The Leslie
Forgive me for the delay in posting this information on The Leslie – the next housing project planned by Ron and Jason Bradshaw. Jason noticed questions at OKC Talk about the Leslie renderings and pricing information and he asked if I could help them by posting all of this at OKC Central.
So, without further delay…
Leslie South
Unit # Number of Bedrooms Levels Square Footage (MOL) Sales Price
BUILDING A
101-A 1 1 560 $99,900
102-A 1 1 560 $99,900
201-A 2 1 1153 $230,000
202-A 2 1 1153 $230,000
301-A 2 1 1153 $232,000
302-A 2/1 2 1330 $266,000
BUILDING B
101-B 1 1 560 $99,900
102-B 1 1 560 $99,900
201-B 2 1 1153 $230,000
202-B 2 1 1153 $230,000
301-B 2 1 1153 $232,000
302-B 2/1 2 1330 $266,000
BUILDING C
101-C 1 1 560 $99,900
102-C 1 1 560 $99,900
201-C 2 1 1153 $230,000
202-C 2 1 1153 $230,000
301-C 2 1 1153 $232,000
302-C 2/1 2 1330 $266,000
BUILDING D
101-D SOLD 1 1 560 SOLD
102-D SOLD 1 1 560 SOLD
201-D 2 1 1153 $230,000
202-D 2 1 1153 $230,000
301-D 2 1 1153 $232,000
302-D 2/1 2 1330 $266,000
How the Trolleys Cost Downtown
I had it all planned out for today with the wife and kids. We would first stop at the Skirvin to see the massive gingerbread house of the Overholser Mansion. Next stop – Bricktown – where we would have the kids ride Santa’s Wonderland along the Bricktown Canal, followed by dinner probably at Falcones. We would then enjoy a free admission Sunday evening inside the Crystal Bridge at the Myriad Gardens.
Instead, after visiting the Skirvin, we left for home. Why? Because I don’t trust the Oklahoma Spirit trolleys. Once I was downtown, it was only then I recalled that the sold-out Thunder game against Cleveland was tonight at Ford Center. And with youngsters, the idea of walking a few blocks from one spot to another and then to another, and in 25-degree weather, was a no-go. Now, if we had a reliable trolley service, I could have parked along the trolley route and taken the trolley from stop to stop.
But the routes and timing of stops aren’t even available on the trolley signs anymore. Instead, we’ve dropped down to calling 235-RIDE for more information. And after hearing about horrible service from visitors, quite frankly, I wasn’t willing to take the risk.
Am I the only one who decided to cancel an evening of fun downtown thanks to the trolleys? What do you think?
Online Video
A year ago I asked for readers’ feedback on whether to launch a blog. I took all of your ideas seriously and I think many of them are reflected in what you see today, OKC Central — All about downtown OKC. Now I’m being asked to consider a weekly online downtown video show. Now, let’s get a couple things out of the way; first, I know I have a face made for the written word. But there are people I deal with day to day on the beat who believe routine conversations I have with contacts could make for an interesting show. And there might be a way to put the spotlight on downtown in a way that’s not been possible before. So, don’t hold back… what do you think?
Learning About Film Row and the Film Exchange
For those who follow this blog and my column, you know I’ve written qutie a bit about the potential of a School of Rock making the old Fred Jones Ford factory its long-term future home. But like many people, I got tripped up on whether to refer to the area as Film Row or the Film Exchange. Developer Chip Fudge recently wrote and offered the following bit of education on the area:
Dear Steve:
Thank you for all of the recent press regarding the Film Exchange District and Historic Film Row.We love the idea of UCO’s collaboration for the “School of Rock”.
I believe Roger Webb and Scott Booker have a very forward thinking vision for this type of public/private partnership and it will be great for our community.
It dawned on me that we have done a poor job of explaining the difference between “The Film Exchange District” and “Historic Film Row”. The District is shaped like a piano (see attachment in orange) and borders Classen on the West, Hudson and Walker on the East, the Arts District on the North and the new I-40/Boulevard on the South. It encompasses a much larger area than Film Row.
“Historic Film Row” refers to the two block area on the 600 and 700 blocks of Sheridan extending North and South from California to Main. “Historic Film Row” is the specific area that was placed on the National Historic Register last year with a great deal of help from the State Historic Preservation office and the documented historical significance by local designer David Wanzer. Historic Film Row was the home of various movie houses: 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, M-G-M Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Republic Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, United Artists, Universal Pictures, and Warner Brothers. They used these properties to screen the new films and exchange or distribute them to regional theaters.
Besides the great historic buildings in our District, the area comes with a variety of tax incentives for owners and developers, new market tax credits, state and federal rehabilitation tax credits for historically significant properties, and many employee related tax incentives for companies that relocate to our District.
I am sending this email to Fred and Kirk Hall, along with your article from December 2nd, so that they are in the loop. Feel free to use any or all of this information in any future articles as you wish.
Finally, this project would not have progressed to this point without all of the help from the City of Oklahoma City, specifically Robbie Kienzle, Brent Bryant, Cathy O’Connor, Ann Simank, and many others. As we have discussed in the past, I do not consider myself much of a developer. I have a day job that keeps me busy.
I like to put back together older properties for fun and sometimes for profit. One added benefit has been the education I have received about our homeless issue. I had the opportunity to serve on the Mayor’s “Homeless Task Force” committee and we have great communication with Tom Jones of City Rescue, Dan Straughan of the Homeless Alliance, and now Tim Ulrich of the Refuge Oklahoma City Mission. The Hart building and parking lots will be the anchor of the West end of our District, directly across the street from City Rescue. The bottom line, we are comfortable with our office next to the homeless shelters.
