This morning the Bricktown Urban Design Committee meets - and again the Cotton Exchange project is on continuance. If you read my early reporting, I tried to provide all the hints I could not to get too excited about this proposed project. As a reporter, I can’t say, “don’t believe it, it’s not going to happen.” Nor would I have if I could have. That’s not for me to say. Over the years I’ve seen people who should have had all the means and ability to get a project going, and they didn’t. And I’ve been surprised to see newcomers with no experience, no apparent means to get a big project done, do just that.
But the odds were against Gary Cotton’s original plans for the Cotton Exchange. It was being unrolled just as the economy was going south. Cotton has money, but he’s not Aubrey McClendon. And he had no experience in development. He made up for it by assembling an impressive team for design, construction and marketing.
So we wait for what he has admitted will definitely be a smaller project.
On other items, it appears as if the latest downtown video posted here is rather unpopular. So, should I eliminate the post?
It certainly appears as if the American Banjo Museum is a certainty. Work has begun on the building and a banjo performance will be included at the annual “Taste of Bricktown” this fall.
One more week until we see the designs for the new Devon Energy Tower. Yes, I have every reason to believe it will be several stories higher than the 37 first mentioned by Larry Nichols.
That’s it friends. Gotta run.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Steve, you are truly one of the best journalists the Oklahoman has, keep up the good work.
As to the video, I don’t like it, as reflected by my comments on that post — but you should definitely keep the post. That’s what blogs are all about. No matter how random or distatsteful some posts may seem, removing a post to me seems like a sin.
August 13th, 2008 at 7:21 am
i say keep it, i don’t like the video but i agree with aaron, its what blogs are all about.
as for cotton, it sucks!
August 13th, 2008 at 8:24 am
I can tell the person who created the video probably cared about OKC, but the quality of the video itself is pretty poor. It looks like it was created back in the 1970s. No need to remove it though.
August 13th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I agree with the other posters, removing the post would be tackier than the video itself, which is very tacky. I can’t wait for the Devon renderings. How about a blog on the Downtown Trolley update?
August 14th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
I agree that the video had only best intentions. However, it looked cheesy and for me, made us look cheap. “Luxury hotels and a photo of the Courtyards Marriott appears. While it’s not a Motel 6, it’s far from luxury.