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PennyQuilts
11-19-2009, 04:51 PM
$35 a year? Is that it? i paid $1000 a semester my third year for parking. :(

Dang!!!!!

Urban Pioneer
11-19-2009, 05:16 PM
Do me a favor and refer to the future as "streetcar" instead of trolley. It drives me a bit nuts as it canotes the "rubber tired troleys" we have now. Thanks.

Mr Big
11-19-2009, 08:18 PM
OCU law does need to go downtown, but not at this location. This location has glaring flaws. This biggest its not really in the downtown legal community, its on the outskirts. And once you're there...there's no difference than being on 23rd. Exposure to the Courthouse and to the law firms who are intentionally, strategically located near the Courthouse is the best reason for OCU to move. If you aren't going to take advantage of that, there's no point.

I know, I know...walking distance...the trolley...if you have the time for that walk or to wait for the trolley...23rd beats it. That walk is NOT convenient, the trolley is on time table that not yours. They are both a tremendous waste of time.

View this in comparison to the First National idea. That does achieve these ideas.

IF they do it, parking availability won't be an issue. They'll get the space, they'll charge for it...done deal. But safety will be. OCU's PD "may" be better than OU & UCO's...it still sucks. Car's being broke in on the outlying parking lots was a regular problem 2002-2005, I seriously doubt its been fixed. The Fred Jones area is a higher crime area and its higher desperation crime area. This is true with the OCPD using the gas station across the street from Fred Jones as fuel source for the downtown cops, a handful of OCU cops aren't going to change anything.

The law school will not provide some great financial boon to an area either. Law students do not gather in great masses, except for social. And in those case, they go to where ever the hot spots are; more specifically, spots that the city says "this place is great", not some place made just for them (see their current student deli). Law students like lawyers are competitive. Are there more large firms? Or more single to three person firms? We gather the few people we trust and we work with them only. When its time to party, we want our lawyer friends...but when its time to work, we don't play well with others. To suggest that business are going to survive because law students are coming there, is signaling you don't know anything about law students.

Don't compare it to OUHSC either. That place is where doctors go to practice medicine i.e. make money. NO lawyer goes back to law school to make money. Occasionally, and I mean very rarely, a lawyer may need the law library but with technology where it is, you have a better chance of seeing a gull wing Mercedes on you way to work. When you can find away to get the Courthouse in the law school, and then set an ER for people to show up with legal problems....then you'll have lawyers there, and you'll have an adequate comparison to OUHSC.

IF OCU wants to go downtown, they need to make a serious commitment to getting their kids in front of judges before, between and after classes, with the DA, with the PD, and with the practices who are circling the Courthouse. Anything less, than that, might as well be move across campus.

A suggestion....and please excuse my ignorance of the name of the building I've walking past for 20 years...on the northside of the County Courthouse is parking garage, immediately east of it is a building. IF OCU wants to be downtown, they buy that building tear it down and re-build. Then they boast the best exposure to the biggest Federal and County Courthouse of any law school in the state.

Sadly enough....it would have been more appropriate to put OCU's School of Business in Fred Jones' building.

HOT ROD
11-19-2009, 11:43 PM
Agree with that...this is GREAT for the city! And, call it whatever you want, but I would have to imagine that for OCU, moving into a state of the art facility (DOWNTOWN) does nothing but good things for rankings, accreditation ratings, ability to draw great faculty, etc.

Ah-hem bomber. ... does this help clear things up for you? :irule:

PennyQuilts
11-20-2009, 05:51 AM
I thought many people went to OCU because they couldn't get in anywhere else or they couldn't relocate due to family obligations. I'm a terrible alum to say that! And I know they did well on the bar, recently. Now that its alums are doing well and able to help with the infrastructure, things are getting better but the fact that it is a state of the art facility is going to make the difference to some but not others. I do like the idea of easy access to the courthouse but to be honest, it never really bothered me all that much as a student. It wasn't like it was very far.

bombermwc
11-20-2009, 08:46 AM
Hot-Rod, but it's not as though they are in danger of losing accredidation. You konw all they have to do to say they're in the same building is build a hallway between Gold Star and Sarkey's...all 100 feet of it. For that matter, they have room in the area behind Sarkeys to add on to it to create a whole new library as well as more vertical classroom space. As you said, ah-hem, there's no point. Moving to that location downtown doesn't serve any more convenient of a purpose than being on campus.

