Save or Destroy?
In Tuesday’s Main Street, I discuss downtown buildings that may soon be history. So ….
Grand Openings and Slights
Tom Elmore picks up on an old thread at www.okctalk.com today about the old railway depots downtown, and also recalls how railroad buffs who helped fight for preservation of the Walnut Avenue bridge weren’t invited to the grand opening of the rebuilt structure that links Bricktown and Deep Deuce.
I remember that day very well. City officials also chose to ignore the efforts of preservationists like Randy Floyd, who put in tremendous amounts of time fighting an effort by then City Engineer Paul Brum to raze the bridge and replace it with an at-grade crossing.
The city instead chose that day to honor Dr. G.E. Finley, who was a leader in nearby Deep Deuce but had nothing to do with the bridge’s history or preservation.
It was said that Paul Brum was more powerful than than the mayor or city manager. And while not naming names, I heard two mayors say just that. During my stint covering City Hall, it was always interesting to see projects like the new roads and intersections serving the Belle Isle shopping center completed rather quickly, while other projects – like the bridge and the conversion of downtown streets to two ways (now getting done eight years after they scheduled) drag on and on.
Were folks like Tom and Randy left off the guest list on purpose? It’s history now, but I wonder if it would be any different today?
And one last thought: over the years we’ve seen a small group of people fight to preserve landmark properties that weren’t always popular with the masses. While it seems everyone loves the Skirvin, attitudes were mixed on the Gold Dome (saved), the Walnut Avenue Bridge (saved), and the old YMCA (lost forever).
The names of the “building huggers” include Randy Floyd, Michael Smith, Marva Ellard, Todd Scott (he has since moved away), and Lisa Chronister (whom I also believe has moved away).
They’ve been quiet lately, and Randy Floyd, Michael Smith and Marva Ellard have all transitioned from protesting demolitions to redeveloping old properties.
Will a new generation rise up to take their place? Expect some properties with significant histories to be targeted for demolition soon. The question is, will anyone speak out?
On the Downtown Home Tour
If you’ve not seen the Sieber Hotel lately, it’s looking better than it has in decades.
I’m not sure if I’ve seen a developer go to the lengths of getting things ready as I have Marva Ellard, a classic case of a “building hugger” who did more than just talk about saving an old building. On Friday I discovered Marva cleaning a glass table in one of the show units at the Sieber, which she is converting into apartments.
The Hard Part
Steve Mason and architect Tony Blatt – one year ago – and now certified, battle tested preservationists and urban developers. Mason’s journey actually started even earlier – when he bought up the 1000 block of N Broadway, one of the last unimproved stretches of Automobile Alley.
1015 N Broadway is now fully rebuilt and home to Mason’s Cardinal Engineering, Bicycle Alley and Coffee Slingers. Yet another building on the block has been renovated and leased to Cricket Communications. Mason has accomplished much of what he set out to do – but we won’t be seeing the Iguana Mexican Grill at 1007 N Broadway as originally envisioned.
The question at www.okctalk.com is what happened?
There’s a reason this block took so long to develop. The buildings were in terrible shape. Habitat For Humanity’s Renovation Station occupied the first floor of 1015 N Broadway for a while, but the rest of the building was pretty much inhabitable because of structural problems. Mason’s costs were double the original estimates, and he had to gut the building to save it. But he was able to stay in the black thanks to historic tax credits. The building at 1007 N Broadway ended up being too big for the restaurant, and the structual problems there were even worse than at 1007 N Broadway. So Mason has moved the restaurant just one block east to NW 9 and Broadway (next to the new Oklahoma City Community Foundation headquarters) and as of last month the future remained murky for 1007 N Broadway.
Don’t assume the building will remain dark and empty forever. Mason indicated he’s continuing to look at how to make the project work with more tax credits, etc. It could be Mason is simply hoping to see increased demand for space on the block that might then make a renovation more feasible.
