Today this blog takes a different direction.

I’ll still be delving into the daily events, happenings and items of interest involving downtown and the urban core. But when it comes to MAPS 3 and the future, I’m going to be silent. From here on out, this blog will instead feature guest posts from people of different backgrounds. And I’m going to ask each person to write on the same topic: What should downtown Oklahoma City look like in 2020, and how can this vision be best achieved?

The next couple of months may very well be a critical turning point for downtown. I look forward to seeing how this new discussion evolves.

The BOK Plaza Garage under out-of-state ownership, 2006.

BOK Plaza Garage under new local ownership led by William Mee, 2009.

Soup and french press coffee at Beatnix

Judy Hatfield gives a tour at Carnegie

What’s encouraging is that while the numbers on the tour are down (probably due to the weather), I saw some genuine potential buyers. I really enjoyed stopping in at the old downtown library, which Judy Hatfield is converting into retail and condominiums. Hatfield reports she’s been delayed by having to file a “friendly lawsuit” against the city and county to secure air rights for roof-top patios. That task is now completed, and Hatfield is still hustling to try to get construction underway by winter.

Downtown is still doing well. Sure things are a bit more uncertain these days, but what I saw yesterday indicates we’re far from dead.

Roy Oliver is also doing a makeover of the City Place lobby.

Yes indeed friends, Roy Oliver really is building residential condos on the top floors of City Place. See the Richard Mize story here. Wouldn’t it be cool if the California owners of First National got the same idea for across the street?

Where would you like a see a new convention center built? What should be done with the existing building?

It was, I admit, a quick answer that might have even been tainted by a bit of ego. Visiting with author and consultant Jeff Speck last week during a dinner with members of ULI, the discussion turned to Broadway and how ridiculously wide it is.

Speck, author of “Suburban Nation,” has been hired by the city to prepare a plan on how to make downtown more friendly to pedestrians. Nobody at the table seemed to believe that Broadway once had angled parking. I spoke up and said “yes it did” without hesitation.

The pressure was on after that. A.J. Kirkpatrick, one of the city’s bright up anc coming assistant planners, was at that table and I know he reads this blog. By giving such an answer, and being so cocky about it, I had to come up with the proof to back up my assertion. I knew I had seen an image of angled parking along Broadway, and sure enough, after doing some searching in my archives at www.okchistory.com (a private history site maintained by myself and Jack Money), the above illustration is at least a start at providing evidence to Speck. This 1920s image appears to be looking north from Sheridan Avenue.

-Steve 

Oklahoman Real Estate Editor Richard Mize has a great column today about James Cotter, owner of downtown Oklahoma City’s Chase Tower. While Mr. Cotter has made some significant efforts to do some braggin at Chase Tower by emblazoning the floor with his brand, he’s taken no such pride with some Main Street properties in the northern Oklahoma town of Cherokee.

Richard has given a voice to these folks by writing about their unsuccessful efforts to get Cotter to sell or donate key downtown properties that obviously have no value to him as evidenced by their lack of upkeep.

But if Mr. Cotter doesn’t care about what the folks in Cherokee think about him, I wonder if he places more value on his reputation in a town where he owns the largest office tower – one that will be half empty in a few years when Devon moves into its own tower. One might think he might need some good will to fill up all that empty space in a 36-story building he claims is legally named Cotter Ranch Tower (I bet you didn’t know that).

After doing some research on Mr. Cotter, it appears as if “Cotter Ranch” Chase Tower is the gem of his portfolio. According to the San Antonio Express News, Cotter got into the real estate business after leaving the Army in the 1950s. He attended Walla Walla College in Walla Walla, Wash., and developed a 36-lot subdivision before graduating in the late 1950s.

Around that time, Cotter also owned the last privately owned bus line in Washington, which served Walla Walla and the surrounding area.

Now he owns about 70 buildings, including medical office buildings, retail centers and warehouses in Texas, Washington, Idaho, California, Oklahoma and Florida. He wants to get his three sons — all named James — started in the real estate business.

Now let’s talk about tiny Cherokee, population 1,437. Like many small Oklahoma towns, Cherokee is fighting the same battle faced by many towns its size. Between 2000 and 2007, its population dropped 10 percent. Yet the town, as evidenced in the above photo, is trying to keep its Main Street nice and doing what it can to rebound. A donation by Mr. Cotter of two buildings with little value to himself would be a big boost to this town. 

What do you think? I wonder whether anyone in the big city, home to “Cotter Ranch Tower,” would contact Mr. Cotter if they knew they could contact his local representative, Chase Tower manager Tammy Powell, at (405) 601-6600 or by Email at tammypowell@cotterandsons.com. As for Cotter and his sons, I couldn’t find a web site or email address in San Antonio. But they are located at 802 NE Loop 410, San Antiono, Texas, 78217 and their phone number is (210) 822-2001.

Here’s how he starts his latest entry:

Lets break free of what is clearly a flawed proposal and begin a process that looks for fresh solutions and ideas, producing a new plan that meets the Chamber’s objectives while enhancing downtown Oklahoma City for decades to come. I have found that the best plans are produced through collaboration, so I hope you will join me in this re-visioning effort!

Plenty of fun will be had with Blair’s introduction of anonymous comments for this discussion. And having been treated to Blair’s ideas last summer, I promise his upcoming posts on this topic will be interesting, innovative and even controversial for some. Stay tuned for more ….