Cotton Exchange plans change significantly
From the Oklahoman

Gary Cotton confirmed Tuesday his plans for the Cotton Exchange Building along the Bricktown Canal are being revised and the project won't be 12 stories as originally intended.

"We're having to do a lot of changes,” Cotton said. "It doesn't look much like the project it was before. It's changing in scope, and parking is still our major hurdle.”

Cotton's development, announced in January, was met with great fanfare because he was the first to consolidate ownership of what is considered one of the best, last undeveloped spots along the Bricktown Canal.

His original plans called for a $36 million development spanning two buildings, one on either side of the canal where it turns from an east-west to a north-south direction parallel to Mickey Mantle Drive.

The 12-story building design would have been unique to Oklahoma City, featuring shops and restaurants on the canal and street level, topped by four floors of parking. The top six floors would be devoted to 66 condominiums.

The tower was to be linked by a new pedestrian bridge to a four-story building sandwiched between the canal and Mickey Mantle Drive.

Parking access would have been provided via an existing alley bridge, with spaces split 50/50 between public and private use.

Cotton said the revised plans also likely will result in saving a two-story building that was last home to Margarita Mamma's. As with the parking, Cotton, the prospects for tearing down the building and coming up with a replacement to cover the purchase cost was prohibitive.

"I'm hoping to bring this to a conclusion very, very soon,” Cotton said. "There are significant changes taking place.”

From Staff Reports

This pisses me off to no end.

DAMN! ALWAYS getting disappointed! ALWAYS!!!! Y can't people get their head out of their A**'s and do what everybody wanted and what is best for the city and the districk!!!!

I'm so sick of this, always too good to be true! The one freaking building i wanted to see more than anything!!!

That Gary Cotton Turd better come up with something really spectacular!!!

I've posted about this at OKC Central — All about downtown OKC (http://www.okccentral.com). As a reporter, I can't say "They say they're going to do this, but I'm doubtful they can pull it off." But the project faced some pretty tough odds from the start, and I tried to convey that early on.

this kills me

Steve, first of all, what do you think the chances of this working out are? 5%

And if this never gets built, do you think we will see something there in the next 5 years? I def. thought we would have by now.

Personally that would have been one of the first spots i would have developed if i had been running the show when the canal got started, its a perfect spot, corner lot, center of the action, amazing potential, its perfect!
:ou2

Unless the development is first-rate, it should not be approved to go forward. This is a location which on its own could potentially make or break the district as far as becoming a nationally recognized entertainment venue.

I knew it, I knew it. Hello - stucco! Might as well stick a McDonalds there.

OK, where do I begin?
Chances of Gary Cotton coming up with a project for the Cotton Exchange site? High (I explain more on my blog). Hello stucco? No, no, no. Don't count on it. The current make-up of the Bricktown Urban Design Committee is one of the toughest panels I've seen since I started covering it 12 years ago. It's difficult to anticipate any stucco being allowed along the north half of the Bricktown Canal considering how tough these folks are. (Remember, this group does not have authority over Lower Bricktown)

well i'm glad he isn't content with sittin on it, i'm glad he has a good team behind the project, i just really liked what the original plan was, i hope he can do something amazing with what he has to work with, thanks Steve

The turnaround for throttling back on grandiose plans is getting quicker and quicker. In the near future, I wouldn't be surprised to see a grand announcement on a Friday, followed up by a retraction the following Monday.

The extent to which we've seen this happen has to rival any other city.

Heaven help us. Not another beige box with 6-inch-deep "balconies" and a mansard roof?

When he says it wont be 12 stories anymore, i like to think positive and think it mite stay 10 or above, hell maybe even 15, eh?

Hopefully whatever is built on the site will be scalable... if you can't do it all at once at least make plans for future expansion.

When he says it wont be 12 stories anymore, i like to think positive and think it mite stay 10 or above, hell maybe even 15, eh?


insert [sarcasm]

With this economy, it's not really surprising that people are putting the brakes on their projects I guess ... but still very disappointing.

Id like to slap whoever caused this.

I reckon you would have to slap nearly everyone you see. I suspect this is an economy thing.

Guys, chill out.

I will echo Steve comments. I was always a little skeptical when the plans were announced. I always am when somebody that hasn't been around developments on this scale proposes big plans. While he has owned several buildings in Bricktown, he did very little to develope them. Not exactly a mover and shaker.

