Are people still living there or did they clear everyone out?

WIth the renovations, it helps. But i just honestly dont care about this building. It's not as though it has some architectural signifigance or ever will. It's your standard rectangle apartment building. The renovation plans were supposed to be what was going to be done to bring it up to date BEFORE it closed. Unless some magic fairy comes to town, i'd say the place is done. The ROI on that investment is so long, you would be hard pressed to find an investor willing to stick with it. Since it's just a run of the mill apartment building, it's not something special like Founders.

Do I just want an empty parking lot? No. But razing it could make the plot more attractive for a new development. With the re-development of Smicklas across the street, it turns this plot into a more enticing spot than it was before as a back-road hidden area. That hidden, yet close, location was appealing for an apartment. But since it closed, we've seen that the model used to run the place didn't work.

I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that there's no chance that a 12 story building is built in it's place if the thing is indeed razed. It presents a great opportunity to help inspire further development in arguably the most important "intersection" on the NW side of town outside of the core and it provides consistency with the old Lakeview Tower and of course Founder's Tower.

Are people still living there or did they clear everyone out?

Its boarded up and empty.

Tiffany Towers | REES (http://www.rees.com/our-work/multi-family/tiffany-towers)

These are definitely new renderings and a new layout for this project...

Note the views, among the best in all of OKC and the final images shows the name "The Ferguson":

http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers.jpg?itok=kKYEKz5w


http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers3.jpg?itok=3RBbyumr


http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers5.jpg?itok=Q55EHI-5


http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers6.jpg?itok=UyfVpQLx


http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers7.jpg?itok=O78uH4az

Nice.

Oh wow. This really looks awesome in my opinion. Glad to see this happening.

Wow! Very impressive!

Is there plans for a rooftop pool in this?

Is this still happening? These new renderings look awesome.

Very smooth, indeed. Not something you expect out of OKC, although this is just a remodel of an existing structure.

Is there plans for a rooftop pool in this?

That would be too fly if they did.

Ferguson? Really?

It looks great! I can't wait until this is finished. I hope it spurs more development on all the parking lots along NW Expressway.

Is there plans for a rooftop pool in this?

The renderings show the pool in the back (west side of main building).

I saw them all boarded up this weekend and didn't even know this was happening.

Wow! Color me amazed.

This isn't just a renovation, this is an "Extreme Makeover"!

From this:

http://www.oklahomacounty.org/assessor/Searches/sketches/picfile/2846/R149853820001sA.jpg


To this:

http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers.jpg?itok=kKYEKz5w

Can't believe that's even the same building.

Dayum!

So the two side buildings are new? That's a lot of money being spent.

This is unreal cool. If the final result is like these renderings... well, it's like a night and day transformation.

The new plans look great (sincere) and that rooftop view of Target is so hot (sarcasm)...

Ha! Aloft style roof!

This is much more interesting architecturally and better for sure. That being said, the European that's taken hold in me longs for at least one Soviet Tract housing type development in OKC ;)

All of a sudden, multi-story residential development is ON FIRE in OKC.

This is crazy! (good kind of crazy)
:cool:

Ha! Aloft style roof!

Yeah, I noticed that. Maybe this will have a rooftop bar as well?



That being said, the European that's taken hold in me longs for at least one Soviet Tract housing type development in OKC ;)

Hey, we still have the Carnegie. :wink:

All of a sudden, multi-story residential development is ON FIRE in OKC.

This is crazy! (good kind of crazy)
:cool:

On Fire Multi-story residential development would be a brand new high rise project downtown. Lick your chops but I'm not biting my lip just yet ;-)

Yeah, I noticed that. Maybe this will have a rooftop bar as well?




Hey, we still have the Carnegie. :wink:

That's more like a Brutalist jail...

The new plans look great (sincere) and that rooftop view of Target is so hot (sarcasm)...

It reminds me of a Tracy Byrd song "We got pink flamingos in the front yard / Picture window with a view of Wal-Mart "

Did I miss additional parking somewhere? The lot for the current tower is pretty small. Then we're looking at taking the surface space for the additions without really adding parking. The renderings dont appear to show any multilevel parking being added. So it's an issue when you double your occupancy while halfing your parking. Hmmm

But i should say, i like the renderings. It's a nice way to rehab the place from it's duldrum existence. The new space needs to have reasonable square footage though. Those old apartments were expenseive, and overly for what you got. They tried to sell the "view", which was crap. I remember laughing when a friend of mine looked there and they told her an efficiency was $600 a month back in 2001. I think my full reply was something like "for this piece of crap?" Their reply, "well just look at the view". My reply "you mean of the car dealership and target....wooooooo". And that was for an apt that didnt have washer/dryer either....horrible green carpet, and a single pane glass wall of uber inefficiency. Yeah, not impressed. That's the sort of thing that needs to be corrected for ANYTHING here to be successful.

