Nothing very controversial here from what I can see. The extension of the canal segment from the Oklahoma River would allow it to go under the new I-40 bridge and stop just south of the Bricktown Canal. It appears that the project also adds a pedestrian bridge over the river segment, and creates a series of water features, plazas and landscaping at the northern tip of the river segment to provide a better linkage and view for visitors. This items is up at Board of Adjustment Thursday for a variance on lighting heights.

The Rock Island Plow Building can be seen to the right of the now vanished MKT Train Depot in this vintage mid-20th century photo (courtesy of the Oklahoma Railway Museum)

Over at www.downtownontherange.blogspot.com, Nick Roberts is continuing to put his own stamp on the discussion of downtown Oklahoma City’s ongoing transformation. Nick, who is pursuing a planning degree in college, is able to take that discussion a bit further than I can due to our different roles in the blogging world. I try to offer news and observation (and sometimes very uncomfortable questions posed to those I cover), while Nick goes straight to commentary. He’s good at what he does. But confusion sometimes emerges. Last summer developer Richard Tanenbaum put up a slide of quotes praising his track record and attributed it to OKC Central – when it actually was written by Nick over at Downtown on the Range.
Nick and I are often thinking about the same topics. This time we’re both thinking about Avis Scaramucci, owner of Nonna’s and The Painted Door in Bricktown, and who is going on her fourth year as chair of the Bricktown Association (she also serves of chair of the Bricktown Urban Design Committee).  A few weeks ago, I took the following photo:

Yep, that’s more windows getting covered with plywood over at the Rock Island Plow Building. Keep in mind it’s a structure that is on the National Register of Historic Places. Before I could post anything on OKC Central, Nick posted his own photo with the following quote:

Does a single successful restaurant make someone the “Queen of Bricktown?” So far Avis has done nothing to prove that she wasn’t one and done in terms of Bricktown development, and how did this get to be the person chairing the Bricktown Suburban Design Committee?

Ouch.
So I guess Nick would be none too thrilled to see more plywood going up on windows at the 100-year-old Rock Island Plow building, which Avis owns. It’s the ONLY boarded up structure left in Bricktown, and it’s along Reno Avenue where thousands of visitors travel daily, both by foot and by vehicle. It’s a prime corridor for tourists and those attending NBA games at the nearby Chesapeake Energy Arena.
County records show Avis and her husband Phil bought the building for $1,450,000 in 2003. I’m also aware they spent a significant amount of money doing emergency structural repairs several years ago that, if not done, we likely would have lost this building all together.
I’ve been hearing complaints similar to those voiced by Nick, and I asked Avis why the wait – why not move forward with a development or simply sell the building to someone who will make something happen. I know they’ve had willing buyers – parties with a track record of successful development. So far, Avis’ response is simply “now is not the time.”
This won’t make Nick any happier. And I fully anticipate he’ll have more to say on this matter.

Chris Johnson is submitting this new rendering along with his latest appearance at today's meeting of the Bricktown Urban Design Committee. This view is from the Miller-Jackson Building.

As  the battle over a plan by Chris Johnson to build surface parking along the Bricktown Canal continues, I can’t help but wonder: is he serious about wanting to build these lots along with a couple of proposed retail buildings? The reason I ask is because in some ways, this all feels very familiar… and there’s a reason why.

Consider this story I wrote in 2003:

Oklahoma City Council members are being asked today to approve a developer’s request to build a $5.5 million, 70-room boutique hotel that would cross the Bricktown Canal.

The plan is opposed by City Manager Jim Couch, who said the request for a revocable permit for the span could turn the waterway into a tunnel with limited natural light and no landscaping.

The proposal by the property’s owner, Jim Brewer, and developer Chris Johnson, calls for a three-story hotel to be built at 101 S Mickey Mantle Drive, with a 50-foot-wide patio and pool or building extension being built over the canal.

The property is immediately west of the SBC Bricktown Ballpark.

“It’s a heck of a project,” Couch said. “But the canal is something special, and we don’t want too much of it covered up.”

Couch said the stretch of canal in question already has two bridges. Between those bridges another property owner already has rights to build over the canal, an arrangement that dates to the canal’s early planning.

The land where the hotel is proposed includes a five-foot wide strip of property on the west side of the canal, in addition to the main building site on the east side of the waterway.