That being said, the lending and business climate has changed (and continues to do so) for everybody. Money for projects like this is not exactly flowing like water. Raw costs are rising daily.

Just give him and his team a chance to present an economicly feasible plan before everybody throws him off a bridge. I have no knowledge of what his plans are, but lets wait and see. He is not the only developer to have forced changes lately.

It might be a worse plan or it could work out better in the long run. He is trying to make something happen down there, which more than certain other property owners can say.

The writing was on the wall for the economy when he announced this just a few months ago and financing was already scarce. It was piss poor planning and a pipe-dream from the start.

This is disappointing but that area needs something new.

Everything along the canal is looking rather dead and shabby -- in desperate need of some forward momentum.

To some extent, doesn't one have to acknowledge the difficulty of parking with this development? After all, it's the parking, and not financing, that is being cited by Cotton as the biggest obstacle. And if that's so, is that a reflection on the overall parking situation in Bricktown? What do you think is the best way to resolve these sorts of issues?

build parking garages instead of parking lots.

I don't understand the nature of the parking problem.

And why four floors of parking for 66 condos?

If he's trying to provide on-site parking for the restaurants and retail, that's clearly not going to work. At the very least they could do valet service and utilize some of the other lots.

OK OU - are you going to build the garage? Or should we leave it up to the developers? Or should the city do it? (no, I can't pull it off myself)
;)

I didn't say who should put up the money, just how to fix the problem. :tiphat:

i'm sure cotton is pretty frustrated since its the parking thats making this so hard, and we need more parking garages, maybe undergroun?!

The parking conundrum is ridiculous unless he is still planning for residential. If he has to have onsite parking for retail, maybe he's looking at this all wrong.

Several Things:

First off, I'm not surprised this is getting a major overhaul, if it even gets off the ground. I said from the beginning, I'm skeptical and would believe it when I see it. Gary Cotton doesn't have the track record of being a mover and shaker as someone pointed out earlier.

Parking is not the problem, parking is the scapegoat. Steve's written several articles about the downtown/Bricktown (played out media word) parking situation, as well as the city has done extensive research on this issue. We've decided as a forum (OKCTalk), as well as the city and other community leaders and groups have determine the problem is PERCEPTION. People in this city, especially many suburbanites are not used to the concept of paying for uniqueness and for an urban feel. They are used to driving there Tahoes to Target with ample free parking. Going to Quail Springs Mall, etc. Nothing unique about these experiences. Part of urban life is the uniqueness you can't find elsewhere. Since the land is limited, supply and demand kicks in thus jacking up prices. It's not cost effective to have a parking lot for free if you own the land when you can sell that land for a premium. Despite Bricktown having many pay lots, there is still plenty of FREE parking in Lower Bricktown and on street meters in Bricktown proper. I've had to pay for parking once (by choice) in the last 5 years or so in Bricktown. The problem in this town for many people is laziness. People want storefront parking for free, and don't want to walk a block or two. Do you not think New Yorkers, Austintonians, San Franciscans, etc. don't walk? There is plenty of parking if you're willing to walk 1-3 blocks. If you're not pay the premium for curbside parking or shop/eat in the suburbs. You can't have your cake and eat it to.

I don't think economy has anything to do with this project being scaled back. I think it's lack of vision and reality.

Part of urban life is the uniqueness you can't find elsewhere. Since the land is limited, supply and demand kicks in thus jacking up prices. It's not cost effective to have a parking lot for free if you own the land when you can sell that land for a premium. Despite Bricktown having many pay lots, there is still plenty of FREE parking in Lower Bricktown and on street meters in Bricktown proper. I've had to pay for parking once (by choice) in the last 5 years or so in Bricktown. The problem in this town for many people is laziness. People want storefront parking for free, and don't want to walk a block or two. Do you not think New Yorkers, Austintonians, San Franciscans, etc. don't walk? There is plenty of parking if you're willing to walk 1-3 blocks. If you're not pay the premium for curbside parking or shop/eat in the suburbs. You can't have your cake and eat it to.

Thanks Metro. I was going to say something on this same topic - I'm glad I read yours first. I find that I can ALWAYS find a spot to part North of May in that huge parking lot. Yes, you have to walk a bit but - hey - walking would do us all a bit of good!

I agree, I think there needs to be a vision put forth and then a plan to reach that vision.

If it's the economy, then why didn't we get anything nice when the economy was good?

If it's parking, then we can just give up on getting anything nice, because we will destory it with parking.

