I can't remember, did the original String of Pearls include any commercial or residential? Seemed like it was trails, equestrian center, etc. There was talk of improvements of Stockyard City, but not related to downtown. The comments were to allow housing areas of all densities to develop along the river, including single family houses. But the areas indicated were essentially the currently planned ones and not extending out west were they?

All I remember was at the Equestrian Pearl, there was going to be a major 50 million dollar hotel. Designed by an architect from Norman, don't remember the name.

There was never really any commercial or residential considered in the "String of Pearls". Each Pearl was basically a park with a different focus. The Pearls were the Overholser Pearl, State Park Pearl, I240 (really I44 ) Pearl, Sports Center Pearl, Riverfront Pearl, Theme Park Pearl, and Prairie Pearl.

I love the collected knowledge of this forum...thx Lj

Yeah I don't think it was what we'd call a "public-private partnership" .... Or maybe so :p

All I remember was at the Equestrian Pearl, there was going to be a major 50 million dollar hotel. Designed by an architect from Norman, don't remember the name.

That name just came to me.......Stan Gralla..... took a couple of days.

Are there any Hill residents active on here? If so, how do you like it? Extremely intriguing opportunity. If everything works out the way I'd like it to over the next 1-2 years, I'll definitely be interested, assuming there are any units left.

Are there any Hill residents active on here?

Yes, check out the posts by OkieYorker:

http://www.okctalk.com/search.php?searchid=1115813

There was never really any commercial or residential considered in the "String of Pearls". Each Pearl was basically a park with a different focus. The Pearls were the Overholser Pearl, State Park Pearl, I240 (really I44 ) Pearl, Sports Center Pearl, Riverfront Pearl, Theme Park Pearl, and Prairie Pearl.

I recall many off-color jokes about the "string of pearls" necklace proposal.

I see 10 new building permits for the hill. All of these new construction.

These appear to be the south units on NE 1st street. Addresses:

400, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414, 416 NE 1st STREET

418, 420 NE 1st Terrace.

http://gyazo.com/5c7d75e2cd9ba448dbc316a644be4c63.png?1352243800

The area in red. (roughly)

Permits filed for 416-428 NE 1 Terrace in December.

Red is what they are building on now (or will be soon).

http://gyazo.com/2d28ebeaf5376256b92020b3026d1da2.png?1357288232

Wow - this is going to be one heckuva neighborhood if it develops as planned. Now all we need are some good public schools in the area and downtown OKC should be more than alive and well!

Hi no1cub17! Haven't been on here in a while and saw your post. I have lived at The Hill for a little over a year and a half now. I absolutely love it here (so much that I bought a 2nd unit and kept one as an investment/rental property). I've mentioned in previous posts that living here and being downtown has been amazing. I used to be in a very suburban part of OKC in a larger home and its amazing how the energy of downtown/bricktown/midtown has really made me look forward to my trips back to OKC (I spend my time divided between NYC & OKC each month and have done that for like 12 years now). The neighbors have been great too! I've met several of the people that live here and it's been great making friends right in the complex (super convenient to walk a few steps and have a nice night of food and wine with the neighbors!). There is a really interesting mix of people here....from Young (upper 20 somethings) to older (70+) and every age range in between, which I think makes for a balanced community.

Here's a photo tour of my unit..I thought you might like to see this since the completed units are sold out (the new ones should be done here in the next few months). tour (http://www.erealtyweb.net/tours/tour.aspx?p=ccspw&i=900278)

you can copy & paste this if that link doesn't work:
http://www.erealtyweb.net/tours/tour.aspx?p=ccspw&i=900278

Cheers!

Thanks for that tour, Okie Yorker ... just beautiful. Is the fireplace in the main living room wood-burning ... if not, what?

Thanks Doug! The fireplace is a gas fireplace. Puts out a good bit of heat actually!

Hi there Okie Yorker - thank you for sharing that link. Your unit looks absolutely stunning! I'll send you a PM. I love the concept of The Hill and my dream would be to be a part of it.


