Then and Now
This will be the first of six buildings being demolished by SandRidge Energy, including a parking structure facing Dean A. McGee Avenue.
Will the Hotel Marion be Lost to History?
The Hotel Marion shown (left) in this 1950s photo, courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
I’m not a building engineer. I don’t play one on television. And no, I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn last night. The Hotel Marion at NW 10 and Broadway is one gorgeous building – and also a heart-breaker. The building’s owners, Bob Howard, Mickey Clagg and Chris Fleming, have shown themselves to be good stewards of the properties assembled under former MidTown Renaissance lead Greg Banta. But without any attached parking, and purchased for more than it was probably worth, this building won’t be easy for anyone to tackle.
Time, I fear, may be running short.
We’re all familiar with what the front facade looks like:
The Hotel Marion at NW 10 and Broadway - boarded up for more than a quarter century.
But how often do we look at the alley facade of the property?
If we look really close, we might not like what we see:
See a jig-saw line going down the corner of an old building may not be a good omen of what's to come.... Preservationists take note - this is one of the city's oldest structures.
I’m not presuming the owners to be negligent or in way targeting this building for demolition. But if preservationists are looking for a way to rebound from SandRidge, some creative ideas might be needed to prevent Mother Nature from taking the Marion down. City leaders -could Murrah funds be available for this building? National Historic Trust – are there any grants that can be found?
Readers, should we even care whether the Marion is around for another decade?
Congratulations on Your Birthday Ladies!
- One year has passed since the taco twins (Kathryn Mathis and Cally Johnson) posed for this photo, giddy and nervous about opening their restaurant, 530 NW 23, to the public. Big Truck Tacos has been an unqualified success.
It was a year ago that I first met “big twin” and “little twin” and learned about their vision for Big Truck Tacos at NW 23 and Dewey. They had originally looked at a small diner on Hudson across from the Sieber Hotel. Thank goodness the owner was asking for $1,500 a month (way too much according to many). The place wouldn’t have been big enough. The ladies instead chose an old hamburger stand, which had gone thorugh quite a demise and was last a donut shop (I think) before going dark for quite a while.
They did a top notch overhaul of the old place, and introduced life to NW 23 by daring to add outdoor seating. Some might have thought the ladies nuts for taking such a chance – NW 23 is a busy street and Oklahoma City isn’t exactly know for alfresco dining. The first week proved those outdoor seats were needed. Lines streamed out of the doors as a wildly successful social media campaign had Big Truck Tacos being talked about all over town.
This restaurant on NW 23 – “headquarters” – was supposed to be a secondary operation to the truck, but has ended up being just as much the superstar. Now don’t get me wrong – the truck is wildly anticipated whereever it goes. But one has to wonder whether this operation would have been as successful if it had opened up in a shopping center at Memorial and MacArthur. The food is great. The ladies and their crew are originals.
But is there a magic in the location? Is there a charm to this odd old building brought back to life? Do people like to congregate where they see a comeback story in the making? What role does classic architecture and a vintage urban frontage play in attracting people back to the urban core?
Alright, I’m Back – Now Can Anyone Tell Me What This is About?
For the past couple of months we’ve seen most questions submitted to SandRidge Energy answered with “no comment.” The last question I submitted to SandRidge last Monday was as to whether a comment by attorney Frank Hill indicating SandRidge Energy might abandon downtown if they are blocked from tearing down six buildings on their campus has gone unanswered.
But last Thursday, as I was busy reporting on the federal lawsuit against Bob Funk and the pending foreclosure of First National Center, I received the following press release through The Gooden Group along with the image shown at the top of this post:
We recognize the passion that many have shown for the development and preservation of downtown Oklahoma City. We share this passion and appreciate the overwhelming support and enthusiasm that many in the downtown community continue to show for the SandRidge Commons master plan.
We have put forth a dynamic, well-considered urban plan promising to bring vibrancy and energy to this part of downtown and accommodate our growth over the next decades, as we add attractive corporate jobs.