If it's because this had a lot of obstacles to overcome, then, again, we can give up on getting any thing nice down there, because large district changing projects come with hurdles and it seems we just don't have the community support, development vision and resources, or leadership to implement even something on this scale.

This is not a trend that has just developed with recent changes in the economy, it is the status quo. It is Oklahoma City.

Metro is exactly right. There is NO parking problem downtown or in Bricktown-- there is a parking problem PERCEPTION. I have been downtown with the Ford Center and Cox Center busy, and still found free parking. I've also paid $5 to park in a closer spot. What I don't get is people parking the equivalent of 2 blocks from the door at Wal-Mart/Target, then walking the equivalent of 4 blocks inside the store, and then complaining about parking 3-5 blocks from their destination downtown. It defies logic.

I'm getting pretty sick of hearing about ambition bricktown projects that never pan out... Pretty sick of Bricktown in general, really. Newsflash: It isn't terribly unique. Every decent sized city has one, properties are waaay overvalued and I'm guessing rents are too high. We got it off the ground, now what? Can a REAL developer step up? If not, Western and Midtown are about to CRUSH its ability to draw locals.

Maybe these publicity seekers should get their ducks in a row before they go calling The Oklahoman seeking a write up about their "big" project. Get to a point were it is a doable project before you go touting to everyone about how you are going to be some big shot developer.

And whats the issue with parking, why cant he do it the way he said. Make the middle floors a parking garage.

Just being in Denver over the weekend makes me sad that we cant get one good project going while Denver has several already done and several new ones on the way.

Maybe these publicity seekers should get their ducks in a row before they go calling The Oklahoman seeking a write up about their "big" project.

Exactly. I think the Oklahoman should implement a rule that in order to get a story in the paper about your new big dream project you need to have either: A. A history of developing projects of similar size, B. financing and approval in place, or C. a history of involvement in the local business community and a ****load of cash(i.e. more than the project will actually cost)

I'm tired of these losers getting free pub.

The window on Bricktown is closing, fast. It is being destroyed by morons and amateurs who have driven up the rents to such a ridiculous degree that those of us who have traveled to cities other than Dallas know we'll never see the cool record stores, intresting boutiques, and tasty Moroccan restaurants typical of urban areas.

Bricktown is in deep, deep trouble. It has been ruined by the good old boys who run it. They were given a tremendous gift by the taxpayers of this city: a canal and a ballpark, and they have squandered the opportunity.

What, if anything, can be done, to get Bricktown on track, or is it destined to being lame from now on?

"Maybe these publicity seekers should get their ducks in a row before they go calling The Oklahoman seeking a write up about their "big" project. Get to a point were it is a doable project before you go touting to everyone about how you are going to be some big shot developer."

"Exactly. I think the Oklahoman should implement a rule that in order to get a story in the paper about your new big dream project you need to have either: A. A history of developing projects of similar size, B. financing and approval in place, or C. a history of involvement in the local business community and a ****load of cash(i.e. more than the project will actually cost)"


Fair criticism. Understandable frustration. And I've discussed these challenges several times with Metro when there were occassions where a project was being mentioned online and posters questioned why the paper was being so slow to report on it. And truth is, yes, as reporters we do hold off sometimes when it appears that a project is questionable or the story is dubious.
Ask yourself, why didn't any of the local media report on a press release that went out earlier this year on a man who announced he plans to build a $500 million football stadium?
Now, back to the reporting on the Gary Cotton project. This one had interesting dynamics - and you can look back at some of my original reporting on this topic (I've posted it on my blog at www.okccentral.com).
Gary Cotton has access to money. He has bought and sold buildings in Bricktown that amounted to multi-million dollar deals. So that makes him a legitimate player in the Bricktown real estate world. He had no development experience - that's true. But is that the standard by which we determine whether or not to report on a project? Note that Marva Ellard, whose Sieber Hotel restoration is almost complete, didn't have any development experience either. And like Gary Cotton, she had plenty of doubters. But I really would have dropped the ball not reporting on her efforts early on.
So back to Mr. Cotton. He had access to money. He had no development experience. And he also had a team that was the envy of everybody in Bricktown - Architectural Design Group for building design, Timberlake for construction, Sperry VanNess for leasing and sales. And note, this team is still in place. Note that Cotton hasn't declared the project dead - only that it's being downsized.
Go back and read my early reporting - did I really mislead you?
This is the sort of discussion I really love. This is the sort of criticism I want to hear, need to hear, and need to flesh out. It makes me a better writer and reporter. To wsucougz and onthestrip, you came up with some great questions and criticism.