The renderings show the pool in the back (west side of main building).

That looks like it could be the new swanky place to hang out! Glad I have a view of it from my office!

Ha! Aloft style roof!

This is much more interesting architecturally and better for sure. That being said, the European that's taken hold in me longs for at least one Soviet Tract housing type development in OKC ;)

Regency Tower doesn't soothe your European soul's longing for Soviet housing?

On Fire Multi-story residential development would be a brand new high rise project downtown. Lick your chops but I'm not biting my lip just yet ;-)

On-fire development would be several downtown high-rises. Those type of developments come in waves. Look at Austin and how their skyline has been completely transformed by all the residential. When I lived in Little Rock they built three high-rise residential towers one after the other and renovated a few more similar to this Tiffany development. I am excited about this tower being renovated and its good for OKC but I wouldn't call it a multi-story boom just yet. My gut feeling is we'll see a boom after Central Park is complete providing the economy isn't in the toilet at the end of this decade.

When is work going to begin on this conversion? Anybody know?

Regency Tower doesn't soothe your European soul's longing for Soviet housing?

It would be AWESOME if the Regency were to have an exterior renovation like this one.

Unfortunately, no chance now. Maybe 20 years from now.

Did I miss additional parking somewhere? The lot for the current tower is pretty small. Then we're looking at taking the surface space for the additions without really adding parking. The renderings dont appear to show any multilevel parking being added. So it's an issue when you double your occupancy while halfing your parking. Hmmm

But i should say, i like the renderings. It's a nice way to rehab the place from it's duldrum existence. The new space needs to have reasonable square footage though. Those old apartments were expenseive, and overly for what you got. They tried to sell the "view", which was crap. I remember laughing when a friend of mine looked there and they told her an efficiency was $600 a month back in 2001. I think my full reply was something like "for this piece of crap?" Their reply, "well just look at the view". My reply "you mean of the car dealership and target....wooooooo". And that was for an apt that didnt have washer/dryer either....horrible green carpet, and a single pane glass wall of uber inefficiency. Yeah, not impressed. That's the sort of thing that needs to be corrected for ANYTHING here to be successful.

my friend lived there and it was actually a quite nice view from his apartment. you could see downtown and it was great during storms to sit on his balcony and relax. and his apartment was actually renovated and very spacious. and utilities were included. it was a 1 bedroom and he paid 650 a month. not bad in my opinion.

Construction chain link fence went up today.... May be having construction start soon.

There has been a lot of activity at the building the last few weeks..... It could be to keep vagrants out or construction starting. I hope construction.

Construction chain link fence went up today.... May be having construction start soon.

There has been a lot of activity at the building the last few weeks..... It could be to keep vagrants out or construction starting. I hope construction.

Me too. I am a huge fan of this project and hope it's beginning to ramp up!

No building permits as of yet but they may be doing demo first.

I am super excited about this project. It really signifies along with everything else how much momentum OKC has going for it. It isn't just the urban core or just the suburbs that are booming, it's the ENTIRE CITY! So excited for this and can't wait to see the final product.

This is a reasonably urban locale though unlike Deer Creek.

I badly wished the NW Expwy had a LRT and walkable streetscape.

Yeah, there is so much potential in this area to renovate it with tons of cool structures. Would be nice to see the street reconstructed in cement, four lanes in the middle as a limited access kind of thing(but NOT a highway. You would still have to stop at all the lights and such), then two lanes on each side nearby those lanes as a low speed limit narrower lanes with rail on each side and 12ft. sidewalks. I'll try and come up with a picture of what I am describing. I also wonder if bringing May Ave. back to grade would work as well.

Uh no, plupan. I drive on NW Expressway frequently and don't want to see any more driving lanes no matter how they are configured. And I see absolutely no benefit to making the May intersection a traditional stop light intersection.

Well, I guess we just disagree :p I guess May Ave. is fine the way it is, but I would still like to see what I described happened. It wouldn't impact traffic at all really and would make the area more walkable on each side. Add pedestrian bridges or tunnels to connect the streets every so often. It wouldn't be an urban utopia, but it'd be a hell of a lot better than what is there now and there would be light-rail throughout to.

I didn't say all of your ideas were bad, just the extra driving lanes. :)

http://www.rees.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_project_image/public/project-images/tiffany-towers.jpg?itok=kKYEKz5w

I hope it turns out exactly like this. That is sexy.