Sketches presented to the council today are preliminary, and Johnson said he is in early talks with potential investors. Plans call for limited parking on the street level, and a hotel lobby and T-shirt shop on the canal level.

Johnson appreciates Couch’s concerns, but said he’s committed to quality. The project also would need approval from the Bricktown Urban Design Commission.

“It would be in very good taste, lighted up, and would enhance the canal,” Johnson said.

Confused? Consider that the project looked like this:

Yes, the project consisted of a bridge to no where. They got their approval, but never went through with the project. There were some observers who never believed Brewer and Johnson were serious about the project (and indeed, Brewer never even sold the property to Johnson). Notice where the bridge comes to an abrupt end. That’s where Harry McMullen, owner of Alliance Steel, briefly contemplated building a 10-story hotel. Of course he had a problem in pursuing his plan; Brewer had quietly managed a deal with city engineers to leave him with a thin stretch of land that would separate the waterway from the east side of McMullen’s property.

McMullen, as one might imagine, was none too happy with the effort by Brewer  and Johnson to win approval for their air-rights and bridge:

Developers of a proposed $5.5 million hotel pitched a successful compromise Tuesday and won support of Oklahoma City Manager Jim Couch to build a patio or building extension over the Bricktown Canal.

However, a new wave of protests by neighboring property owners prompted city council members to delay voting on the request by Jim Brewer and Chris Johnson.

Couch initially opposed the request, saying he feared the overhang, combined with two existing bridges and potential for a similar project by another property owner, would create a tunnel effect along a 300-foot stretch of the waterway.

Brewer and Johnson, responding to Couch’s concerns, offered to narrow the overhang’s width from 50 to 40 feet and increase the height from 10 to 20 feet.

“Based on their revised request, I think it’s a better fit,” Couch said.

Several council members indicated they were about to approve the request when protests were heard from neighboring property owners.

Harry McMullen owns an empty corner lot separated from the canal by a narrow strip of land owned by Brewer that would be part of the hotel extension.

“You can’t build something like that across the canal without supporting it from the other side, our side,” McMullen said. “And by doing so, the view from our property to the canal will be blocked.”

Brewer said he has the right to build on his own land. He also noted McMullen has had his property up for sale for the past couple years after abandoning his own plans to build a hotel.

“For him to say ‘you’re blocking my view,’ I say this is my land and it has been for 18 years,” Brewer said. “Am I supposed to reserve it for him? He should have bought it all.”

McMullen, who owns Alliance Steel, said he couldn’t afford Brewer’s price. He also argued the revised plans would still create a tunnel effect along the canal.

Council members voted to delay a decision for two weeks and asked both sides to discuss their differences. They also told Brewer they will retain approval of any building extension if they approve the request.

McMullen gave up on his plan to build the hotel, and instead invested his money in an Aloe Vera plant in South America (true story). So what happened next? Gary Cotton happened next. He was a car dealer who cashed in big time from the explosion of development that took place along I-40 in Midwest City. Flush with cash, he did what no other aspiring developer had accomplished – he acquired control of both sides of the canal, creating the ultimate dream spot for development along the canal.

When Cotton revealed his plan for the property in January, 2008, it was met with genuine excitement.

Everyone was excited. But I had my doubts:

Even in this age of multiscreen theaters and $500,000 condos in Bricktown, the proposed Cotton Exchange project along the Bricktown Canal may be among the most ambitious yet for the entertainment district.

With a price tag of $36 million, the project — a four-story building linked to a 12-story tower — would add 66 condominiums and replace a barren but prime corner of the canal with a dense mix of offices, shops and restaurants.

But will it really happen?

Gary Cotton is first to admit he’s new to development, though he’s owned properties in Bricktown for the past few years. He has bought and sold the Bricktown Mercantile and Wells Fargo buildings, and still owns an empty building at 329 E Sheridan.

Veteran Bricktown observers recall other big projects proposed but never realized — most notably The Factory proposed in 2003.

“There are a lot of people excited about Bricktown and how it’s going to evolve and continue to change,” said Jim Cowan, director of the Bricktown Association. “But it’s a question of does this fit in Bricktown, and can it go from drawings to actually breaking ground?”

To compensate for a lack of development experience, Cotton has assembled a team of players with long ties to Bricktown’s emergence as the state’s premier entertainment district.

Architectural Design Group’s most visible project is the AT&T Bricktown Project. Other downtown projects include the City Center garage and the Legacy at Arts Quarter apartments.