I'll agree with some points in Mr. Big's post, but not all. My time at OCU from 00-05 seems to be very different. Those "outlying" parking lots changed during that time. What was outlying became the middle of campus...ie Kramer. The most outlying lot is at Meinders and it's also the best lit. The surrounding community know not to go on campus....enough folks have been tackled that they get the point. Like I said before, they might have a few instances of something here and there, but you always have some...you never get rid of it 100%. I never once felt unsafe walking around campus at midnight from one end to the other. I used to have to go from late night rehearsals at Petree over to the lot north of Freede or Loefler. Most of the time I didn't even see a person out there. And with all the mercede's and bmw's people have on campus, there are plenty targets out there.

First National would make more sense, although it would be more difficult to get in and out of and rent would be more expensive. Personally, I dislike the idea of the school not owning the property as well. If you aren't right in the mix of it all within a few blocks of where the action is....it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever to move off campus. Just to say you're downtown doesn't do crap for you. On campus, you can get more bang for your buck in constructing a new building, helping to expand the campus in the masterplan, and you still get to be part of the school community. Even if you never interact with it, it's much more enjoyable to walk through campus than downtown.

HOT ROD
11-20-2009, 11:08 AM
I think downtown also adds to the 'vibe' if you will, to promoting a cohesive downtown law community. Come to think of it, law students really don't interact as much as or with students in other programs on a typical university campus - so they might as well be down where the 'action is' for their profession.

The same could also be said for the college of business, but that would only bode for the graduate students (myself being an alumn), as the undergrads of b-school IS the life of the campus. As an MBA, I would have loved to be downtown to network with the movers and shakers on a regular basis. But it would be horrible for an undergrad because your sights are a bit different at that stage (and therefore being on campus is the best for them).

As for First National, Im not sure if moving the law school there makes any sense either. Why is it that people want everything to move into First National. Why not just update it and have it continue to be OKC's premier vintage office skyscraper? It seems as if anything needs to come downtown, people on here want it to go into FNC when there are other parts of downtown much more in need of revitalizing; such as west downtown.

Let's keep the CBD, the CBD - you know, for businesses and business community. We can have our education resources (and to some degree Entertainment) on the "outskirts" districts of the CBD.

As was said, the courthouse is not that far from Fred Jones and certainly having law students on the Streetcars only adds to the vibe that is the new downtown OKC (which means when combined with OBU's campus and possibly the new OCU and the housing, we will have great use of the Streetcar to help justify expansion into the nearby inner city areas to downtown (can way bet it will get extended up to OCU/Asia District) as well as other modes of transit we desire to see (commuter rail from the suburbs and possibly inner city light rail once the city increases density).

I see this as a win-win-win situation, kudos to OCU for taking the lead in promoting an established law community in Oklahoma City and using downtown as a marketing/networking tool for their law students. I thought I remember hearing that OCU was the top law school in the state - this move would only ensure that status for the future (unless OU also decides to build a law campus downtown - which would be very cool actually).

bombermwc
11-20-2009, 02:24 PM
OBU's "campus" is a building outside of downtown almost at the highway. It's a small couple floors building that does basically nothing. No comparison here whatsoever. Not to mention it established them a presence in OKC....how many miles away from their main campus....sure isn't 3.

