So What Can I Tell You Today?
If you read today’s Main Street column, you now know that Nick Preftakes is definitely planning a redevelopment of the block of properties he has bought west of the new Devon tower site.
But what is he planning?
Nick isn’t saying. We do know from past interviews that he’s not planning to tear down One North Hudson, which originally was the Hotel Black. It’s difficult to see Nick getting permission to tear down the adjoining Auto Hotel. But what about the old Carpenter Square theater? Does it get torn down? Or the former Anita Sanders law offices – a strip of store fronts dating back some 80 years? Does he tear down the lovably worn out Lunch Box?
And then there’s the Union Bus Station. It’s difficult to see why anyone would want to tear it down. But it’s also difficult to see how anyone can close a deal for this landmark, seeing as how many people have tried to do so in the past.
There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to what’s next for this block. But clearly some change is on its way.
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Comments
I love the Carpenter Square Building,and, you could easily tie the adjacent one story buildings in to it, design-wise, which would give you a great strip of potential retail. If you also had new housing in that location, you could certainly support some retail, especially if MAPS 3 passes and you’ve got the Myriad and other attractions nearby. Once someone suggested the Greyhound Depot as a restaurant, it’s been hard to think of it as anything but. The design and location would be perfect! So, who owns the Union Depot, and why are they so reluctant to sell? Greyhound?
Fort Worth, which has the best transportation hub of any comparable size town I’ve seen, has Amtrak, Local rail transit, local bus transit and Greyhound all at one place, which was really smart since they could share waiting and ticketing space. I wish OKC could manage something like that, highly unlikely however. I think this time the sale of the bus station gets done.
I completely agree, Jill. There are several beautiful buildings in that block. So much potential. I think Greyhound would make a great restaurant or market. I really hope we don’t lose them to a wrecking ball in the name of “progress.”
It was a good article, Steve. It’s too bad that Preftakes won’t give you any more information. With the way he seems to work, I thought he might announce his entire intentions at once– demolition, construction, and remodel. But really all he has done is say he wants to demolish one building and will be redeveloping the block. Perhaps it’s good news for preservationists that he has only requested to demolish one building. He seems like the type of businessman that would go to the city with all of his demolition plans at once. Looks like there is still plenty of room for him to build a mid or high rise with just that building gone.