Downtown OKC 2020: Bert Belanger
Bert Belanger
When I became re-involved in 2003 in OKC development, I touted TIF (Tax Increment Financing) as the means through which the MAPS sales tax incentive could be “bootstrapped” to help create a dense mixed use environment. The target: a broadly defined “triangle” bordered by I-40 on the south, I-235 on the diagonal and on the west, a north-south boundary splitting what is now known as MidTown.
The Factory - an unrealized redevelopment of an entire square block in Bricktown pitched by Bert Belanger and the McLain family in 2003.
My first efforts were with ERC on Deep Deuce, then the Arts District, then The Factory, in which I was technically “Oh for three.”
However, we learned a great deal that we have tried to apply since. We conducted a market study of 14 peer cities that had neither sexy mountains nor shorelines and found that each had between 2 percent and 8 percent of their MSAs’ population within the urban core. At the low end for OKC, that math translates to 24,000 people. Even counting the Jail, we are under 2,000 today.
Now that a number of players have emerged downtown, the geographic focus has naturally gotten blurred. The Thunder and Devon Tower have brought into the game two 800-lb gorillas – the NBA owners group and Devon Energy. To a significant but lesser extent, Sandridge, the Humphreys family, Roy Oliver/Mark Beffort and CHK/McClendon have gained strong positions in the core. Greg Banta/Bob Howard/Mickey Clagg and Corsair/Smith Brothers have made a number of speculative buys in MidTown that are starting to see life. Steve Mason, Chris and Meg Salyer, Nick Preftakes, BMI and Earl Neighbors have taken very different but positive approaches as user/owners.
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and the City Staff are clearly and rightfully feeling their oats, while the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority has been weakened by Larry Nichols’ departure and the controversial pick of The Hill’s developer, which probably has spawned a winding down of some trustees’ long running influence. The approval of a un-Urban design for the Chamber’s building was an unfortunate reminder of the darker days in OKC history before the Bombing made consensus and grass roots projects possible over politics.
The highly-anticipated Brownstones at Maywood Park have not sold as quickly as hoped.
A perceived negative out there is that the former Triangle group has splintered, which is true but not necessarily a bad thing, as each of us can now play in their own sandboxes and probably get more done, and I think Maywood Park has been unfairly maligned as a bit of a bust as most of the brownstones sit empty. I say unfairly because I think they will ultimately sell, and because the City got exactly what it asked for from all of the Downtown housing developers – expensive, high-end for sale homes.
Neither the City or Urban Renewal wanted affordable rentals, as they turned down both of my ERC proposals for mixed income apartments in the competition for the Deep Deuce site (2002, with Benham) and the Arts District site (2003, with ADG and Raptor). The only for sale projects that have sold out have been the Centennial (albeit to mostly corporate buyers) and the Harvey Lofts rehab (only 17 units between $100k and $200k).
Dick Tannenbaum has made a very successful entre into housing development (Park Harvey and Lincoln), but not without hiccups (eg the failed attempts to condo both the Montgomery and the Classen). Block 42 has more dark windows at night than not, and The Hill deal is a ticking time bomb; the unpaid contractors will soon grow tired of waiting for their money and will no longer play as nice as they have been.
The national meltdown has been a big factor, but the reality is that OKC has never been a big condo market. Also, no one can blame even the richest buyers for a reluctance to buy if the surroundings of a real dense and active urban village does not materialize as quickly as everyone would like.
The reality that the City is experiencing downtown is that critical mass and density matters most, and is not delivered quick enough through the linear production and absorption of for-sale housing. The decision by Urban Renewal and the City to promote and push for upper end, for-sale housing first was ill-timed to be sure, but generally a violation of real estate development fundamentals.
In my opinion, the critical path to successful infill Downtown development in OKC begins first with creating density of people using the real estate on a 24/7 basis. This happens quickest through 2 uses – Hotels and Rental Apartments, which more quickly put more heads on beds than any other use.
Everyone wants to experience an urban “Magnificent Mile” environment like Michigan Avenue, but Daniel Burnham’s Plan For Chicago took 15 years to draft and adopt and over 90 years to develop, culminating with Millennium Park, absolutely the coolest urban green space in America. That is why I think that the current Core to Shore emphasis puts the cart way before the horse. We need to finish the Core first in a most excellent way.