Timberlake Construction built several properties in Lower Bricktown, including The Centennial, and is also building the Block 42 condominiums in nearby Deep Deuce.

Sperry Van Ness has represented sales and leasing on several downtown properties, and recently sold out all 30 condominiums at The Centennial. The firm also has represented sales at Block 42.

Cotton still needs to complete financing for The Cotton Exchange. That financing, he said, cannot be completed until after conceptual designs are approved by the Bricktown Urban Design Committee.

Gary Gregory, managing director of Sperry Van Ness in Oklahoma City, predicts financing won’t be difficult considering the success of The Centennial.

“It’s easier when you’ve done it before, that you can say we can do it again,” Gregory said. “When we first worked with The Centennial, there were no sales to compare to in this area. It just hadn’t happened yet. Now it’s easier to make a decision.”

Gregory hints he already has a list of potential buyers who didn’t get the chance to buy a canal-side condominium at The Centennial. He also thinks buyers are to be found from outside the metro area — especially in west Oklahoma.

“What we found is, and through our marketing efforts, there are a lot of people who want to be near the excitement and heat of downtown,” Gregory said. “I think very easily we can fill another 60 to 70 units.”

As for timing, Cotton insists he’s ready to start “as soon as possible.” But he’s also weary of making a common mistake by developers of over-promising and ending up looking like he’s all hype and no action.

He’s also aware that many challenges remain, and that the nature of the site makes it difficult for new construction. But he adds Timberlake Construction is ready to start work.

“The little building was supposed to be open by May,” Cotton says, laughing. “So we’re already behind schedule.”

It didn’t take long for everyone involved to realize the world was changing. By late 2008, the deal was dead and I gave my own thoughts on why the property seemed to be going nowhere fast:

Thursday was one of those good/bad days for Bricktown.

Bad because Gary Cotton was the first property owner to learn, once and for all, that sale prices in the entertainment district aren’t bound to go forever up and he may be in a world of hurt. Good because Cotton and his peers may finally be sobering up to the reality that they can’t buy and flip properties at higher and higher prices, leaving the area’s long-term future in jeopardy.

Cotton didn’t disclose his desired minimum bid for his Bricktown properties at an auction Thursday. But it was clear he at least wanted to recover the millions he had spent on the properties a few years ago. He didn’t come close. And he wanted so much more.

Cotton was simply trying to do what the late Jim Brewer, Chris Johnson, Harry McMullen, the Tyler family and others had done along the same stretch of the Bricktown Canal. Nobody did more but to keep the property mowed then sold the patch of land for thousands if not millions more than the original price.

Sure, Cotton proposed a $36 million mixed-use development for the site. Brewer, Johnson and McMullen had all pitched their own plans for the same patch of land.

With each sale, development prospects dimmed a bit because of the rising cost of the dirt itself. Those watching the failed auction included French Hickman, who has struggled to find a buyer for his properties who might pay not just Hickman’s costs but also provide a nice profit.

Many blame this buy-and-sell game for the abundance of empty storefronts in what is otherwise a thriving entertainment district. Several spaces are empty not due to lack of interest, but rather, according to potential tenants, because of owner demands for $20 or more per square foot.

Cotton seemed to be having no luck selling the property. He tried to make money by contracting with mobile vendors and small amusement operators to set up along his property on busy summer weekends (those attempts were usually met with reminders that they weren’t always in compliance with city codes and zoning).

A buyer finally appeared, and what do you know – it’s Chris Johnson!

Johnson, owner of USA Screenprinting, was going to build a small retail shop – A “House of Bedlam” – and parking where Cotton and McMullen once dreamed of building mid-rises. This latest proposal was loathed by pretty much everybody in Bricktown who felt it was a cheap, shallow approach to make easy cash on parking instead of bringing a development they felt was more worthy of the corner.

The Bricktown Urban Design Committee has made it clear, they do not support building any more surface parking along the canal. Johnson has amended his plans, somewhat, but the parking remains. So today I’ll be covering the fourth face-off between the two sides.

As I close this very long post (forgive me), consider one more detail: Johnson entertained an offer by some very credible developers to partner with him to build a high rise hotel on the corner, a project that would have been similar to what was envisioned years ago by Harry McMullen. Johnson ultimately rejected the pitch, saying he was only willing to sell the property. In the meantime, he has pushed through with his own proposal, seemingly hostile to any suggestion that his vision for the property is uninspiring to many of his neighbors.