Thanks again for your support. I know we both have a love of the rich history of the great historic buildings in our community. I will keep you posted on all future progress.
Sincerely, John M. “Chip” Fudge
Businessman, Part-time Developer
The Latest from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art
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My Bricktown Office is Now Closed
Janice and Megan serve coffee at Uncommon Grounds one last time.
Yep, it’s over. A lot of longtime customers stopped by at Bricktown’s Uncommon Grounds on Wednesday. The folks at Third Degree all had their photo taken behind the counter. The shop didn’t close because business was bad. To get the full story, see my previous posts on Uncommon Grounds.
Making the Lost Ogle List
It didn’t take long for the Lost Ogle to get a copy of an email listing traffic for all the NewsOk blogs. For all of you who might be curious, OKC Central, which started in March, came in third amid 100 blogs.
The folks at Lost Ogle seem to like this site, though they seem to think I have an unhealthy focus on downtown:
• Berry Trammel and Steve Lackmeyer have the two best blogs at NewsOK, so it’s good that they are in the Top 3. For fun, though, they should convert Trammel’s blog to an evil message board. They should also change Steve’s blog from OKCCentral.com to DangerouslyObsessedwithDowntownOklahomaCity.com. Seriously, Steve Lackmeyer is so obsessed with downtown that he has wet dreams about building codes, urban renewal and Ron Norick. I’ve heard rumors that he’s already paid a suicidal midget to jump off the Devon Tower just he can be the first to cover the story.
Um, thanks guys. Your praise is flattering and creepy all at once. I am kind of peeved you exposed my next scoop. I’ll be losing a deposit on that midget, and my next nefarious idea won’t be nearly as easy to pull off.
Your Accomplishment
A lot of readers are praising me over today’s developments with the Bricktown fire station. But really, I just delivered the news to you. It was you the readers who decided the designs were unacceptable and made enough noise to stop these designs from becoming a done deal.
Think about that. You emailed a couple of council members and they heard you. Yes, it’s really that simple.
Watch the Bricktown Fire Station Discussion
Watch the council discussion of the Bricktown fire station by going to this link and fast forwarding to 11:30 on the time bar.
What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate
“That picture we have, we’re not happy with it. It’s not what we want to build.”
That’s a quote from my conversation today with Deputy Fire Chief Cecil Clay concerning renderings of the proposed Bricktown fire station – drawings that were submitted to the Oklahoma City Council for approval of preliminary design and an ok to move forward with bringing them to final design.
The conversation was like he was speaking Greek and I was speaking Chinese. Both Clay and Fire Chief Keith Bryant said today they want a station that will fit into Bricktown. He kept insisting that I needed to see the drawings of what the interior set-up will be. I kept trying to explain the interiors are of no concern to Bricktown Urban Design or my readers and that they were concerned with the exterior. He kept saying that the exteriors at this stage don’t matter – that they weren’t important to what was being submitted to the city council. I got no impression that they truly understand what it might mean to design a building that is an appropriate fit for a historic urban design district.
Here’s an email I sent to Clay after the conversation:
Cecil, thanks for visiting with me today about the Bricktown fire station design. The following is what I took out of our conversation:
1. The Oklahoma City Fire Department will submit the fire station design to Bricktown Urban Design when the design meets with fire administration approval.
2. The Oklahoma City Fire Department realizes it might have to make substantial changes to the station design if it is rejected by Bricktown Urban Design.
3. You’re not sure how the drawings I posted on the blog were included in the request for approval of preliminary design submitted today to the Oklahoma City Council. You said the council could have approved preliminary design without any exterior renderings.
4. You said the designs I posted are not acceptable to fire administration (something repeated to me earlier today by Chief Keith Bryant).
5. You said changes might include globes and a tower similar to features on the Bricktown police substation.
6. You said the existing station at NE 8 and Lincoln is outdated and can’t be rebuilt at the current site because that land is being requested by the OU Medical Center/Oklahoma Health Center.
7. You said no other locations could be found around Bricktown and no land could be bought along the industrial corridor along nearby E Reno.
8. You said the fire adminstration’s focus has been on interior function. You said that like many houses being built today, you can place any exterior around an interior once the interior is set.
9. You said the pitched metal roof shown on the station design is in keeping with the historic Bricktown warehouse look and that it would be more cost effective on long-term maintenance.
10. You said that to service the people who visit Bricktown, the station needs to be in Bricktown.
11. You said that cost restraints are an issue with this project.
12. You said Bricktown is an appropriate location for a fire station.
13. You said the cost and time needed to redesign won’t be cited as a reason to refuse any changes that might be cited by the Bricktown Urban Design Committee.
14. You said the architects, LWPB, were selected for their experience designing fire stations, and acknowledged you had no awareness of any experience they might have designing structures within historic districts.
Here is Deputy Clay’s response:
Steve,I would once again bring up the fact that the Brick Town Station was voted on in the 2000 bond.
The bond issue stated the station was for the Brick Town area and the bond was listed funds.
I would again let you know I’m available to go over everything I have done on this project.
Deputy Chief
Cecil W. Clay
Oklahoma City Fire Department
405/297-3314 Office
Respond Quickly, Safely, Courteously– Meet the Need!