I believe that the following represents a better chronology for a critical path for OKC’s Downtown Development
1- Plan for Core to Shore through a broader 20 year long process and horizon, led and participated in by more than a couple dozen people, incrementally stopping and adjusting every 3-5 years to review how the market is responding. Mix in Social Initiatives like the Jail (on a more modest, phased basis, not as a response to another unfunded Federal mandate) and Homeless Center with the sexy stuff so that voter fatigue doesn’t kill the Goose that Laid the MAPs Eggs.
2- Avoid the consolidation of power in administering Business Improvement Districts comprising the current and emerging “districts” that make up the Downtown Core. Remember that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
3- Let the Neighborhoods and Districts decide where their boundaries begin and end and manage themselves through Business Improvement Districts and other Owners Associations. The localized characteristics of Auto Alley, Bricktown, Deep Deuce, Maywood Park, Midtown, Film District, Lower Bricktown, Courthouse Block, Devon/Botanical Gardens each have their own forces of will, market attraction and good design attributes that will help compel and sort out the timing and priorities of projects – politics should not.
4 – Use TIF creatively and broadly to include Sale and Room Taxes for discrete user-driven projects, as per the examples of the Skirvin Hotel and Devon Tower.
5- Inventory current infrastructure opportunities and challenges in the Core and create a priority list that gets addressed by TIF. Example on one end of the spectrum – we can cheaply double parking on Broadway through angled striping and narrowed, slower traffic; versus the other end of the spectrum – the costly Boulevard through nothing to nowhere, which only happens five years after the Feds fund I-40.
6 – Agree that density, shared parking, connectivity and walkability are good and should be the paramount ideals for Project design.
7 – Focus on Big Users and what they need to come into the Core.
8 – Rental apartments can be tailored for sites big and small, renters rich and not so rich, and are the most finance-able class of real estate today and for the foreseeable future.
9 – The Quiet Zone (property owners are seeking new gates along the BNSF railroad to quiet train noise as it passes through the Flat Iron district) is a threshold need that must happen first BEFORE any other project Downtown – it is absolutely essential to any private project of scale, and will create incremental value on both sides of the tracks for miles East and West, North and South.
10 – Do not try to Force the Core to Shore – it is my sense that a relatively small group of parties are unduly influencing priorities. I am okay with the MAPs 3 Convention Center Idea just South of the Ford Center, but it is still a long ways to the South shoreline. Our version of Millennium Park will have to be birthed and season for 10 years before development happens naturally further South. The thing that could change this is if a huge User shows up, but none are on the horizon that I can see.
Big Ugly Sign in Bricktown?
Coyote Ugly wants a sign far bigger than anything currenly in the Bricktown core.
The Bricktown Urban Design Committee will be held 9 a.m. Tuesday (tomorrow) in the second floor conference room at 116 E Sheridan. The above sign may spark some fun discussion, since it’s far bigger than any other sign in proportion to the building it’s to be placed on.
The meeting itself was changed from its normal Wednesday schedule due to the Mayor’s Development Roundtable meeting that day.
Guest Blog: Blair Humphreys
OK, it’s not a fresh post by Blair. It dates back to February. But I have his permission to repost it and it fits in well with the discussion I started yesterday. Now, let’s start off with the obvious: the chamber building design has been approved and my discussion is about the street grid, not the building itself.
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber went to the city with a suggestion to change E.K. Gaylord/NW 4/Broadway/Robert S. Kerr. The city traffic engineers hired a consultant, and as I’ve seen time and time again, the consultants came out with the report their client (city traffic engineers) want to see.
Sorry folks, but that’s how I see it after having covered City Hall for years and years. And I know there are people I like and respect who aren’t going to like me saying this one bit. I stand by it.
To assume city engineers are perfect is to assume it’s ok to errect a light post in the middle of a sidewalk in MidTown, or aggressively pursue demolition of the Walnut Avenue bridge or to create a virtual highway separating Bricktown from Lower Bricktown – all actions I’ve heard many downtowners criticize.