Sidenote: only three significant empty buildings remain on Automobile Alley – the old Marion Hotel, 1100 and 1101 N Broadway. All three are owned by Greg Banta and are part of his MidTown Renassaince development.
The Eyesore List
A couple of weeks ago I posted the following question at www.okctalk.com: what are the worst downtown eyesores?
Here’s the list they compiled:
———————————-
Stage Center
Old Downtown Library
DEQ Building
AT&T campus
Former Stewart Metal buildings
304 NE 3 (Deep Deuce)
City Detox
Former Fox Collission Building
Bob Howard Ford
Union Bus Station
First National Arcade
Trigen
Garage at Kerr and Harvey
Park Harvey Building
Former nightclub at Main and Walker
Goodyear Tire store
Browns bakery
Dowell Center
Bricktown Parking Garage
U-Haul building in Bricktown
Cotton Coop
Finley building
Bass Pro
Century Center
Harkins Theater
So, what’s next? I’ve got a camera, and I’m preparing to take some photos of these “eyesores.” Then I’ll provide details on some of these properties, followed by a poll here at www.okccentral.com. The more of you who vote in this poll, the more likely it is you might nudge someone to make some improvements. Now, quiz time friends… which one of these “eyesores” is the only Oklahoma City property to win one of the highest architectural honors possible? Which property was deemed one of the city’s most significant architectural landmarks by a panel of architects and preservationists? Which building is owned by dedicated urban pioneers who have led in their district’s revival? And which building is closest to becoming history?
Things You Might Have Missed
With everything going on these past two weeks, you might have missed some deals quietly moving along in the background. So what did we miss?Well, to begin with, the deal between Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma City Public School System that would have resulted in school administrators moving into downtown’s Journal Record Building is dead.
The district initially negotiated to buy 70,000 square feet of the 110,000 square-foot building at a cost of $8.5 million. The deal was delayed week after week by city officials who initially believed the deal was inevitable. But this week the item was scratched for good.
The Bricktown Urban Design Committee last week approved plans to repair and cover a stucco finish at 3 E Main. The century-old building originally had a brick facade, but architects reported removal of the stucco was cost prohibitive. The building is being renovated into the corporate headquarters for Standley Systems. The company bought the three-story building, built in 1901, for $937,500 last year.
More on the Bricktown Holiday Inn Express
Here’s one advantage of having a blog – the ability to provide to you more information on a story that just couldn’t fit into the newspaper (I’ve been told that because there are other writers at the paper, I can’t simply have two pages just for my stories each day).
Today’s paper had a story about a proposed Holiday Inn Express for Bricktown. Here is a more in-depth discussion of the proposed design:
Demolition of the building, however, is not a certainty. Committee members unanimously criticized the proposed design by Quinn & Associates, which included a facade of 61 percent brick and 49 percent synthetic stucco.
Kip Bettencourt, an architect with Quinn & Associates, defended the design and argued the use of synthetic stucco, commonly known as EIFS, was not a matter of cost. Instead, he said, the material was included as a matter of good design.
“I selected the amount of brick myself with architectural license,” Bettencourt said. “I felt that just slapping brick on this building for the sake of putting brick on it was inappropriate. These buildings were built at different times … and that’s how these things evolved and that’s what I was trying to be true to.”
The use of synthetic stucco – also known as Exterior Insulation Finish Systems (EIFS) – has been frowned on before by the Bricktown Urban Design Committee. A glass elevator tower was dropped from the Hampton Inn at Sheridan Avenue and Vince Gill Avenue when developers were forced by the committee to increase the amount of brick on the hotel and eliminate much of the proposed EIFS from the facade.
Bettencourt countered his project’s use of EIFS would be different.
“The synthetic plaster is a Dryvit product – we don’t like to call it EIFS because that has a negative connotation,” Bettencourt said. “This actually does have stone and mica in it … it has the appearance of granite. It certainly doesn’t look like the typical EIFS you would see.”