We remain confident SandRidge Commons is the right thing for Oklahoma City and that it will make a significant contribution to the vibrant and thriving downtown we all desire.
Deferral, not a Moratorium
Historic tax credits will be deferred for two years, but won’t be canceled out (assuming this gets the governor’s signature) I’m sure there are a lot of historic building developers very, very relieved tonight.
URGENT UPDATE
Waiting for confirmation, but Preservation Oklahoma is reporting the effort to amend the suspensions on historic tax credits has passed. Story developing…
Status of Efforts to Amend Suspension of Historic Tax Credits
Still hung up friends… not sure why the bills aren’t getting voted on yet.
Why This Tax Credit Halt Could Destroy Some Developers
By now hopefully many of you have read my story about the potential impact of the planned two-year moratorium on the use of historic tax credits and my column on how it might kill redevelopment of the old Bond Bakery.
So, how could this hurt projects already underway?
Critics of this move say the two-year moratorium will be most punishing to those developers most active in redeveloping older buildings. Here’s why:
A developer buys an empty 10-story building in 2007 for $1.5 million. They spend three years working with the state’s Historic Preservation Office to get approval for designs that meet the requirements to obtain a 20-percent state historic tax credit and a matching 20-percent federal historic tax credit.
Renovation of the 100,000-square-foot building comes out to $140 per square foot – or $14 million. The tax credits are deemed critical to covering a funding gap that can not be financed through traditional means, and in this scenario developers interviewed by The Oklahoman say adaption to basic lofts could easily lead to a gap of up to $7 million.
This fictional project would likely qualify for state and federal historic tax credits each adding up to $2.6 million.
Assuming all additional financing is obtained through other means, XYZ Bank buys the federal and state tax credits knowing the credits can not be realized until the renovation is completed and a certificate of occupancy is issued by the city. The developer guarantees to over the tax credits if they don’t materialize. If the tax credits are approved in advance of the project and the renovation is done as planned and promised, there is rarely ever any risk to making such a guarantee – the developer is moving forward with the full faith and credit of the state.
If the moratorium goes into effect, even if the project has been approved for tax credits, developers who are midway through construction could find themselves in default of such agreements if, as in this case, the developer couldn’t personally cover the state tax credit of $2.6 million because the tax credits are frozen.
If this is all too complex to understand, let’s put in simpler terms we can all understand.
Imagine that you took advantage of the appliance tax rebate program last week. You could only afford to pay $300 for a new washing machine – but you bought a $500 washing machine by taking advantage of the $200 rebate promised by the federal government. Now imagine, after using the washing machine for a few months that the big box store called you up saying you owe that additional $200 because the feds failed to deliver on that promised $200 rebate. You did everything right. It’s the government that is backing out on the promised deal they made with you.
That’s what developers are facing across the state – only instead of owing $200, the amount will be in the million.
Legislators seem to think that developers stung by this will agree to using the historic tax credits when they are resumed in two years. Don’t be so sure of that. State historian Bob Blackburn suspects many of those developers won’t survive the above scenario and those that do will likely abandon historic renovation projects for years to come instead of believing in the full faith and word of the State of Oklahoma.
So how does this impact downtown Oklahoma City? Ask yourselves about how all of this might affect the future of the Bond Bakery, the old Sunshine Cleaners, the Fred Jones factory, the Rock Island Plow Building and the First National Tower.
And to those of you spending all of your time worrying about the fate of the buildings being targeted for demolition by SandRidge Energy – you’ve got a lot more to worry about.
Video on the “Building Huggers”
And This is Why They’re Called “Building Huggers” ….
Just got a call from a representative of the Preservation Oklahoma alliance fighting SandRidge Energy’s efforts to tear down the former KerMac, Indian Temple, YMCA and Petroleum Club Buildings on the SandRidge campus.
The group will hosting a “building hug” and giving out free “keep downtown urban” shirts to the first 200 to show up at the gathering at Robinson Avenue and Robert S. Kerr Avenue at 12:30 p.m. Monday.
This alliance also has a website on the discussion: www.keepdowntownurban.com.