So I close this with a question: did Johnson really spend a premium to buy all this property just to build a House of Bedlam store, restaurant and parking? Is Johnson serious about his proposed development, or is there another agenda at play, as was alleged in his never fulfilled 2003 proposal?

But retail can prosper downtown. It needs to prosper downtown as part of an ongoing journey into the future.

For the past two weeks I’ve struggled with a very hoarse throat, and today, I was back to being virtually speechless. But work beckoned, so I turned to email to get some interviews done for my story on the Bricktown strategic plan. One such correspondence provides an opportunity to provide you with the full context of my conversation with Chad Huntington, a veteran Bricktown observer who co-owns the Bricktown Marketplace and Red Dirt Emporium:

Question: The study indicates that bankers are less interested in backing bars and restaurants in Bricktown, and are more interested in retail and housing. Visitor marketing studies show retail also is a key factor for long term viability of an urban entertainment district. What obstacles have you faced in operating retail in Bricktown, and why aren’t more people following your lead?

Chad: Most of the challenges we have had is due to a real and/or perceived lack of retail density, and also a lack of awareness that significant retail even exists in Bricktown. We actually have worked to create our own retail density by opening the Bricktown Marketplace in 2010. It is now the largest locally-owned retail floorplate in all of downtown, at roughly 6,000 square feet. Something we tried to do different, though, was carve the space up into manageable pieces, allowing smaller, independent retailers to rent space. I believe that a major obstacle to retail in Bricktown – apparently unaddressed in the study – has been a lack of smaller retail spaces in Bricktown. Local, mom-and-pop style shopkeepers generally can’t say grace over 4,500 feet, 6,000 feet, 10,000 feet, yet often those were the only choices, as I think building owners have been hesitant to carve out 500 or 1200 feet for a small retailer, potentially eliminating an opportunity down the road to lease or develop a large contiguous floorplate. That is why we felt it was important to provide smaller, more manageable spaces, and even to essentially provide staffing services by centralizing the checkout.

Another challenge has been in finding the right product mix. The study mentions the importance of better understanding the market, and I believe that is key. Our first operation (Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Emporium) came about because for years we heard Water Taxi passengers asking for shopping that was authentically Oklahoman. We might not have never considered that product mix, or even a store itself, if we had not listened to what the market was asking for. This has also proven to be the case in the marketplace. Vendors who are constantly adapting their product mix to what customers already in the district are asking for thrive; those who do not don’t thrive. Bricktown has some natural advantage in already having a large number of customers. The trick is to figure out what they are interested in buying.

Question: Tell me about the addition of Signature Books and why you see that as an important addition to the marketplace.

Chad: Books of course are a great impulse item. Many of our customers are visitors, convention-goers, business travelers, and spouses of the same. We’ve been asked in the past if there is a good bookstore downtown, and unfortunately we’ve not had a place to send people. There are also quite a few locals who pop in at lunch, or after dinner or events, and lots of people love to hunt through a trove of great old books. We are thrilled to have a longstanding book dealer like Wayne take an interest in the marketplace, and think it will be beneficial to our mix, to his business, and to the locals and visitors who come into the store.

Question: How will the addition of Guestroom Records at the ACM add to the retail efforts along the canal?

Chad: It’s a natural with the proximity of ACM. You have students who are working on their own musical foundations, and they will now have a great place to discover new and old music that will influence them in their career. But beyond that, I think many travelers look for great record stores when they are visiting a city, especially in an urban area. When I visited New York City last year, one of the highlights of the trip was spending a considerable amount of time in Bleecker Street Records in the West Village. Guest Room is exactly that kind of record store, and I think it’s a brilliant stroke of luck for everyone concerned that they will be here soon.

Bricktown 1996.

I’ve covered Bricktown for almost 20 years, and regardless of what’s underway, one common theme remains the same: residents are not content with the amount of progress to date.

Wednesday’s paper includes an intriguing look at some harsh truths about Bricktown, and what might be done to move forward.

It starts off with some great news – Guest Room Records is going to open a music store in the Oklahoma Hardware Building in conjunction with ACM@UCO. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

But the story also comes with photos of a deserted Bricktown Canal – photos taken Tuesday afternoon. Something still isn’t quite right.