Uh no, plupan. I drive on NW Expressway frequently and don't want to see any more driving lanes no matter how they are configured. And I see absolutely no benefit to making the May intersection a traditional stop light intersection.

The NW Expressway stops at Penn, Independence, I-44, Portland, and so on. Why does May have to be a dysfunctional cloverleaf in the most inappropriate place for one?

I'm pretty sure May Avenue is the street that is at grade in this situation.

I'm pretty sure May Avenue is the street that is at grade in this situation.whatever, same difference

The NW Expressway stops at Penn, Independence, I-44, Portland, and so on. Why does May have to be a dysfunctional cloverleaf in the most inappropriate place for one?

I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's not dysfunctional and is still better for that intersection than having stop lights. Since I live near there I suspect I have a better feel for what works there than you do.

I found myself wondering if they changed some of the architecture of this building, particularly the color schemes, based on Dave & Buster's. I was looking at the building and envisioning the way it would look with its surroundings and noticed D&B's in particular and how they would compliment each other.

I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's not dysfunctional and is still better for that intersection than having stop lights. Since I live near there I suspect I have a better feel for what works there than you do.

You can't turn left, not that anyone coming from the west needs to get on N. May anyway. And back when you could, the pseudo highway onramps were extremely dangerous. Where exactly do you live, one of the apartment communities w direct frontage, or tucked away in a neighborhood?

My problem is that this interchange is obv designed for the folks who live tucked away in neighborhoods, providing for dispersing cars as fast as possible. There are a lot of people who live in apartments directly fronting this area and in the midst of the traffic patterns swirling around apartments, office plexes, shopping centers, and neighborhoods. NW Expwy and May is a place that just as many people go TO as THROUGH but the problem is the highway design only allows you to go THROUGH.

We talk about wanting to focus on more than just downtown, and that the rest of the city needs the same focus on improvements. It is true that OKC's middle-ring suburban areas are at a crossroads where years of suburban planning have taken their toll and made these places not worth caring about. NW Expwy and May can be different and it can be an urban foothold and it can help strengthen the middle-ring around the city. But if by "we need improvements for the suburbs, too" we mean "we need to double down financially on more failed suburban infrastructure" then no thanks.

I tend to agree with Spartan here.

I'm not sure how you address this intersection specifically, but I do know that it is one of the Top 3 to 5 non-core intersections for OKC to figure out. An increase in density and walkability in the LHP/63rd/Villa/50th box would make this one of the premier areas of the city. It's going to take decades to fix, but it has no chance until a viable plan is introduced to address May/Expressway from a Walkability stand point.

We can all find something that's not right. May And NW Expressway could use a complete redesign, no question. The cloverleaf was one of the first of its kind in the city and was actually an entrance to OKC from the NW back in the '50s. But with that said...

This is an incredible new development and beats that old Tiffany House sitting empty. I'm glad someone has decided to develop this, and not only develop it, but go to the lengths of making it a destination location. A premiere intersection, close to shopping, hospital, parkway, Penn Square, lots if retail. Get anywhere fast. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, but this looks VERY nice.

You can't turn left, not that anyone coming from the west needs to get on N. May anyway. And back when you could, the pseudo highway onramps were extremely dangerous. Where exactly do you live, one of the apartment communities w direct frontage, or tucked away in a neighborhood?

My problem is that this interchange is obv designed for the folks who live tucked away in neighborhoods, providing for dispersing cars as fast as possible. There are a lot of people who live in apartments directly fronting this area and in the midst of the traffic patterns swirling around apartments, office plexes, shopping centers, and neighborhoods. NW Expwy and May is a place that just as many people go TO as THROUGH but the problem is the highway design only allows you to go THROUGH.

We talk about wanting to focus on more than just downtown, and that the rest of the city needs the same focus on improvements. It is true that OKC's middle-ring suburban areas are at a crossroads where years of suburban planning have taken their toll and made these places not worth caring about. NW Expwy and May can be different and it can be an urban foothold and it can help strengthen the middle-ring around the city. But if by "we need improvements for the suburbs, too" we mean "we need to double down financially on more failed suburban infrastructure" then no thanks.Maybe we agree with turning this interchange into an intersection, but I do agree with you that we should urbanize this area. This should remain less urban and focus more on beautifying it and making it more walkable than it is(mainly adding sidewalks).


It is true that OKC's middle-ring suburban areas are at a crossroads where years of suburban planning have taken their toll and made these places not worth caring aboutI think it is lack of suburban planning that caused this area to struggle. I don't know when the last time you were there, but it is a great area that is actually doing fairly well with quite a bit activity going on.

