlife, or weekend excitement. They make an area a living, breathing, 24/7 neighborhood.

Across the street, we have the Brady Fairfield Inn well under construction, with the beams already going up. Upon completion, this will add approximately 104 hotel rooms to the north side of downtown, as well as over 10,000 square feet of retail space, of which they hope to fill with restaurants. That is the only thing that gets me about. This project. We need STORES in downtown, more places to shop and do things, not eat. There are already plenty of places to eat right now, we need stores! Most likely the logic of the developers is that they need a restaurant in the bottom of their hotel for their guests to eat at, but in an urban area other places to eat are only blocks away, which in my opinion would seem to do away with the notion that a hotel must have a restaurant inside it. Even then, that should only be one restaurant. I wish that they would try to recruit some cool, interesting stores to locate there, instead of continuing the redundancy of restaurants. But oh well, I. Guess the stores will come soon enough.

Staying on the same block, it has been rumored that the Brady flats will begin construction shortly after the completion of the Metro. Whether or not this will happen, well my guess is as good as yours, so take it as you will.

Down the street a bit, there is the Matthews Warehouse, AHHA, and Brqdy Park under construction. I tule cannot wait to see the vibrancy that this will add to the heart of the Brady District. I'm sure I will be visiting the museums as well as the park on occasion, which will be an experience unlike any other n Tulsa. Also in this area is the new KOTV studios. These are well on track to Thor scheduled completion in 2013.

Now traveling south, the lot directly east of the BOK Center is alive with construction, as One Place begins to take shape. Cimarex Tower is beginning to rise from the ground, and the Northwestern Mutual headquarters are scheduled to be completed (I think) sometime in the first half of next year. Hopefully by the end of this year we now more about the hotel and residential portion of this project.

Well I guess that concludes this post. It's much longer than normal, as it's the first "real" post I've written on my iPad. I must say it is much easier to type on than an iPhone. :-)

As I always try to end my posts on a positive note, I'll do so again tonight. Downtown is alive. Naysayers that say it is dead or that "no one goes down there" no longer hold any ground. Tulsa is finally gaining quality, something that it has not had in a long, long time.