Urban Renewal: Design and Reality
The original plans – click on image to enlarge
From time to time I hear grumbling about the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority and whether it really holds developers to the plans that get them selected against other competitors.
What’s wonderful about The Oklahoman’s archives is we can see for ourselves whether there is any validity to this complaint.
Today we start this new series with a look at developer Mike Henderson’s original designs and compare them to what was built. I pick Legacy at Arts Central because it by far the one most mentioned by critics.
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Comments
They just look cheap. Very reminiscent of where I used to live on Memorial Rd. if that tells you anything. In 20 years they’ll look very dated……but the URA got what they selected, so its not the developers fault.
Humble opinion.
Who are the peope on the Urban Renewal Board, and how can we get them off of it and get people with backbones on it?
this looks far different from the original sketch, and not in a good way. Besides the shear massing, they look simply blah and undesirable. Are you sure the sketch is of the same building? After you show someone that sketch, then the final result, I would of gotten pissy. But I guess if you can get away with building something like that, then sell it and move on,,,,,,,who cares.
For those who may not have noticed or attended the jOCURA meeting. The original proposal had more stories, more units, and more BRICK instead of EIFS that will be worn and dated in just a few more years. It seems OCURA is still part of the good ole boy network where buddies get chosen over common sense. I don’t think we even need the Oklahoman’s archives to figure out that OCURA projects are frequently delayed, often watered down or changed completely, usually not to the best benefit of the citizens. I think it’s time for the city to get rid of OCURA and set up a more modern, urban organization that does these sorts of things.
The reality is nothing close to the proposal that was approved it seems… Why does OCURA let that happen?
The final product is a far cry from the design. It is just ugly as sin – the bigger the trees grow in front of it, the better. FAIL.
Gees people! All renderings have more detail and interest in the proposal than the result. It’s called “Selling the Concept” and every single developer does it in every presentation they make. Did you really think they would be able to begin with Bradford Pear trees that, in the rendering, look to be 15 – 20 years old? I
ts as ugly as sin? Its a lot better than the vacant lot for vagrants that it was before. Go look at the old mercy hospital site that looks like the back yard of grandpas farm and see if you like that better. I drive by the legacy every day and it’s helped transform that area. I’ve never been inside but my parents have and say its the nicest of the new developments downtown. Nicer than the Sieber (STILL not completed -whats the story there Steve?), Nicer than Block 42, Nicer than the Brownstones, Nicer than the Hill, Nicer than Harvey Place.
Complaining about pitched roofs? Whats the alternative – a flat roof? Ever tried to stop water leaking on a flat roof? Anyone today that builds any type of residential structure without a pitched roof is a fool. Go inside the new St. Anthony wing (flat roof) – it looks great but I guarantee you that you will find a water stained ceiling tile somewhere in there already.
Is it the Taj Mahal? No, but these urban renwal developments from the ground up will never be that so stop wishing for it. And if you want walls going up and concrete poured in downtown, you better not get too picky. Its a fine line. We should have an office depot at Classen and 10th now except the design commision wanted them to build a cathedral and kept rejecting their plans.
My only complaint with the Legacy is the delay in their storefront openings.
Jeffrey, it isn’t even close to as nice as any of those developments you mentioned, except maybe Harvey, which I’ve never seen. Therefore, just mentioning them in the same sentence negates your whole point.
Like I said, I haven’t seen them all. I’m only going on the comments on my parents who went to the “condo open house Saturday” a few months back. “Leagacy interior great – others not so much.” It could certainly be a taste thing. They don’t want to do all the stairs of the brownstones. Who knows. It however certainly isn’t drastically substandard compared to other developments.
Negate my post if you want. Some things are true whether you believe them or not.
Jeffrey, personal preference or not, Legacy Arts doesn’t even hold a candle to the luxury of Block 42, Central Ave. Villas, Brownstones, Montgomery, or even the Hill. Now, had you done your homework and visited these properties, we’d be willing to listen, even though the majority of us have been to them and disagree. The Legacy Arts is no different than any other normal boring apartments you’d visit on Memorial Rd, with the exception of the retail spaces (which most are vacant as you noted) and the awnings are hideous looking. It is mostly stucco and will look very old and run down in a decade or so while the others will look just as great. The quality of construction already shows this early on compared to the others mentioned. Not even in the same league of construction. I’m glad your not on any downtown design committees, or maybe you are on Urban Renewal?
Steven,
Jeffrey’s point is that while LEgacy is not perfect, it is better than what was there before, which was nothing. Sure legacy isn’t the best constructed apartment complex, but the interiors are very good and they have a beautiful courtyard. I live here and love it, and so do many other residents. Block 42 I think looks futuristic and ugly, something that will be out of style in short order.
The Legacy looks like many URBAN apartment complexes I have seen in the Seattle area.
It may not look exactly like the original designs, but that is often what happens.
I like the limited amount of brick on them, Okies seem to be ugly red brick happy.
“Nicer than the Sieber (STILL not completed -whats the story there Steve?), Nicer than Block 42, Nicer than the Brownstones, Nicer than the Hill, Nicer than Harvey Place.”
If by that last one you mean Park Harvey, I will give you that. The rest are by far nicer, especially the Brownstones.
I will say though that the Legacy is much more attractive and upscale on the inside than the outside. I agree I’d rather have it than an empty lot, but I wish Henderson could have matched the quality of the interior with the exterior.
At least it is mixed use and is urban in design with the concealed parking garage. It could have been worse.
The Sieber is completed. The developer, Marva Ellard, is awaiting the lobby to be finished and perfect before showing off and there were delays on pieces needed for the lobby’s fireplace. A story is coming soon.
I think we can all agree with Jeffrey that this building looks better than the urban blight that exists in the area. I’m very excited to see so much developing in midtown and downtown. The trouble, though, is that the vision is excellence…and place with character and charm that sets the area apart from the suburbs. An area that draws people out to the sidewalks and into the city. Something urban.
We realize there is a little selling involved in creating the drawings, but we trust the board to hold the builder to the expectations that are created by the drawings. Not doing so is unfair to those who did not get the bid.
In many ways I’d rather still have a field there. There just aren’t many contiguous pieces of land like that to go around and we’d still have the opportunity for something great.
The designs looks relatively similar… critically, I just think it’s suburban, even in the proposal. A pitched roof, unless it’s on a church, in an urban area just looks far too suburban. The green canopies are also disgusting, and they appear in the original design drawing… I fault Urban Renewal for just picking bad designs and projects to begin with.