Hi no1cub17! Haven't been on here in a while and saw your post. I have lived at The Hill for a little over a year and a half now. I absolutely love it here (so much that I bought a 2nd unit and kept one as an investment/rental property). I've mentioned in previous posts that living here and being downtown has been amazing. I used to be in a very suburban part of OKC in a larger home and its amazing how the energy of downtown/bricktown/midtown has really made me look forward to my trips back to OKC (I spend my time divided between NYC & OKC each month and have done that for like 12 years now). The neighbors have been great too! I've met several of the people that live here and it's been great making friends right in the complex (super convenient to walk a few steps and have a nice night of food and wine with the neighbors!). There is a really interesting mix of people here....from Young (upper 20 somethings) to older (70+) and every age range in between, which I think makes for a balanced community.

Here's a photo tour of my unit..I thought you might like to see this since the completed units are sold out (the new ones should be done here in the next few months). tour (http://www.erealtyweb.net/tours/tour.aspx?p=ccspw&i=900278)

you can copy & paste this if that link doesn't work:
tour (http://www.erealtyweb.net/tours/tour.aspx?p=ccspw&i=900278)

Cheers!

At The Hill's website, they've put up a video promoting their new Aldridge townhome:

http://www.thehillokc.com/videos/unit30h264.mov

This is actually a slideshow, but still a pretty good look. The Aldridge is not even finished yet, so they're showing pics from a similar unit.

Here's a blurb from The Hill At Bricktown (http://www.thehillokc.com/news_article.php?id=23)

Progress on Building 2b Foundation

The 10 townhomes in building 2b with Aldridge, Douglass and Finley floor plans will be finished by mid-late summer.
The Finley is a new floor plan with ~3100 sf.
It features great views from the third floor turret, a large main floor balcony, and a three story glass elevator.

Drop by to view the Finley plans.

Three story glass elevator -- cool!

The embedded video in this story from news9 gives a (very brief) look at the Hill's glass elevator:

Booming Downtown OKC More Than Doubling Developers' Demand - News9.com (http://www.news9.com/story/20077695/booming-downtown-okc-more-than-doubling-developers-demand)

http://kwtv.images.worldnow.com/images/7951967_vk.jpg


Or, if you prefer, here's a direct link to the (mobile app version) of the video:

http://kwtv.videodownload.worldnow.com/KWTV_20121112234919577AA.mp4

For almost a million dollars, you're still getting a stick built house. I'll take build-block over a glass elevator.

I think it's been talked about before on another thread, but how much would a townhouse/brownstone comparable in size to the Hill or Maywood Brownstones be if they were built out of solid stone/brick instead of having just an outside finish?

I think it's been talked about before on another thread, but how much would a townhouse/brownstone comparable in size to the Hill or Maywood Brownstones be if they were built out of solid stone/brick instead of having just an outside finish?

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking. The Brownstones are solid brick and some have been sold finished and some unfinished. Do you mean what would they cost if built elsewhere?

I guess I mean the historical way that Brownstones were constructed, with solid stone, not ICF.

At The Hill's website, they've put up a video promoting their new Aldridge townhome:

http://www.thehillokc.com/videos/unit30h264.mov

This is actually a slideshow, but still a pretty good look. The Aldridge is not even finished yet, so they're showing pics from a similar unit.

Here's a blurb from The Hill At Bricktown (http://www.thehillokc.com/news_article.php?id=23)


Three story glass elevator -- cool!

I don't remember a thing he said, but I do remember that he spoke as articulately as I have ever heard anyone speak without sounding contrived. It sounded like HD diction.

I guess I mean the historical way that Brownstones were constructed, with solid stone, not ICF.

I have no idea. There are so many things to take into consideration. For one, land costs affect the price. Reportedly, one of the 25' wide lots adjacent to the Brownstones just sold for $125,000.00. So, any sales price reflects land costs as well as construction costs. In cities like New York, Boston and Washington D.C., land prices are through the roof and I'm sure construction costs are higher too. I would assume costs for a house like an original brownstone would exceed the Brownstones or Hill townhouses here.