The chamber building isn’t under construction yet. And as far as I’m concerned, I see no reason why the question of the intersection can’t be looked at further.
So here it goes… I’ve known Blair for several years and he’s racked up some impressive accolades while he’s been at MIT pursuing a masters in planning. Blair takes it from here:
In my first post on the new Chamber building, I argued that the Chamber’s current proposal is wholly inadequate given the objectives of the City, the Chamber, and the downtown community as a whole. The site on which the building will be constructed is incredibly important to the future of not just the immediate surroundings, but to multiple adjoining districts and the whole of downtown. The importance of this site warrants taking whatever time is necessary to rethink the design in hopes of producing an alternative vision that will contribute to the vitality of the community now and into the future.
So today we are starting the process over. We are wiping the slate clean! 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!
To get things started, we are going to quickly overview the site, its location within downtown and how it relates to the districts that surround it. Many of you already know all of this, but I think it is worth posting for the people that aren’t overly familiar with the site. Plus, it gives us a shared foundation on which we can base the rest of our analysis and discussion.
THE SITE
The Site is framed-in by Broadway on the west, E.K. Gaylord on the southwest, and the Santa Fe railroad on the east. The north edge is defined by 4th Street and the south by a small segment of 3rd Street.
In addition to the site itself, three other parcels were left vacant through the efforts of Urban Renewal and the construction of E.K. Gaylord. Of the three residual parcels, only the westernmost piece serves any identifiable purpose, offering a small brick plaza that is isolated and rarely used.
The Site is approximately 3 acres in size, not including the adjacent residual parcels
Surrounding the site is a mix of buildings, including: The Oklahoman building and Downtown YMCA to the north, the Pioneer Building/AT&T Tower and TAP Architecture building to the west, and a drive-through bank and Kerr parking garage to the south.
LOCATION
This map shows the importance of the Site’s locations within the overall context of downtown. The Site is positioned at the nexus of multiple districts. It sits directly in between the CBD and the new housing that has been and continues to be constructed east of the Santa Fe tracks in the Deep Deuce – Maywood – Flatiron area. Plus, new housing has been added to the west of the Site along 3rd Street with construction of Legacy at Arts Quarter apartments and more is on the way with the redevelopment of the Carnegie Centre, adding to a density of residences within close proximity that is likely unparalleled by any undeveloped site in downtown.
The Site is located along Broadway, the historic “mainstreet” heading north out of downtown that continues to play an important role in the development of the city. A mixture of new offices, restaurants, and retail have sprung up along Automobile Alley, the district surrounding Broadway north of 4th street. While the section of Broadway south of 3rd Street has just recently been energized through the opening of the wonderfully restored Skirvin Hotel and new retail street presence of B.C. Clark. Ongoing redevelopment of the new Sandridge headquarters west of Broadway between 2nd and 3rd will likely further contribute to the vitality of this corridor.
Additionally, the Site sits between major centers of tourist activity: the convention center, Bricktown, and adjacent hotels; and the Oklahoma City National Memorial – our most frequented tourist destination.
This site has the potential to not only meet the needs of the Chamber, but to fulfill its natural role as a nexus to the surrounding districts and neighborhoods. Providing connections where none currently exist and incorporating uses that serve the broader needs of those that live, work, and visit downtown. Designing the Site correctly should not only lead to a better building, or even a better block, but an altogether better downtown!
FEEDBACK AND DISCUSSION
This interface provides a great opportunity for us to practice an open process with plenty of room for discussion and brainstorming. I will try to facilitate by providing a series of short post (like the one above), each of which will provide some information and/or ideas to drive the discussion. Like I said, I find that the best solutions are found through collaboration. So while I won’t be shy about telling you what I think, I sincerely hope you will chime in if you have something to add – even if you disagree with me.
By the way, I have set it up so that you can comment anonymously. While it is not my preference, please feel free to do so at your own discretion.
So what do you think? This overview was certainly not comprehensive. Is there anything important that you think needs to be added?
WHAT’S NEXT:
I am going to try and post something related to the re-visioning of the new Chamber building every few days. Next, we will explore the different aspects of the site and its surroundings that should be addressed as part of our new design.