Doug Loudenback
11-20-2009, 05:25 PM
You act as though you are somehow going to be taxed to pay for this? Its a private arrangement between a private university and a private individual (or family). If it works out, it would be a great shot in the arm for the west part of downtown. Why don't you let them work it out and wish them the best of luck instead of being so outraged and negative?
Possibly, since abcdef123456's (great name, by the way) post is his #1 post, he's merely trolling to see what his bait might catch. Since MAPS 3 was announced, unless I'm badly mistaken, there has been an influx of such critters around these parts. Actually, that should be seen as a feather in OkcTalk's cap ... they are coming here because there's an audience, an audience they could not find anywhere else. Here, they have an opportunity to say something and then wait for more regular participants to engage. Several of you have, as well as me by this post, and the alpha-numeric but otherwise unknown person must be feeling just fine. Not a problem. Enjoy.

mugofbeer
11-20-2009, 05:44 PM
Hah! I don't think I even noticed. He's probably not made another post since.

MGE1977
11-20-2009, 06:34 PM
Basing the merits of one's posts on the frequency with which one posts them is a two edged sword. Sometimes you can dilute the potency of your words, when you spray them about, Doug.

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
German dramatist, novelist, poet, & scientist (1749 - 1832)

If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.
Abraham Lincoln

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin

tehvipir
11-20-2009, 09:36 PM
NO those were sarcastic remarks. but some of them i do feel are true. some may seem good and act nice but a lot are bad news. also our cops do NOT patrol a 70 acres park. how are you going ot have them do that? use the mounted pd or bike team or what? they cant patrol the park. we already have a park in the same general area that they are wanting the new park. its called wheeler park. it seems nice and big with a skate park and other stuff. why is that not good enough? although you may see the homeless as nice people as you feed them meals but what about when they steal to get mouthwash just so they can get drunk, or use tha ambulance service as a taxi? i would NOT let me wife nor kids anywhere down there especially at night.

Larry OKC
11-21-2009, 07:16 AM
... we already have a park in the same general area that they are wanting the new park. its called wheeler park. it seems nice and big with a skate park and other stuff. why is that not good enough?...

For more info, you can download the PDF presentation from the City's website (OKC.gov...sorry, but couldn't find an actual link directly). I googled ("Oklahoma City" Wheeler Park "Core to Shore") and selected the 2nd result (Presentation - City of Oklahoma City | News)

From what I can tell of the Core to Shore plans, the existing Wheeler Park is going to be unconnected to the string of parks extending from the Boulevard south to the River. Looks like 5 blocks separating it from the Central Park area (north to south) & 3 blocks (east to west), from the narrower Promenade Park that continues on to the River). The plans show the area immediately surrounding Wheeler Park is primarily residential. Making Wheeler Park a good neighborhood park along with other planned Public amenities (see below)

Phase 2 (2012-2020)
Wheeler Park School; Wheeler Park Library; Little Flower Plaza; West Park Neighborhood Green; Wheeler Park Neighborhood Green. The following Private development is planned: North Shore Mews; River Towers; West Park Phase II.

Phase 3 (2018 and beyond)
Wheeler Park Phase II (whatever that entails).

While the Central Park in MAPS 3 is part of the overall Core to Shore plan, it should not be confused with C2S. The Mayor has described C2S as being a 30 year project costing $3 billion (mixture of public/private).

jbrown84
11-23-2009, 07:04 PM
Devon and the Oklahoma Tower both bought exclusive rights (or the whole garage) in the two closest parking facilities to the apartments.

I lived there for a year and had no problem parking on the street. I can see though how some wouldn't want to lease there without garage parking.

Edge
11-30-2009, 05:36 PM
OCU wants to move the new Wimberly School of Religion to Sarkeys Law Center.

Architect2010
12-01-2009, 05:26 PM
Changing the subject a tad bit, but is anyone aware if they will build structured parking by any chance? Honestly, I don't see the purpose of creating a suburban parking paradise if they intend to move into an urban building. Even if the surrounding property may be vacant or already demolished, I believe better use could come out of those lots then asphalt and white stripes.

betts
12-01-2009, 06:10 PM
I think that's why they were so insistent that MAPS pass if they're going to move. They wanted streetcar access for students, presumably to decrease the amount of parking needed.

PennyQuilts
12-01-2009, 06:12 PM
I cannot see that I would ever have used a streetcar when I was a student. I didn't have the time to sit around and wait on its schedule. And I say that even though in good weather, I rode my bike from Bethany to the OCU campus about three days a week when I was a student.

lasomeday
12-01-2009, 06:38 PM
A parking garage would be the only way to go there. It will help preserve the other buildings that could be utilized for other purposes such as cafes or other stores.

