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.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, March 5, 2012
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.
PS. I've gotten too used to twitter. I almost put a hash tag on this post.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
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!
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.
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.
Friday, February 10, 2012
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. :)
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. :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
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'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?
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?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)