Looks like they found a good place and time to advertise...during Thunder games.

Had an interesting question posed to me the other day: which demographic is being targeted with the commercials? Young professionals or empty-nesters?

Designs of the houses aren't optimized for empty nesters, but prices preclude many young professionals. This is a classic product development problem. One target has the demand...but the other one the means. And, their ad strategy is to cast a net over both and hope they find the exceptions.

When someone develops a project with true empty nester amenities they will do well. Demand is there and so is the purchasing power...just not the product.

I think they were trying for the "suburban conversion" type of buyer. Provide homes in an urban area with many surburban attributes. There is one floor plan I liked quite a bit, but I thought it was overpriced by about $100,000. The percieved value vs. actual cost is part of the problem too. But I think they are finding buyers now with the corporate relocations and coming out of the recession.

I still think one of the main barriers to any large influx of middle class families to downtown is OKC Public Schools. Many people fitting that description have to choose between home in the suburbs and public schools; or downtown living and affording private school for their kids. So The Hill is left marketing to empty nesters or upper middle income families who can afford private school.

I don't know if the flats Ron Bradshaw will be building have an elevator, but I don't see why they, the Maywood Lofts, Block 42 flats and Central Ave. Villas wouldn't be fine for empty nesters. We've got all ages in the Brownstones. We're about to get two families with children, but have empty nesters and some 20-30 year olds as well. Again, with an elevator, which my brownstone has, there's no impediment to anyone. And most empty nesters are not exactly crochety. Some of ours are in units without elevators, even.

I still think one of the main barriers to any large influx of middle class families to downtown is OKC Public Schools. Many people fitting that description have to choose between home in the suburbs and public schools; or downtown living and affording private school for their kids. So The Hill is left marketing to empty nesters or upper middle income families who can afford private school.

While I definitely think that OKCPS need a lot of help, as with most urban school districts, I think this is used as an excuse probably more than it should when it comes to urban living choices. Schools in Dallas and Houston are just as troubled but this has not stopped people from relocating to Uptown and the Inner Loop respectively. Lots of people in modern society, even in conservative OKC, are single/divorced with no intention of marrying or having kids, married but delaying children, or going the private route once they have kids. These people do not need to worry about school districts.

I'm glad to see more families considering downtown living in OKC, but even in cities where the housing inventory is far larger than here, you rarely ever see middle income families. If it wasn't the schools, parents would be complaining about other things (no yard, few other kids around, not enough "kid friendly" activities nearby, etc.)

Tomorrow, OCURA will vote on whether to sell more lots to the developers of The Hill so they can continue to build out the units.

OCURA still holds most the undeveloped land and agreement allows the developer to buy it in chunks as they are able to get financing for development.

I drove by today and they have a lot going on down there. It looks as if they are putting up forms along some of the perimeter.

$400,000 building permit today to combine two of these townhouses into one unit.

They are owned by a local architect and I bet the final product will be pretty sweet.


You can really feel the momentum growing in terms of people moving and investing in living units downtown. This represents a very sizable investment.

Nm

They still haven't done the clubhouse/pool area, right? Wasn't that supposed to start with more building? Or maybe it did.

Kevin Durant buys home in Deep Deuce | News OK (http://newsok.com/kevin-durant-buys-home-in-deep-deuce/article/3860350)

I'm glad KD is moving downtown. Adding even more popularity to the growing area.

KD has been living in one of the smaller Brownstones for over a year. Sounds like he's going to need more room soon. With their 8 inch concrete and rebar walls, the Brownstone units are not very amenable to combining though.

It seems a little creepy to see the address and photos of the house published in the paper

It seems a little creepy to see the address and photos of the house published in the paper

The address and photos of his home in Gaillardia have been posted here before.

The address and photos of his home in Gaillardia have been posted here before.