No question that this development should have been reported. There were legitimate people involved and this was big news. No way to tell if these things get built in the longer term and it think it's pretty easy to separate out stories like this from that crazy stadium publicity stunt.

What's frustrating me is that I can't seem to determine the problem here. Parking has been mentioned but only in a vague way...

I think this discussion would take a much more constructive form if we understood more about why Cotton now feels his proposed project is unworkable. And also, more information about what he now has planned.


I do like the fact he has to do something with these properties, rather than just sit on them like so many in that area.

To be fair, Cotton isn't ready yet to unveil everything that's changing and what has transpired. Today's report was what it was portrayed to be: an update, a brief update telling people, "yes, it's still alive, but it won't look like what you first saw."

maybe there's a curse, that it can be no hotel or residential balcony views of the BT ballpark..

Construction costs, like gas prices, continue to rise.

Developers can be your best and worst client.

If I'm working on say, project "x", and this project has a budget of x dollars x number of years ago, miscalculate or ignore escalation, unknown project factors, delays, red tape, etc....................and project "x" today is way over budget.

This happens all the time. MAPS I and II are prime examples.

Bricktown needs more cowbell and a Morrocan Restaurant.

withdrawn

I would rather the lot sit empty for 5 more years than have some half-ass project built on it. Bricktown all ready has enough half-ass stuff. I am ready for some full-ass staff. Either do it right or don't do it all.

I would rather the lot sit empty for 5 more years than have some half-ass project built on it. Bricktown all ready has enough half-ass stuff. I am ready for some full-ass staff. Either do it right or don't do it all.

:bright_id :congrats:

flinty, as one of the few who read your comment, I wish you'd reconsider re-posting it. I thought it was one of the most intelligent explanations of how difficult development can be. It's very much on topic, because it goes to show just how much more complicated a deal like this could be for someone with no development experience whatsoever.
-Steve

Just give him and his team a chance to present an economicly feasible plan before everybody throws him off a bridge. I have no knowledge of what his plans are, but lets wait and see.

Well said.


The writing was on the wall for the economy when he announced this just a few months ago and financing was already scarce. It was piss poor planning and a pipe-dream from the start.

Then why are you so shocked and upset? It's not like he called it off, or sold off the property. He's trying to find a workable project for the site and WE HAVE NO REASON YET TO BE UPSET BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS.


What's frustrating me is that I can't seem to determine the problem here. Parking has been mentioned but only in a vague way...

Part of what I got out of the article was that he apparently doesn't own the Margarita Mama's building and has decided that it cost too much when weighed with the risk he's taking on. Maybe the owner was wanting a ridiculous amount for the building. Wouldn't be surprised.

To be clear: Cotton does own the Margarita Mama's building, but he didn't buy it cheap.

hmm so why is he worried about tearing it down? I don't see how it could house something more profitable than what he would get out of this project as proposed.

What I don't get is people parking the equivalent of 2 blocks from the door at Wal-Mart/Target, then walking the equivalent of 4 blocks inside the store, and then complaining about parking 3-5 blocks from their destination downtown. It defies logic.

So true and, really, when the mistakes of bricktown are evaluated when it goes through a resurgance in the future, this will be the public answer to the question of 'Why didn't Bricktown develop as promised the first time?'.


Bricktown is in deep, deep trouble. It has been ruined by the good old boys who run it. They were given a tremendous gift by the taxpayers of this city: a canal and a ballpark, and they have squandered the opportunity.

But that will be the real answer. Lower bricktown especially. It was a blank slate and Hogan couldn't come up with a way to answer all of the bricktown problems: density of available real estate, centralized parking, and a comprehensive design and plan that considered pedestrian flow in a way to maximize the exposure of each store front to every visitor while incorporating the canal as the main throughfare for those on foot.

LB was a chance to elevate bricktown proper as well as the entire district. Instead, it was piecemealed in a haphazardly fashion that resulted in a very low density of storefronts, high disregard for the canal, and a waste of a ton of great real estate for use as surface parking.


The writing was on the wall for the economy when he announced this just a few months ago and financing was already scarce. It was piss poor planning and a pipe-dream from the start.

But this is just the next downsizing in a long tradition of downsizing and compromises in Oklahoma City across various economic trends, including the last 10 years or so where cash was so cheap that developments twice the size of this one were a dime a dozen across the country, yet we still never saw anything anyone would call "grand" relative to similar projects in other markets.