Bettencourt also agreed with committee comments that the building was “a little bit busy.” But he said he was trying to provide something “attractive to address the corner of Oklahoma and Main Street.”Committee members, however, were unswayed by Bettencourt and ruled no demolition can take place before a new design is submitted that “flattens” the facade and eliminates much of the synthetic stucco.
Wilson also suggested the developers try to incorporate an antique boiler inside the building and the oldest part of the structure – the north facade facing the BPI parking lot.
John Sweeney, vice president of operations for Kusum Hospitality, said after the meeting his group is prepared to follow the committee’s recommendations – including possible preservation of the dairy’s north facade.
“We definitely are doing more brick,” Sweeney said. “The thinking was, let’s get out concept together, and make sure the building fits on the site. And then let’s go to the committee and get their feedback and make sure we’re doing in the right direction. If they want 90 percent brick, whatever they want to do with that, we’ll be happy to along with them. We see the committee as a resource, as a valuable tool, in coming up with what’s right for Bricktown.”
Sweeney said he also had read criticisms voiced on local online chat boards and forums.
“We’re not going to build an eyesore,” Sweeney said. “We’re relying on the local population, and we need the local population to like what we do. The Holiday Inn Express we’re going to build will be built to last.”
Sweeney noted his group is spending $2.2 million to renovate a two-year old Amerisuites at Belle Isle Station to convert it into a Hyatt Place – proof, he said, of their commitment to quality.But urban design committee members remained concerned Wednesday that franchise architecture, and not design intended for Bricktown, governed plans for the proposed Holiday Inn Express.
“It concerns me to destroy this building … and replace it with a busy footprint with 51 percent brick and all these ins and outs, and adapting a Holiday Inn franchisor’s requirements,” committee member Bob Bright said.
Sweeney promised he and his partners are balancing the desires of the community and Holiday Inn.
“Holiday Inn wants to brand their building so that a customer driving down the road might not see the sign, but they see the building and know it’s a Holiday Inn Express just as when you see a Chilli’s or any other national chain,” Sweeney said. “They have guidelines they want us to follow. But they’ll conform to the local codes as well.”
More Stucco in Bricktown
3 E Main, as it looks today (photo from Oklahoma County Assessor’s web site), and 1947, as shown in this photo included in Wednesday’s Bricktown Urban Design Committee packet (photo from the Oklahoma Historical Society).
To be fair, the damage done to 3 E Main was a deed done years ago. And while debate rages of a proposal to tear down the old Steffen’s Ice Cream building at 101 E Main and replace it with a Holiday Inn Express – with a facade that has a significant amount of synthetic stucco – the Bricktown Urban Design Design Committee on Wednesday will also hear a proposal to cover 3 E Main with synthetic stucco as well.
The building still has a brick facade under all that concrete, and a report by city planner John Calhoun indicates some of the brick is exposed in areas where the concrete has fallen away. But owners have told the city removal of the concrete is prohibitive, and they are asking to cover the concrete with a synthetic stucco, mixed with rock, similar to the material proposed for the Holiday Inn Express.
-Steve
Weekend Wrap-up
Saturday, enjoying the celebration of the Lunar New Year in the Asian District… 
Thanks to everybody for your comments and participation in OKC Central. As I wrap up the week, here are some random thoughts…
OK, do we really need any evidence that I’ve still got a lot to learn? Old Downtown Guy corrects me on what the IIDA is – it’s the International Interior Design Association. The group recently met at the Red Pin Bowling Lounge in Lower Bricktown.
Here’s what Old Downtown Guy had to say: “The space was a difficult fit for the bowling alley/restaurant tenant but the design team did an excellent job of shoe-horning in all of the mechanical and sprinkler systems. The interior design, finish and materials selections were done by Cynthia Harrison and Bethany Jackson of Tandem Design. David Wanzer and Ken Fitzsimmons also worked on the architectural portion of the project. Monty Jacobs was the general contractor.”