Sometimes Pictures Tell the Whole Story
The BOK Plaza Garage under out-of-state ownership, 2006.
BOK Plaza Garage under new local ownership led by William Mee, 2009.
"Speck 1, City Planning 0"
I’ve picked on city staff a lot the past few weeks, and I’ve created sort of a self-imposed moratorium on this sort of thing for the next week or two unless events dictate otherwise.
(I don’t want to come off as strident when it comes to a very talented, smart group of folks who just aren’t always perfect).
So I’ll let lovable old Charles Hill be the bad guy this time.
The Humphreys/Cornett Battle
Oh yeah, we’ve been waiting for it, waiting for it, waiting for it…
Well, maybe not. But it sure does make for a great headline to knock up my blog traffic numbers (I can’t begin to say how daunting it is to be beaten day after day by blogs dominated by celebrity photos!)
In this case, it’s Blair Humphreys, son of Kirk Humphreys, taking on comments by Casey Cornett, son of Mick Cornett.
Yeah, it’s a cheap stunt on my behalf. And I like both guys. I like both dads. So I’m pretty much a mercenary here, sitting on the sidelines enjoying a good debate and doing my best Don King impersonation (sans the hair).
So lets rumble!
Here’s what Casey has to say following Jeff Speck’s presentation:
The sad thing i’m starting to notice is that all the people who are strongly for greenspace are still focusing their efforts towards the 1 square block of privately owned and privately funded Chamber building going in at 4th and EK Gaylord. Hasn’t that already been approved and moved on? Sure, there is still another (I believe just 1) date set on the beautification aspect of that space…but the building is still going there, let’s move on. The core-to-shore project will be bring roughly 20-square blocks of greenspace. Why can’t greenspace lovers and journalists focus on what has yet not been decided on instead of still arguing over the 1-square block to argue over. That block is done, it was a good fight to keep it. But now let’s join together and make sure we don’t miss the boat on another big greensapce opportunity.
Now that’s a pretty strong starting argument. But not good enough for Blair, who has been asking a lot of questions about this proposed chamber site for months:
I am curious about the position you take on the Chamber Building, telling everyone to “move on”. It seems like someone enthused by Speck’s ideas wouldn’t be so quick to look past a project that will permanently hinder walkability at a critical connection in a burgeoning area of downtown. Speck himself has commented on the poor site layout of the Chamber proposal and every OKC urbanist that has expressed a position on the issue either questions the design and/or the way it was ushered through review despite violating the downtown design guidelines.
Simplifying the matter as being only about the quantity of green space doesn’t seem fair. Ultimately the underlying issues have more to do with walkability and good urbanism than green space, and the current Chamber proposal fails to deliver either. Still, even within this simplistic framework, the idea that the Central Park will benefit the people in NE downtown the way a properly designed Chamber site would is certainly not true. Quantity matters, but surely location is still a variable worth considering. How will a new Central Park over 1/2 mile away serve people in the same way that a park across the street would?
Casey, I’m waiting for you to respond… (I am so, so, so bad! Why am I being so feisty these days??)
Jeff Speck – Video No. 3
The final Jeff Speck video – Jeff discusses his outlook and ideas for downtown:
New Bricktown Fire Station Designs
Something looks familiar here - I wonder if the architects at the Small Group can provide us some guidence.
When we last heard from the Oklahoma City Fire Department, they swore changes were on their way for a station to be built in Bricktown. Say goodbye to the design by Norman-based LWPB that resembled a station recently opened in Mustang. Fire Chief Keith Bryant promised the new Bricktown fire station would be designed to fit into the district as well as the much praised Bricktown Police Substation.
It’s always interesting to then see how designers try to carry out such a promise. Here, in case you’re interested, is the Bricktown Police Substation:
Bricktown Police Substation Designed by The Small Group.
The Bricktown Urban Design Committee is being asked to approve these designs at it’s meeting Wednesday. The group meets at 9 a.m. in the Glass/Confectionary building at 116 E Sheridan in the second floor board room.
The planning department report advises approval even though it acknowledges the setback is suburban.
