Mr. Bates Goes to Iowa
I meant to write something earlier this week about Michael Bates’ recent trek through downtown Des Moines. His observations about the lack of development around the city’s arena is a caution to Tulsa as it celebrates the opening of BOK Center, and something that Oklahoma City should also consider as it looks at where a new convention center might be built.
Let’s start with the idea that building an arena downtown will spur development around it. Here’s what I said in a May 2, 2006 column:
“Oklahoma City and MAPS is being mentioned a lot these days in Tulsa. The campaign for Vision 2025 was filled with comparisons to Oklahoma City, including the idea that Ford Center has boosted fortunes in neighboring Bricktown and that a Tulsa arena could spark similar development.
Bricktown merchants will readily admit the arena has been a bonanza to their businesses.
But they were all doing well before the opening of Ford Center, and it’s difficult to identify a single a business, other than the Courtyard by Marriott, that tied its opening to the arena.”
So BOK Center is open. It’s difficult to see how it isn’t a huge asset to downtown Tulsa – the design is stunning, and it’s clearly drawing Tulsans to rediscover their dowtown. But the verdict on surrounding development is still uncertain. A nice restaurant is open across the street, and owners are hoping to open a bar on the next block. And Tulsa has moved its City Hall in hopes of having the old one razed (no big loss for architecture or preservation folks) and replaced with a hotel or other arena-related development.
Michael Bates has his doubts:
“Since Des Moines has been cited as a model of downtown redevelopment — remember Bill LaFortune’s “No more! to Des Moines” at the BOK Center groundbreaking? — I was curious to see what was new.
I found the Iowa Events Center, cited six years ago by Whirled sports columnist Dave Sittler as a compelling reason for Tulsa to build a new downtown arena. The nearby area was as dead as can be — parking ramps, parking lots, office buildings. The arena sits near the river, but turns its back to it.”
Michael Bates should not be confused with a suburban anti-anything-downtown type. I’ve been reading his blog for years, and I’ve found his writing on downtown development and preservation issues to be consistently thought provoking.
In this same post Bates had some interesting comments about the Des Moines farmers market – and it makes me wonder what is ultimately possible for downtown Oklahoma City.
“On my way south to the stadium, I saw a lot of foot traffic and what looked like a street fair. Coming back north, I found the Des Moines Downtown Farmers’ Market, which occupies a four-block stretch of Court Street, plus two blocks each of 2nd and 4th Streets, from the old county courthouse to the river, every Saturday morning from early May to late October.
It was interesting but not surprising that the market was not held near the arena or in the ballpark parking lot or along the river. Instead, it was in perhaps the most interesting part of downtown, an area where old buildings had been converted to lofts with retail and restaurants on the first floor. New infill buildings were built to fit in with the old. Once again, old buildings — not rivers or ballparks or arenas — are the key ingredient to lively streetscapes.”
So, how does all of this play into Oklahoma City’s consideration of a future convention center site? Every site proposed to date has been in Core to Shore – away from existing hotels, restaurants and clubs. And the Core to Shore discussions I’ve listened to have envisioned a convention center as the means toward sparking development of the area. And all along, we’ve been told Core to Shore is the only realistic place left to build a huge new convention center. But what if that’s wrong? What if there were a spot no local had ever considered – what if there were a spot that is located in the heart of all the downtown hotels, restaurants and clubs – and had immediate access to hundreds and hundreds of parking spaces?
And what if choosing this location could literally be the final key to having a strong, vibrant and full Central Business District, Bricktown, Deep Deuce and Automobile Alley? Couldn’t such a feat be the key to sparking development of Core to Shore? Think about it – instead of trying to create a new island of development next the existing incomplete downtown, wouldn’t it make sense for Core to Shore to grow as a result of downtown being finished?
Such an option doesn’t exist you say? You’re wrong.
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Comments
The position of the convention center along the park could potentially destroy the viability of the park from the start. This is something we discussed as part of the Core to Shore planning process and current plans indicate that the facade will be softened by a strip of non-convention buildings facing the park. Still, it is imperative that we pay attention to the details if we are going to have these two elements adjacent to each other. If you want an example of what can happen when this arrangement is carried out with poor urban design, then head to the east side of the Myriad Gardens and enjoy a the view of corduroy concrete ugly enough to suck the life out of any area!