This is the sort of criticism I want to hear, need to hear, and need to flesh out.

In general, I don't really blame the paper or the reporting. The reality is that the reporting isn't the problem and I don't even really think that the failed promises of specific projects is the main story here. The story is that, even in favorable economic conditions, we still did not end up with a signature development in bricktown that could really be called a new addition to the city, let alone a development that warranted public investment into the area in order to attract it.

I am sure there is a concern at the paper of compromising Bricktown's current draw, but I think we should be seeing constant comparisons to other urban entertainment districts around the country. What have they done that allowed them to succeed or fail? Who were involved in the signature developments and what kind of assistance and support did they get from local leadership or public financing? What is specifically different from those markets, culturally and socially, that make it easier for them to attract and complete projects that reinvent districts into regional and national attractions? i.e. how to avoid going the way of the West End and Deep Ellum?

I think we have to stop competing with Oklahoma City 1985 and start competing with other markets going forward into the future. I don't think there is much public awareness of what is going on in the rest of the country relative to bricktown. All people seem to know is what bricktown is relative to itself 20 years ago. We can sit here and lament about how hard these types of developments are, but why is harder here than many other markets despite the tremendous amount of, imo, well spent public funds on the area? Many cities have similar set backs, but something does get done and in some cases without the public improvements we saw in bricktown.

What's really scary is the Core 2 Shore dreams. I was forced to bop and weave through the area last night when I came upon a closed I-40 exit and had to exit at 15th and work my way back up to downtown. The area has sooooo much more work needed than bricktown ever did and it's much bigger in scope. Who is going to do it? If a little 12 store development is so difficult even with it being on the last prime undeveloped space in the city's highest profile entertainment district, how in the world are we going to totally reinvent what is now a large dumping ground into the city's largest live/work/play district? If we have been unable to attract experienced developers into bricktown during favorable economic times, how we will we attract the experience to the Core 2 Shore district?

That may be expanding the scope of the thread a bit, but there does seem to a bigger question here? Why is this so hard to do in Oklahoma City and why can’t we overcome those obstacles the way some other markets have?

I am sure there is a concern at the paper of compromising Bricktown's current draw, but I think we should be seeing constant comparisons to other urban entertainment districts around the country. What have they done that allowed them to succeed or fail? Who were involved in the signature developments and what kind of assistance and support did they get from local leadership or public financing? What is specifically different from those markets, culturally and socially, that make it easier for them to attract and complete projects that reinvent districts into regional and national attractions? i.e. how to avoid going the way of the West End and Deep Ellum?

Steve has done this extensively on his blog.

I think one of the most important things he has noted is that Wichita's Old Town, which has far more retail than Bricktown (and Patrick is a big fan of) has free parking in city-owned garages. I think downtown Santa Fe is the same.

I totally agree that our parking problem is all perception, but I'm starting to think that people are NOT going to change their minds on this. We are probably going to have to figure out a free parking situation for Bricktown to survive.

i.e. how to avoid going the way of the West End and Deep Ellum?

deep ellum died due to people getting carjacked, mugged, raped, stabbed & the overwhelming amount of young thugs effing with everyone.

I understand the problems with getting some of these things off the ground. However, did your mother ever tell you your "eyes were too big for your stomach," when you put too much on your plate or ordered too much food at a restaurant? This same kind of thing is happening with all the big dreams for Oklahoma City. Things like the Cotton Exchange are going up all the time in the DFW metroplex - and they're successful. But alas, as much as people want OKC to be a "major league city" - we. are. not. there. yet. And this is just another example.

I'm afraid we've allowed a lot of dreaming and expectations to go unmet because we've expected too much too fast in a city of our size. On the other hand, I see other cities (even smaller) who seem to be booming with projects ala Cotton Exchange. Time will tell.

As was pointed out in this thread, Core to Shore is borderline insanity. It is pie in the sky and destined to provide 30 more years of obstacles to urban infill.

Core to Shore could be the undoing to all of the good things that have happened downtown. Bricktown, while struggling, isn't dead....yet. But it's on life support.

The biggest swindle in OKC history was the Bass Pro scam. Remember how the Oklahoman, the Chamber and the Good Old Boys were telling us we would get all of this retail with Bass Pro as the "anchor?"

And we paid $17 million for it (and were not told by the Oklahoman that the Gaylord family had a financial stake in it, an egregious affront to journalistic ethics).

