Things That Makes You Go Hmmmm…..
(SING TO THE TUNE OF SESAME STREET’S “ONE OF THESE THINGS”): One of these things is almost identical to the other, one of these things has got me very curious, can you tell me which thing isn’t just like the other, before I finish this song …
Marva Ellard's site plan proposal for developing condominiums and retail on the old Mercy hospital site in MidTown.
Chuck Wiggin's site proposal for the old Mercy hospital site in MidTown.
To quote the annoying voice feature on the Apple computers up in the photography room with every typo committed by the photographers (and trust me, they happen frequently): “CURIOUS.”
On Friday a panel selected by the Urban Renewal Authority will evaluate the five proposals for the site and potentially select three to pitch their plans to the board (this likely would translate into a de facto selection of three finalists. Technically the meeting amounts to being a staff work session – exempt from the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act. But I plead my case with Urban Renewal director JoeVan Bullard to let me sit in on the discussion. No go. I promised to sit quietly in the corner. No go. I promised to keep my phone setting at “vibrate.” No go. I was about to offer to bring free donuts for everyone – but then Bullard pulled the card all government employees are taught on their first day on the job: “it’s important for the people in the room to feel free to have an exchange of opinions and ideas, blah, blah, blah.”
Fine. No free donuts from me.
So let’s do the next best thing is guess what issues might be discussed, and how each project might fare.
Let’s start with the narrowing of the list from five to three. The guys with Home Creations have a good track record, and are the sort of suburban developers downtown would love to attract. But their proposal is unlike any I’ve seen in response to an Urban Renewal project. Two phases? Nope, commissioners don’t like that. Offices? Commissioners have been out of the office development business for the past quarter century. The number of units and investment is also far less than that proposed by the competition.
Don’t be surprised if Home Creations is the first to be thrown out. And don’t be surprised if the downtown leadership and development community quickly contact these folks and show them other opportunities that might be a better fit for their ambitions.
If such a scenario unfolds, that leaves four.
I’m going to tell you what everybody on the inside of this deal has agreed on since the proposals were unsealed: the Edge proposal pitched by Gary Brooks and Mike Henderson is considered to hold the lead spot. They’ve successfully built respected apartment complexes throughout the metro and it’s assumed financing won’t be a problem. The proposal this time around has lots of density (though I messed up in previously reporting that it includes retail) and has a low tax increment financing request in comparison to the others.
But that’s not to say they will win this competition – they have a mixed history on the Legacy at Arts Quarter project down the street. It achieved an unprecedented residential density in the history of Urban Renewal. But most observers agree the final product fell far short of the project’s initial proposed design, and Henderson was about to run out of contract extensions by the time construction started.
After talking to several folks seasoned in this sort of thing, it’s generally agreed that the proposal by Marva Ellard is also likely to make the finalists cut. Her project also has quite a bit of density and she earned respect the hard way by redeveloping the Sieber Hotel apartments, which enjoys full occupancy. Her portfolio is shorter than Brooks and Henderson, though it should be noted she also was originally partners with Bill Canfield in winning development of The Hill in Deep Deuce. Ellard also asks for more TIF money than that requested by Brooks and Henderson.
So that leaves us with two guys playing duck, duck, goose and only one chair left. And that’s where things get … complicated.
MORE TO COME
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Too kind perhaps? With this big a project, in this important area, with a streetcar stop and on a street with a lot of traffic, this needs to be a showpiece, not an eyesore. It’s too big a deal for us to pussyfoot around what a terrible thing was done with the Legacy, in terms of not delivering anything close to what was promised, IMO. I feel like Henderson and Brooks let us all down.
OK. So I’m going to assume you’re definitely in the crowd who feels Brooks and Henderson fell short on the Legacy design…
Now, compare what Marva Ellard did with the Sieber apartments. I realize it’s a completely different thing to renovate versus build from scratch, but the Sieber is a little gem. She did more than she had to with it, whereas Brooks and Henderson did less than they promised. I’d happily see Marva Ellard given a chance to show us what she can do with that space.
I don’t think the Legacy is that terrible. Some downtown developments so far have been too depressing to justify splitting hairs with the Legacy. Yeah, it’s the world HQ of EIFS. Other than that it’s alright.
How is Tanenbaum’s not the first to go? It’s just a suburban apartment complex. From an urban design standpoint, and I hate to say it, but Wiggin’s has the best aesthetic and mixed-use offering. And he does have a track record and has completed many projects in Tulsa since he was awarded the last plan for this site. It’s just that Overholser Green was never feasible and he needed more pressure from the start to reformulate.
