OK, coffee talk time: should Oklahoma City approach Core to Shore as it did downtown in the 1960s - acquire the entire area, clear it and start again? Or is a more nuianced approach called for? Or should it leave the area’s fate to private developers and land owners?
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- Monday, Sep 22nd, 2008 at 4:29 pm
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- Core to Shore and Coffee Talk
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September 22nd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I’m not sure… first what OKC did in the 60’s was awful b/c of all that we destroyed… but there is not nearly as much in the new area and what is there is junk and run down and i think the city clearing it all would be the best instead of waiting for developers to come calling… and if they do than the city can work with them, but i think they should clear it all and get to work
September 22nd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Nuanced - make it work with both private and public interests coordinating together.
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:13 pm
What happened in the 60’s? I would say for the city to acquire the land, zone it residential, multi family, commercial, etc.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I think we need a mix of public and private development, with the city leading the way and providing incentives for investors. The Core to Shore “district” needs to be eclectic, nuanced, and not appear as if it were some cookie-cutter, made to order, homogeneous project.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I live in inner city OKC. I am visiting Denver, Co. and I have to say that this city is great! One thing I noticed about the city is its parks, landscaped everywhere you go, pedestrian-friendly (sidewalks everywhere), and the roads are kept in great shape. I wish OKC had more parks in different neighborhoods, more sculptures just randomly placed in the city, fountains, jogging trails as well as bike trails and that it required businesses and homeowners to have trees planted on their property. It is late and I am just probably thinking out loud, but I have to say that nice landscaping, parks and pedestrian-friendly venues are what makes a city great!
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:37 pm
It won’t really make a difference whether the city or the firm demolish everything in the C2S area. I can only think of like 5 buildings I want to keep in all of those 600 acres anyway. Knock the rest down, please. The damage is already done in that area, and unless junk yards become really fashionable right after we get rid of all of that, I don’t see what we could possibly do in that area to regret. Anything would be an improvement south of downtown. But it’s still an excellent thing that C2S’ aims are so high.
September 23rd, 2008 at 6:53 am
I agree with K. Bryant. Smartest reply on the subject…..in my humble opinion.
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 am
I would agree with Bryant as well.
I keep thinking what was done to the MWC “downtown” a few years ago. It was run-down for sure, but It could have been revived and redeveloped in a very unique way. Instead, it became another shopping center.
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 am
I think it should be both, however the city should buy as much as possible properties that will be in the actual park area. They need to demolish the old postal facility as soon as possible and clear it and start landscaping it (burms, plant trees, grass, etc.). They need to get some green spaces going to trigger the private development that will be just outside the park. Build it and they will come so to speak…..Give developers the vision and something in action showing we’re serious about this park (plus it removes a lot of blight). We need to enforce code as much as possible in this area NOW, and not take the cities’ policy of let’s turn a blind eye to code enforcement like we have for decades. Heck, just code enforcement would really clean this area up until private development takes over.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:15 am
Unlike downtown in the 60s, there’s little to save in the C2S area. The city should purchase as much land as it believes it may need. Err on the side of buying too much. Bulldoze it all and begin construction on the park. Most of the buildings in that area are in such poor repair that I don’t see how they can be salvaged.
The city needs to leave some substantial percentage of land available to private industry to begin constructing new residences, hotels, businesses, etc. But the city is going to have to take significant first steps to make that area worth a nickel. No investment will go in until the parks are well underway and people become convinced that they won’t get stabbed.
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I don’t think you can compare the Urban Renewal era in the 1960’s-70’s and downtown with the Core2Shore area now.
While it’s generally recognized that OCURA wen too far with the razing of buildings, the vast majority of what was taken down, needed to be removed. Almost all the properties south of Sheridan Avenue, save for two or three, were dilapidated properties, much like what you see in the C2S area, and what we got in return was the Myriad Convention Center, the Botanical Gardens, and Stage Center.
I think it’s a good move to give authority to the City/OCURA to acquire blighted and dilapidated properties in the C2S area, otherwise it will take forever to assemble it.
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Giving it to OCURA would be the worst mistake ever…even worse than giving Randy Hogan Lower Bricktown. =O
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
just looking at everything we have destroyed and its heart breaking, 16 buildings DT over 8 floors, added it all together and i think its around 173 total floors we have destroyed, really pisses me off, think about the density we would have now and the potential for our downtown, it would be incredible
thank god there is nothing but junk south of i-40
September 24th, 2008 at 1:32 am
The majority of the buildings and other “stuff” down there won’t be missed. I say acquire the land needed and bulldoze. Make a nice park with fountains and art with a jogging trail. Maybe a nice outdoor cafe and amphitheater. There’s a lot of nice things that can be done with that much space. I hope the city takes the lead and does something to help beautify downtown. Then work with the private sector to help other’s visions come to light.
September 24th, 2008 at 7:51 am
The housing stock is pretty much worthless, but there are a few cool commercial buildings that should stay.