As was pointed out in this thread, Core to Shore is borderline insanity. It is pie in the sky and destined to provide 30 more years of obstacles to urban infill.

Core to Shore could be the undoing to all of the good things that have happened downtown. Bricktown, while struggling, isn't dead....yet. But it's on life support.


I couldn't disagree more. Core to Shore gives us a chance to build an iconic park, something many big cities have and we have sorely been missing. It's a way to rid ourselves of several square miles of blight and fill it with housing, a school, entertainment options, another way to tie the river to downtown. It's one of the most stunning examples of a city reinventing itself I have ever seen. It is ambitious, but i think that it is realizable, and we are fools not to try.
I don't really care who makes money on this, as long as the city benefits, any more than I care if the people who are doing all the redevelopment in the Triangle make money. I hope they do, because it encourages them to do more.

betts,

Once again, you didn't get the point. I don't mind if people make money. I just don't think we should pay off the bigwigs with our tax money for stupid ideas. Bass Pro was a stupid idea that has failed. We were told it would be a retail magnet (even though we knew gold plated spittoons wouldn't lead to a Crate & Barrel). We were told building Bass Pro was more important than even fixing the Skirvin. We were told there wouldn't be a competing Bass Pro in Oklahoma (another lie).

It's a serious breach of journalistic ethics for a newspaper to not disclose its financial interests in a news item it's covering.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a beautiful park, housing, etc. However, I have observed the way things happen in this city for the 18 years I've lived here and if you think that Core to Shore is going to go anything like it has been planned, guess again.

Once again, they may load it up with MAPS III money that could otherwise be invested in public transit, then, we further the blight.

Do you not think New Yorkers, Austintonians, San Franciscans, etc. don't walk? There is plenty of parking if you're willing to walk 1-3 blocks. If you're not pay the premium for curbside parking or shop/eat in the suburbs. You can't have your cake and eat it to.

This may sound crazy.. but things are different when people are not forced into getting cars.

If it was up to me.. I would just ban all cars from the bricktown area and let the property values plummet. Let people and stores move in there for cheap with a portland style trolling going through it.

My plan wouldn't make anyone money....

Soonerguru - One point of objection. I think most of us knew that the Gaylords were part owners of Bass Pro, or at least I knew it and assumed other knew also. We also knew there was not a requirement about Bass Pro shops in the state. The lease says something like a 90 mile radius.

Having said that I agree with most of what you are saying. I was a supporter of Bass Pro Shops and Randy Hogan. I was wrong on both.

Oklahoma City has become too desperate for big development. Rather than scrutinizing ideas and making informed decisions about development, anyone with or promising millions of dollars gets in... this results in something like a Bass Pro in Bricktown. Nothing against Bass Pro, I enjoy their store when I need a camo-fix, but they have no business in an urban district like Bricktown. Fortunately, their business model is ridiculous and I think they will be gone (everywhere except Springfield, MO) within 10 years. With some high-end and urban residential development going in the area, my hope is the people living near Bricktown will demand better. Bricktown won't fail, the ballpark, Ford Center, etc... will keep it alive... the question is... will it be a district to be proud of? As for the Cotton Exchange... again... we expected too much too quickly and while I was equally excited, maybe something better can happen? If Cotton is good at acquiring and selling property, maybe he should find a solid developer to sell to instead of experimenting in such an important location. And on the parking question... I find it absurd that so many people expect to park at the front door of every place they go. They will walk 20 miles through a Wal-Mart parking lot, but not 20 feet downtown! Those are not the types we want downtown anyway, imo, so don't provide parking and they won't come. I'm surprised noone has ever proposed converting the Chase Tower into an enormous parking garage... that would be like a Redneck dream (maybe include an R.V. Park on top!!).

I disagree with the "expecting too much" part. When a developer makes a big announcement why is it expecting too much to want them to deliver on their plan? If OKC is guilty of anything it is expecting too little, or at least settling for too little. One of the problems I see with OKC goes back to the recession-proof thing. We are also good times-proof.

Like it or not, OKC is still dominated by the oil industry. When energy prices are low there seems to be tons of development around the country due to the expanding economy. However, OKc gets left out because our local Energy dominated economy isn’t doing as good as the national average.

Once energy prices start rising OKC becomes flush with cash but it doesn’t take long for the national economy to start to slow down which keeps large national developers from building new projects until the national economy starts doing better. OKC gets caught in a Catch 22 situation.