OKC's Low Ranking on Walkability Makes New York Times List
From the New York Times:
(Lowest rankings for walkability)
31. El Paso
32. San Antonio
33. Fort Worth
34. Kansas City
35. Memphis
36. Oklahoma City
37. Indianapolis
38. Charlotte
39. Nashville
40. Jacksonville
Read the whole story here.
(Thanks to Grant Humphreys for bringing this to my attention)
Walking Paseo
Non-sensical intersections, awkward two-way traffic splits and angled parking with just two tight lanes make Paseo Drive an unlikely design for today's engineers.
Kris Bryant, a regular visitor at OKC Center, got me thinking on responding to what makes a favorite pedestrian area. Yes, Paseo is a great area to walk. And when you look at the map above, it’s difficult to imagine today’s traffic engineers going for such a design.
Yet it’s safe. For years when I covered City Hall and before that the police beat, I reported an annual list of the most dangerous intersections in the city. And Paseo never came close to getting any mention. I can’t remember covering any big fatal traffic accidents along the stretch.
And yet if you delve into Oklahoman archives, you’ll find plenty of fatal accidents and auto/pedestrian hits on modern suburban crossings.
So what does that tell us? Could it be that when author and consultant Jeff Speck says that a “dangerous” design is actually safer he might be right? Cars aren’t veering off the street into buildings, even though Paseo Drive has quite a curve to it. Maybe it’s because the street is so odd that people don’t dare speed on it.
And that, my friends, is a good thing. Nobody should speed through Paseo – at least no more than one would speed through the Harlem exhibition at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Walking through the Paseo, of course, is the best way to take in all the sights and sounds and the vibe of the area. I feel guilty that I’ve written so little about it compared to other areas. Why is so great? Maybe it’s the art galleries. Or the old 1842 church photographer Tom Lee brought in from Canada and rebuilt on an empty lot. I love that the area proudly displays politics that go against the majority opinion. And you can’t beat Sauced. If you’re going to buy pizza and Caesar salad from anarchists, or simply from people who look like anarchists, geez, you can’t beat Sauced.
B.J. White and Debbie Leland make a mean salad dressing, have incredible recipes, and are funnier than the best episodes of "Designing Women." They are part of the entertainment to be found in the Paseo.
Yes, I have a fondness for Paseo. Maybe it’s because I remember all too well when its future didn’t look so bright. I remember the rows and rows of old apartment buildings boarded up as if the area were in the middle of a slum. I remember frequent trips out as a cop beat reporter in the early 1990s responding to shootings and various criminal enterprises. Yet look at it now. Art permeates the neighborhood. It’s found in the architecture, the buildings, the streets, the homes – it’s found even on the foil used on the take-out pizzas prepared by the lovely ladies at Prairie Gypsies if you’re lucky enough to order when artist Phillip Matthews is in the kitchen.
Jim Beckel took these great shots of Paseo a couple of years ago. Paseo is really under-appreciated as one of the city's most scenic urban districts.
Paseo has a history of attracting the creative class. Back in the 1960s it was quite the hippie hangout. Today the neighborhood is a colorful yet neatly maintained growing island of urban renewal in the middle of a neighborhood whose long-term blight is slowly fading away.
I’m not sure that Jeff Speck ever got to see this side of Oklahoma City. I hope that someone takes him through on a future visit, or at least guides him to this post and to the Paseo’s homepage.
Could we create a new Paseo within downtown itself? I think so. Plans are quietly being drawn up at City Hall that could extend Classen Drive past NW 10 and toward the new federal building, creating a link between the Arts district and MidTown.
Engineers, of course, will likely want to draw a straight line – if they conclude they can’t stop the road from happening all together. Engineers aren’t bad people. Paul Brum took some hits in my column this week, but I liked working with the guy. He was working hard to accomplish what he and those who preceeded him had been tasked with for decades – creating safe, speedy drives for motorists.
Imagine the opportunity, however, of doing something funky with Classen Drive. It could be turned into something truly memorable – a road worth walking. A scar separates MidTown, which is truly downtown’s neighborhood, from the remainder of the urban core.
Jeff Speck, visit Paseo. Better yet, don’t let city leaders give you the tour. Don’t let Paseo promoters give you the tour. Instead, let Kris Bryant be your guide.
Jeff, just tell Kris that Steve sent ya.