I am curious if this has anything to do with everything going on in Gaillardia. I am not sure what the difference is now versus six months ago.

Has someone said he is selling the Gaillardia home? It's not unusual for people of means to own multiple houses. Especially those who support extended family/friends. Plus, he already was renting elsewhere in the district while owning in Gaillardia. Chances are this just replaces that rental.

Has someone said he is selling the Gaillardia home? It's not unusual for people of means to own multiple houses. Especially those who support extended family/friends. Plus, he already was renting elsewhere in the district while owning in Gaillardia. Chances are this just replaces that rental.

True. I guess I just assumed he wouldn't own a 7,257 sq ft home in DD and a 5,545 sq ft home 20 minutes away from each other.

Note: for anyone curious, I got the square footage from the county assessor website.

Well, I'm not saying I'd be shocked if he sold in Gaillardia; just that I wouldn't necessarily EXPECT him to.

I assume he just wants to move away from the stuffiness of Gallardia. I know people from there and they're really nice people, but my guess is that, especially after his wife moves here, he doesn't want to be in an overdone gated community in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of 50+ year olds and their kids as his neighbors. He's too down to earth for all that. Moving downtown puts him around people that are his age, but still mature enough to not lose it every time they see him on the street.

I assume he just wants to move away from the stuffiness of Gallardia. I know people from there and they're really nice people, but my guess is that, especially after his wife moves here, he doesn't want to be in an overdone gated community in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of 50+ year olds and their kids as his neighbors. He's too down to earth for all that. Moving downtown puts him around people that are his age, but still mature enough to not lose it every time they see him on the street.

i would make a huge bet that he is just going to no longer rent a brownstone .. and that he keeps his home in gaillardia

Has someone said he is selling the Gaillardia home? It's not unusual for people of means to own multiple houses. Especially those who support extended family/friends. Plus, he already was renting elsewhere in the district while owning in Gaillardia. Chances are this just replaces that rental.


True. I guess I just assumed he wouldn't own a 7,257 sq ft home in DD and a 5,545 sq ft home 20 minutes away from each other.

Note: for anyone curious, I got the square footage from the county assessor website.


Well, I'm not saying I'd be shocked if he sold in Gaillardia; just that I wouldn't necessarily EXPECT him to.


I assume he just wants to move away from the stuffiness of Gallardia. I know people from there and they're really nice people, but my guess is that, especially after his wife moves here, he doesn't want to be in an overdone gated community in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of 50+ year olds and their kids as his neighbors. He's too down to earth for all that. Moving downtown puts him around people that are his age, but still mature enough to not lose it every time they see him on the street.

I'm guessing none of you have ever had the experience of having your parents live with you... And, I'm being specific here... your parents live with YOU. I'm currently experiencing this as my folks are now fully retired and just sold their house in Wichita and are in the process of purchasing/buying in their final destination in a Houston suburb... so, they are currently living with me here in Oklahoma.

Now, I love my parents and all... but, when I saw this thread my first thought was that the Gaillardia house makes a PERFECT place for the parents (AND HIS BROTHER) to live. lol. Especially now that he's about to get married...

I'm guessing none of you have ever had the experience of having your parents live with you... And, I'm being specific here... your parents live with YOU. I'm currently experiencing this as my folks are now fully retired and just sold their house in Wichita and are in the process of purchasing/buying in their final destination in a Houston suburb... so, they are currently living with me here in Oklahoma.

Now, I love my parents and all... but, when I saw this thread my first thought was that the Gaillardia house makes a PERFECT place for the parents (AND HIS BROTHER) to live. lol. Especially now that he's about to get married...

I never considered that. I just thought she already had her own place.

I wonder if part of the renovation includes knocking out the wall between the garages to make one large 4 car garage. I don't think the Brownstone was enough to house all of his and crew's vehicles. Often times they had to have some parked out front. made finding KD's Brownstone really easy, though. lol

I think Ms. Pratt is back to living more or less full time in Maryland. You can probably count the games she attended last season on one hand. I'm also fairly certain Tony among others has his own house.