Wanzer and Fitzsimmons are part of the influx of new talent making their mark downtown. Wanzer and his partners at J3 Architecture currently office in Deep Deuce in the Littlepage Building, but will soon be moving to Film Row on W Sheridan where they are participating in the area’s redevelopment. Fitzsimmons and his brother Bryan, meanwhile, are involved in some exciting and challenging innercity projects including the Tower Theater on NW 23.
Old Downtown Guy added he saw Jeff Bezdeck with a group at Red Pin as well. Bezdek designed the dancing fountains in Lower Bricktown, brought Centennial Clocks to just about every town in the state, designed the bell tower along the Oklahoma River and the clock tower for the MidTown Plaza at NW 5 and Walker. Bezdek also happens to office next door to Wanzer.
And here is Old Downtown Guy’s review: “Red Pin is a fun spot . . . nice bar and a decent restaurant. I don’t bowl, but I think their lanes get plenty of use . . . six or seven of the ten were going strong this evening. The pin setting equipment is very interesting and requires a full time mechanic to keep it working properly.”Second item: Harry Wilson rcorrectly reminds us that the old incarnation of the Urban Design Commission played a pivotal role in stopping demolition of the Gold Dome. The design commission, with more power to halt demolition of buildings deemed historic, created the delay needed for interested parties to attract a buyer like Dr. Irene Lam. Here’s what Wilson has to say:
How quickly we forget. Re the Gold Dome, the Urban Design Commission “saved the landmark from demolition”. If we had voted “yes” there wouldn’t have been a “landmark” for anyone to occupy.
The UDC has never received the credit it deserved for the behind the scenes leadership re Auto Alley, 23rd Street, The Plaza District, and more. For some reason the Bricktown UDC gets the headlines. I guess we were just too boring or maybe it was the professional approach of the UDC as opposed to the headline grabbing personalities of the Bricktown group.
No Holiday for the Holiday Inn?
BEFORE AND AFTER: McDonald’s changed designs for its proposed Bricktown restaurant after meeting resistance from the Bricktown Urban Design Committee.
“Urban designer? I’m not an urban designer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.”
-Brett, Oklahoma City, at www.newsok.com
Today’s story about the owner of the Quality Inn at 1800 E Reno and his plans for a Bricktown Holiday Inn Express isn’t sitting well with all readers, if online comments today at www.newsok.com ,www.okctalk.com, www.okmet.org/bb are any indicator. The Bricktown Urban Design Committee, tasked with approving such projects, will consider the project at its next meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the second floor conference room at 116 E Sheridan Ave.
The criticism seems to focus on two different aspects of the application: the demolition of the old Steffen’s Ice Cream building, parts of which date back to 1917, and the construction of a new Holiday Inn Express that would have what appears to be about half of its facade consisting of a sythetic stucco.
Bob Blackburn advises to consider the first action very carefully – read his arguments here. It might be informative to look back at previous projects in the past couple of years that also clashed with standards set by the Bricktown urban design ordinance.
It was just last summer that McDonald’s pitched plans for a restaurant across from Bass Pro Shops. Officials claimed the restaurant was designed specifically for the entertainment district. But it didn’t take long to find the same design recently used on new McDonald’s in Mustang and other suburban areas. The design was even featured in a national advertisement. The McDonald’s folks tried to lecture the Bricktown Urban Design Committee on what they could and couldn’t require from the fast food giant. But with an hour-long special airing on cable that same month on how McDonald’s had constructed special restaurants to match historic districts, the company had a change of heart, hired a local architect, and came up with new designs that won unanimous praise throughout Bricktown.
When a Hampton Inn was proposed for Bricktown, it too was to include some synthetic stucco in its facade. The committee required the facade consist of brick, and the developers agreed without any argument.
Here are some questions not pondered: is the design of the proposed Holiday Inn Express, shown below, an example of franchise architecture or does it appear tailored to Bricktown?
- Steve