Maybe we agree with turning this interchange into an intersection, but I do agree with you that we should urbanize this area. This should remain less urban and focus more on beautifying it and making it more walkable than it is(mainly adding sidewalks).

I think it is lack of suburban planning that caused this area to struggle. I don't know when the last time you were there, but it is a great area that is actually doing fairly well with quite a bit activity going on.

To be sure, adding sidewalks doesn't make an area walkable, and would not solve the problems in this area.

To be sure, adding sidewalks doesn't make an area walkable, and would not solve the problems in this area.huh, maybe not for you, but for me it does.

huh, maybe not for you, but for me it does.

Excellent rebuttal.

Just to get us back to thoughtful discussion, a development like this fantastic Tiffany House rehab can help refocus our collective energy toward helping this area realize it's destiny as OKC's "uptown." What that means is that we all need to understand this area between Lake Hefner and Penn Square as something other than suburban. When you factor in the nearby Chesapeake area the potential of this area is incredible. It all has to be understand not as suburban but as an evolving piece on the urban transect.

We also need to understand this area as a community with it's own needs, and for far too long answering those has been dictated by those driving out to points further NW. Similarly, I concede that it's also not for the downtown crowd to answer this area's needs - but we need to put decision making for this area in the hands of the multitudes of high rise apartment and condo dwellers and office workers who use this neighborhood. They should be given the ability to harness this area's very high density levels and make something walkable of it.

yeah, sorry to say Spartan a sidewalk increases walkability for me. I don't need 20, 2-3 buildings pushed right up against the street for me to want to walk somewhere. If I am going to walk, I am going to walk. If you have to have an urban fabric to do that, than sucks for you.

May from 50th th Wilshire has great potential for walk ability. But it is very difficult to walk or bike it now...in fact, nearly impossible.

I think that the inner NWX area of OKC could be phenomenal if the right resources were invested into it. Unfortunately however most of the development in that area in the past decade, from Belle Isle to the Penn Square renovation exemplifies the low standards and lack of pride that is the rule of thumb for development in this town, especially outside the immediate downtown core. If the bar gets raised and some cool developments start happening in that area, yes in 10-15 years it could be an excellent "uptown" for OKC.

I think that the inner NWX area of OKC could be phenomenal if the right resources were invested into it. Unfortunately however most of the development in that area in the past decade, from Belle Isle to the Penn Square renovation exemplifies the low standards and lack of pride that is the rule of thumb for development in this town, especially outside the immediate downtown core. If the bar gets raised and some cool developments start happening in that area, yes in 10-15 years it could be an excellent "uptown" for OKC. Right now I don't think OKC is large enough to support more than one area with the kind of revitalization we are currently seeing downtown.

Don't tell the people doing it that it can't be done.

Don't tell the people doing it that it can't be done.

I edited my post. It can be done, but I also think a revitalized inner NWX area should be distinctly different from downtown and not try to directly compete. Doing so would be a mistake being that downtown OKC really hasn't hit that critical mass point yet.

yeah, sorry to say Spartan a sidewalk increases walkability for me. I don't need 20, 2-3 buildings pushed right up against the street for me to want to walk somewhere. If I am going to walk, I am going to walk. If you have to have an urban fabric to do that, than sucks for you.

So if I live at these Apartments, you're telling me that the only thing I need to entice me to walk to my job at Home Depot is a path of sidewalks from here to there.

Here are a few major factors that are going to affect the areas walkability:

Speed Limits
Lighting (for nights)
Distance
A variety of ways to get from Point A to Point Z
Points of Interest between Point A and Point Z
Infrastructure
Safety

Throwing sidewalks everywhere does not address all those factors. The fact of the matter is, is that the people who walk in NW OKC do it because they have to.

This development in particular will help increase the density in the area and there are things they could do to make the development more walkable. Cut the 2 or 3 parking spaces that are immediately in front of the entrance and extend and landscape the entire elevated pedestrian area from the entrance to the street…As it is now, the development is blocked by an immediate view of automobiles until you're essentially inside the development.

I edited my post. It can be done, but I also think a revitalized inner NWX area should be distinctly different from downtown and not try to directly compete. Doing so would be a mistake being that downtown OKC really hasn't hit that critical mass point yet.

So let me get this straight...other areas shouldn't revitalize in a quality and urbanized manner because it might compete with downtown? WOW.

Why not let the market keep raising the bar through quality work and intense competition. Competition makes everyone better.

And, the OKC metro area is big enough to have about 10-15 urban center points....about 1 per 100,000 according to most urbanists I've heard and read. This idea that we need ONE is silly. Downtown has its own significant momentum that will only be killed by poor quality development. Protected markets rarely reach their potential but rather just let it be poached.