That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of pride out there. The first truly celebratory moment for MAPS was the opening of the Bricktown ballpark. That pride felt in April, 1988, was magnified several times over when the canal opened one year later. But the glass has  always seemed half full or half empty.

Let’s just consider Reno Avenue. This corridor passes the Myriad Gardens, Chesapeake Arena and Cox Convention Center before crossing into Bricktown. And what is one of the first views offered to our visitors as they pass under the gateway into Bricktown on Reno? It’s a boarded-up Rock Island Plow building.

Properties like the Rock Island Plow Building, 29 E  Reno, are seen as reminders that the district has yet to arrive. To the north is the Bricktown Canal, which is lined up with shops, restaurants and offices. To the east is the ballpark. And to the south is Lower Bricktown, anchored with a hotel, bowling alley, restaurants, theaters, shops, condos and offices. The property is owned by Phil and Avis Scaramucci, who have set a great example in developing their other property in Bricktown – Nonna’s and the Painted Door. And to be fair, the couple and their investors spent a lot of money making emergency repairs to ensure the Rock Island Plow building didn’t collapse from years of neglect. But the building’s boarded up windows still serve as a reminder something isn’t quite right.

Fortunately, we’ve seen a lot of the other empty eyesores in Bricktown renovated and brought back to life in the past few years, most notably the Red Ball bought by Harding & Shelton (including the home of Zio’s along the canal).

The Red Ball prior to renovations

Yes, the glass is half empty. Yes, the glass is half full. But after residents have invested more than $300 million into the immediate area (including the arena), why is Bricktown still not an unqualified success story?

The city could have hired a consultant to figure this out. In fact, I think a consultant was hired early on, but was quietly cut off when their work turned out to be rather unremarkable. I’m not a bit fan of consultants. More often than not they seem to fall short on calling a spade a spade, and offer up what is often just a rehash of prior work.

I urge you to read the report.  Presented by city planner A.J. Kirkpatrick and assembled in conjunction with the Bricktown Association and Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., it is among the best, most honest looks at our our urban core in the 15 years I’ve covered all this (only to be topped by the Jeff Speck report on walkability).

You’ve read the story. So let’s get down to what it says (with my translation):

- Too many property owners don’t know what they’re doing

- The city screwed up when it turned Reno into a virtual highway separating Bricktown and Lower Bricktown

- The city made it too easy for property owners to cop out and create cheap parking lots

- The city made it too easy for property owners to cop out and go for flame-out bar leases

- The city is virtually hiding the canal

- The city has done little to link up Deep Deuce with Bricktown

Fixes are available for all these mistakes. And some of the solutions wouldn’t be very expensive. But is the leadership in place to make the right changes? And can a new generation of owners overcome the mistakes of their predecessors?

From the Banjo Museum:

The Original Wildcat Jass Band will be performing in concert at the American Banjo Museum Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 6:30 pm. From Tuscan, Arizona this world-renown band is comprised of six outstanding jazz musicians performing (www.wildcatjass.com) traditional New Orleans and Chicago jazz in a style that is both true to its roots and entertaining as well. Seating for this event is limited. Tickets – which include a pizza/salad buffet and soft drinks – are just $20 in advance and are available by calling the American Banjo Museum at 405.604.2793.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to enjoy the American Banjo Museum and its $3.5 million collection of instruments celebrating the rich history of America’s instrument – the banjo. With more than 300 instruments, the museum contains the largest collection of banjos on public display and the only facility in the world dedicated America’s native musical instrument. Examples include replicas of primitive banjos developed by African slaves in the Old South, Minstrel Age instruments from 19th century, and post WWII instruments used in bluegrass, folk and world music. The museum’s core collection of instruments are the ornately decorated banjos made in America during the Jazz Age of the 1920’s and 30s. As entertainment of the 20s and 30s was a flamboyant “in person” experience, the banjos from this era were very decorative and ornate, with exotic woods, inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl, jewels, as well as hand carving and painting, which makes each banjo a work of art in itself.

The American Banjo Museum is located in Bricktown at 9 East Sheridan, Oklahoma City. For more information and to purchase tickets contact the museum at 405.604.2793 or visit: www.americanbanjomuseum.com

Now, for some perspective with the help of some photos. Remember, Deep Deuce development got started in 2000. MidTown development got started in 2006. Bricktown, by the way, was started way back in 1979.

Deep Deuce 1998.

Deep Deuce 1998.

Deep Deuce 1999.

Bricktown 1996.