The way I understand it from a friend of mine who plays basketball with some of KD's friends... the friends (Randy Williams, Tae, etc) now live in Gailardia while he's in Deep Deuce. At least it's been that way for the past year. Also, his fiance plays for the Minnesota Lynx and is in Minnesota during the WNBA season (summer), at least.

I am curious if this has anything to do with everything going on in Gaillardia. I am not sure what the difference is now versus six months ago.

It has NOTHING to do with the golf course issues. I am not sure KD even plays golf. The golf course issue is separate. And, the dues and income is more than enough to pay for the course...but the owner has, shall we say, "issues". KD is not involved what-so-ever.

I assume he just wants to move away from the stuffiness of Gallardia. I know people from there and they're really nice people, but my guess is that, especially after his wife moves here, he doesn't want to be in an overdone gated community in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of 50+ year olds and their kids as his neighbors. He's too down to earth for all that. Moving downtown puts him around people that are his age, but still mature enough to not lose it every time they see him on the street.

I'm not sure the answer for that is the Hill. Their design and their marketing campaigns make them seem pretty stuffy, imo. But KD is spending like 400k to redo it, so he can probably update the interior finishes that looked dated the day they were done. And, as someone pointed out, it will be a lot easier to connect a stick built home at the Hill than to do it through the brownstones' solid construction.

I understand the desire for quality construction downtown, but not sure I understand the apparent contempt for anything stick built. I would wager that 99% of the people who post in this forum live in a stick built home, with betts being an obvious exception, as we have heard here over and over and over. Nearly all of the grand homes in Heritage Hills, Mesta, other historic districts are stick built, as are the ones in Nichols Hills, Gaillardia, Oak Tree, and elsewhere. The great old fourplexes and other multi-family homes bordering Heritage Hills, Edgemere, Crown Heights, many have which have been around for close to a century? Stick built.

I'm not saying that ICF, steel girder or other commercial-type build styles are not great choices for downtown housing, just that stick built does NOT equal crap. I'm personally not in love with the style of the housing at The Hill, but I don't doubt for a minute that they are well-built.

I wonder how customized you can make your home @ The Hill?

Is there some ordination for these stating no rooftop access/rooftop decks?

I understand the desire for quality construction downtown, but not sure I understand the apparent contempt for anything stick built. I would wager that 99% of the people who post in this forum live in a stick built home, with betts being an obvious exception, as we have heard here over and over and over. Nearly all of the grand homes in Heritage Hills, Mesta, other historic districts are stick built, as are the ones in Nichols Hills, Gaillardia, Oak Tree, and elsewhere. The great old fourplexes and other multi-family homes bordering Heritage Hills, Edgemere, Crown Heights, many have which have been around for close to a century? Stick built.

I'm not saying that ICF, steel girder or other commercial-type build styles are not great choices for downtown housing, just that stick built does NOT equal crap. I'm personally not in love with the style of the housing at The Hill, but I don't doubt for a minute that they are well-built.

I guess I don't understand the notion that if it's stick built, it is crap. I feel like there are numerous examples of structures that are stick built that have held up very well.

My point exactly. I'm not denying ICF or other methods are great ideas for improving quiet, energy use, etc., but the regular sneers at stick built ignore almost every quality home built in OKC in the past 100 years.

There are vastly different levels of "stick built". There can be good and strong long lasting stick built structures but there are many ways to cheapen it. There is different quality of lumber, insulation, etc., etc. Lumber would be more susceptible to warping, etc. due to stress, humidity, temperatures, etc. than concrete, steel or other frame types. And, there is a difference between building a home and a large commercial structure with multiple living units, offices, etc. in it. Stick structures can be more a fire danger, have more infestations, etc. In general, steel and concrete would be considered better construction, but stick built can be done right too.

I'm well aware of all of this, and yet it still agrees with my point. The knee-jerk rejection of that building technique on this board ignores that it can be done to a very high standard. It has become synonymous on here with shoddy construction, and that is far from accurate.