I am ok with the 3 finalists being Marva, Chuck, and Henderson…
who ever is selected needs to be have retail or be forced to add retail as a condition to win … the walker frontage is perfect for retail and will continue the growth of the walker st Shops.
I agree that Wiggin’s plan appears to be the closest to what I’d like to see on that piece of land. Although I know there are hard feelings, based on the no go of his Overholser Green project, I think it might have been criticized as a failure if built at the time it was planned. It may be lucky it didn’t end up getting off the drawing board. I’m not sure we can completely blame him for the financial meltdown that ruined a tenuous at best for sale market downtown.
But, EIFS with palm texturing makes a bad thing far worse. Palm texturing went out in the 70s. White palm textured EIFS on top of bad beige/brown brick is worse. White palm textured EIFS on top of bad beige/brown brick with forest green awnings with large white lettering takes ugly to a whole new level. Add its ugliness to the fact that they didn’t build what they’d proposed at Legacy and they took their sweet time about doing it. That’s what makes me say they should be out of the running this time. I agree that their plan looks decent this time. But what guarantee do we have that they’ll build anything like what they’ve drawn? If they are awarded this project, OCURA hasn’t even slapped their hand for failing to follow through the first time. It would be tacit acceptance of the fact that OCURA has no power to compel anyone to do the right thing when developing a piece of property.
I live at Legacy (for convenience in spite of the aesthetics…), and this property has other problems as well. It’s not that old, and in one year we had two roof leaks, two A/C problems and the pipes make continuous loud popping noises in the walls when you run hot water. The appliances and fixtures are so cheap it’s ridiculous. The fire alarms go off for no reason quite often (numerous times last year) and somehow can’t be turned off for half an hour in some cases, and the sprinkler system in the attic froze in several buildings causing major flooding in one. I’ve lived in 10- and 20-year-old apartments with lots less problems.
Home Creations should be thrown out based on the poor design. It looks like they just mashed together a bunch of their suburban houses. Seeing what happened with Henderson previously, they should be thrown out too. Their design might be the best, but what evidence is there it will actually get built like that and even remotely on time? That leaves you three finalists.
Regarding retail, I have mixed feelings. I agree that appears to be a prime area for retail. But as I was driving through the area yesterday I noticed how much vacant retail-ready space is already in that area. Would making the bottom floor retail just create more empty storefronts? I don’t know the answer. But I can see both sides of the argument.
Marva Ellard deserves to win. This is the second time she has gone to the well for this same plot of land, so she’s obviously highly prepared and committed to the undertaking. Also, the Sieber is top-notch. OCURA can’t afford to select Wiggin again, though his design is good. Nobody else in the mix has proven that they “get” urban.
Steve, I have to disagree with you that Home Creations have a good track record. Eight out of ten comments I hear from people who live in one of their homes is negative. That includes my brother, who recently moved from his HC house. It’s poor construction with cheap materials. I’m just worried they would build something equally cheap and poor downtown.
That is the million dollar question. The public simply does not have enough information on the Tanenbaum proposal, or many of these others. We’ve had great detail on like 2 of these proposals, but that leaves the rest, which will probably get eliminated now before we even know what they are.
Erick, Nick, I asked the Tanenbaum and Home Creations folks to send me pdfs for this blog (I received them the first day the proposals came out but lost them due to an email crash). Anyway, they’ve not responded. I’ll ask again this week.
Legacy, talk about lazy architecture. That could have been a special place. It is a joke. Look at the detail where the copper downspouts become roof drains into the building (right above the water feature at the corner of Walker and 4th). There is no escutcheon plate! It has to leak like crazy. That EIFS probably didn’t get warranted because of that detail and it will not last the 20 years it is supposed to last. EIFS should never be allowed downtown because of its short life span. Is that subtle?
Regarding Brooks and Henderson…”But most observers agree the final product fell far short of the project’s initial proposed design…”
Falls short? That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one. Absolutely no aesthetic sense is closer. The Legacy is one of the ugliest and least urban buildings I’ve ever seen. If it were up to me, they’d be out building on Memorial Rd., which is where that kind of design belongs….at best. I have zero faith that they’ll do anything better at the old Mercy site, because they haven’t proven they will. Time to give someone else a chance.