Speaking of the concrete bunker we call the Cox Convention Center – I know I have heard at least one prominent city leader mention the possibility of tearing it down and rebuilding a new larger (multi-story) convention center on the same site. But I am pretty sure this idea was already shot down…is that right Steve?
Anyway, I say we spare the extant buildings between Robinson and Shields (along the east side of the new park) and use the convention center development as the impetus for removing the old mill facility – providing the perfect convention center site sandwiched between the tracks, the new I-40, and sitting on the new boulevard directly across from Bricktown!
Final note: the area south of Reno between Walker and Robinson is large enough for a convention center (especially given that it could be directly connected to the Ford Center and the Cox Convention Center). However, I am fairly certain that this would never happen, because it be completely idiotic!
I don’t understand why a convention center can’t be a thing of beauty. The Cox Center was designed by I.M. Pei and was not meant to be a thing of beauty, just look at the rest of his works with the exception of Crystal Bridge. Convention centers do work as development triggers and they can also serve a purpose as vital pieces of the urban fabric. Go check out DC or Seattle, where they have brand new convention centers..ones that are extremely attractive on all sides. The problem is that in the past we had the big box mentality with these buildings, in that they should be a box, and you should dress up the side that faces front, and not worry about the other sides since it won’t be in snapshots.
Today we realize that anything facing an expansive blank wall is going to be unattractive to pedestrians. We build city’s today for practicality on all sides. The modern downtown must be a place where you can live/work/play/shop and you can’t lose a huge amount of space to no function. In order for all of downtown to be healthy all of it must serve a purpose. I would not worry about some things that cities like Des Moines or others have done. OKC is its own city, and we clearly have put every emphasis on doing every single thing top-notch. No detail will be forgotten, right down to the type of trees that they choose to line the new downtown boulevard with. We’re going to take some things from cities like Des Moines, or more likely, Indianapolis, Charlotte, and Denver. We’re going to look beyond just the US’ standards for attractive places and we’re going to have a downtown that will withstand the cycle of trends in the US. I mean, yes believe it or not, they have convention centers in European cities, too..and they do a much better job with designing them, too. There they actually pour their civic pride into major community projects of this sort.
As for better alternatives, not really. The only two places I can think of, because I’d hate to tear down a street that already has matured and built character, are the parking behind Bricktown, everything along Reno in Bricktown (hell just build over LB lol), and the existing convention center site. None of these are very attractive options though. The existing site that’s been talked about would actually involve tearing down the existing convention center, AND the Century Center and Main Street parking garage and building a very long convention center. I still don’t think that this would be a very large site, and what–are we supposed to do without conventions and parking for 4 years or so, during demolition and construction? That’s insane. The Bricktown sites would work. I don’t think the parking lot behind Bricktown is big enough, but a site along East Reno would be. I just think that the same argument goes for that. We very nearly got all of that land developed by Bob Funk. No reason why we shouldn’t let Bricktown just fill in, it has enough major event buildings already. Maybe we should consider C2S “downtown south” for the purpose of filling it in with landmarks, event centers, style, and development.
There are plenty of undeveloped areas that could be potential sites. Especially once I40 gets knocked out of the way, that should open up a lot of opportunities. I think most people like the convenience of the Ford Center and Convention Center. So I’d hate to take that way too much. I think they should still be relatively close. Conventions will look at hotel space and restaurants, so it would make sense to build in the general area of those. I think there’s a lot of under used land around that area that a shinny new arena would look great and take away the less attractive things. I also agree with the others, this should be a unique and pleasing to the eye building. Not a square big box. With all the new great buildings that are going to be unique to this city, I’d hate to stray from that.
But, Bricktown not much before MAPS and who knows where it would have ended up without the canal and ballpark, acting as its anchors. Core to Shore feels much different than just ” a convention center to draw development.” There is also the park and the river and the boulevard and I-40 to act as anchors for Core to Shore. This is not just plopping a convention center and hoping it works. It’s plopping several things with a comprehensive plan in place to guide private sector development among them all.
I’m not sure what other potential location you might be referring to that’s sort of in the middle of the action… Spent some time looking at Google Maps and it seems like most of the big open lots in or adjacent to the 235/40/Walker/10th square are already being developed- most notably the Triangle, the Hill, Galleria site, Legacy Apts, and the Chamber’s location.