I wouldn't say "far" from accurate. Mostly on this board it has referred to large multi-unit projects...apartments and hotels mostly. In that context it is the cheaper construction and generally doesn't denote the highest quality. If you had your option and cost wasn't the issue, which would YOU choose to live in? Be honest.

I think stick built is fine for private homes. I wonder about the stability of four story homes, but honestly would have to ask an architect or engineer. It is easier to cut holes between buildings, that's for sure. It took my neighbor's workmen half a day to enlarge two window openings to doors. Obviously there are a lot of homes built out of wood that are standing 100 years later. In Nichols Hills, at least in the past, you were required to build with 2 x 6s instead of 2 x 4s and I suspect those houses are very sturdy. The best argument for ICFs is tornado resistance, decreased utilities and no termites, but it's a personal choice. As Rover said, it's multiunit buildings that are of the most concern, IMO.

As far as The Hill goes, that's a style that appeals to some people and not others, like most styles of housing.

I wouldn't say "far" from accurate. Mostly on this board it has referred to large multi-unit projects...apartments and hotels mostly. In that context it is the cheaper construction and generally doesn't denote the highest quality. If you had your option and cost wasn't the issue, which would YOU choose to live in? Be honest.
Depends. If it was townhouse type (side-by-side) living, I wouldn't think twice about a place like The Hill, other than (as I mentioned) the style isn't my favorite. I fully understand the benefits of ICF in that case, but don't believe it would make a huge difference to me. In the case of multiple levels like for instance Lofts at Maywood (but still a purchase), I would probably rather live in steel girder with poured concrete floors, because I would be making a long term commitment to the space and hope to capture resale value. I would also value the floors dampening the noise from upstairs neighbors if I had them.

If I were renting, even if it were a higher-end place, I would probably prefer the stick built, because the savings would be largely passed on to me as a renter (or perhaps more accurately, an expensive build would be passed on to me).

I wouldn't say "far" from accurate. Mostly on this board it has referred to large multi-unit projects...apartments and hotels mostly. In that context it is the cheaper construction and generally doesn't denote the highest quality. If you had your option and cost wasn't the issue, which would YOU choose to live in? Be honest.
Oh, I missed the part about cost not being an issue. If cost were inconsequential (like probably less than 1/2 of 1 percent of home purchases), I would probably either go with a major remodel of a stately mansion (probably stick-built) or would go with modern architecture that included a lot of glass, steel, metal panels, concrete, stone, brick, who knows...basically something that looks like it was snatched from the pages of Dwell. It wouldn't be stick-built, but it wouldn't be ICF either. That is, in my pretend world where money is no object LOL.

I'm not saying that ICF, steel girder or other commercial-type build styles are not great choices for downtown housing, just that stick built does NOT equal crap. I'm personally not in love with the style of the housing at The Hill, but I don't doubt for a minute that they are well-built.

For the record, I didn't say that stick built equals crap. I spoke to the ease of punching through a stick built wall vs. an ICF constructed one. ICF has many advantages for sure, but cutting through the structure is not one of them.


The knee-jerk rejection of that building technique on this board ignores that it can be done to a very high standard.

Certainly they can be built to a high standard. It would mean that the builder went beyond code, but it certainly can be done. Even built to code, it is certainly adequate for most homes under normal conditions. And, again, I wasn't comparing the quality between ICF or 2x4 construction, just the ease at which it is to punch through them, which in this case is actually an advantage for stick built homes. Now, of course, if I was comparing the quality, ICF comes out on top in most every other way and if we're talking about The Hill v. The Brownstones, specifically, then even cost isn't an issue as they sell for about the same per square foot. Of course, that does not equate to stick built being crap or eliminate the possibility of high quality construction using stick build materials and techniques that meet high standards. At to that end, I can't even speak for the Hill, because I have no idea what their standards are or where they may have reached beyond code to extend quality and would probably have a hard time finding out.