Midtowner
12-01-2009, 06:47 PM
I imagine that if the school goes in there, the surrounding surface lots might turn into low to mid-rise office buildings filled with lawyers wanting free [OCU law grads get lifetime library privileges] and quick access to a law school's law library which is quite a bit more extensive than anything you'll find at the courthouse. Also, I believe there is free Westlaw/Lexis access in the library, which if you pay for it (and I do) costs quite a bit of money.

kevinpate
12-01-2009, 06:57 PM
I cannot see that I would ever have used a streetcar when I was a student. I didn't have the time to sit around and wait on its schedule. And I say that even though in good weather, I rode my bike from Bethany to the OCU campus about three days a week when I was a student.

During class days at OU, I made use of the CART system quite a bit, catching rides at other times, using own vehicle at times, walking some as well (I oughta walk more now than I do.) never sat around a great deal waiting, but did a whole bunch of 'man oh man I hope I can get to the stop it before it comes around.' Me and procrastination, we was study buddies, and sometimes we invited nap over to join the fun.

okyeah
12-02-2009, 01:28 AM
I cannot see that I would ever have used a streetcar when I was a student. I didn't have the time to sit around and wait on its schedule. And I say that even though in good weather, I rode my bike from Bethany to the OCU campus about three days a week when I was a student.

bahaaha I don't think OCU understands the concept of a parking garage. check out their main campus

bombermwc
12-02-2009, 08:30 AM
Well there's no reason to have a garage on campus. Besides the fact that surface lots are moved around so much there to make room for growth. Even after the expansion of the last 10 years, you still don't walk more than 2 or 3 minutes on the longest walk. So why would they need a garage on campus?

Downtown is a different story because they are so confined. If they are allowed to demo all the extra buildings on that lot, then they'll have plenty surface lot space. But I don't see them building a garage for law either. It's just not busy enough there....besides if OCU doesn't own the land, then they won't put that kind of money into the space. It's an extremely expensive project that wouldn't get them a good return in benefit.

urbanity
12-02-2009, 09:20 AM
OCU may soon kiss frog on west side of Downtown | OKG Scene.com (http://www.okgazette.com/p/12776/a/5108/Default.aspx?ReturnUrl=LwBEAGUAZgBhAHUAbAB0AC4AYQB zAHAAeAAslashAHAAPQAxADIANwAyADkA)

Comm'l Real Estate Guy
12-02-2009, 09:35 AM
Downtown is a different story because they are so confined. If they are allowed to demo all the extra buildings on that lot, then they'll have plenty surface lot space. But I don't see them building a garage for law either. It's just not busy enough there....besides if OCU doesn't own the land, then they won't put that kind of money into the space. It's an extremely expensive project that wouldn't get them a good return in benefit.

bomber...your point is exactly correct. Garages are VERY expensive.

td25er
12-02-2009, 09:42 AM
Basing the merits of one's posts on the frequency with which one posts them is a two edged sword. Sometimes you can dilute the potency of your words, when you spray them about, Doug.

Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
German dramatist, novelist, poet, & scientist (1749 - 1832)

If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.
Abraham Lincoln

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin


Can you not think on your own?

td25er
12-02-2009, 09:44 AM
NO those were sarcastic remarks. but some of them i do feel are true. some may seem good and act nice but a lot are bad news. also our cops do NOT patrol a 70 acres park. how are you going ot have them do that? use the mounted pd or bike team or what? they cant patrol the park. we already have a park in the same general area that they are wanting the new park. its called wheeler park. it seems nice and big with a skate park and other stuff. why is that not good enough? although you may see the homeless as nice people as you feed them meals but what about when they steal to get mouthwash just so they can get drunk, or use tha ambulance service as a taxi? i would NOT let me wife nor kids anywhere down there especially at night.

It'd not good enough b/c MAPS3 will get rid of the ghetto south of downtown. Some people don't like seeing rotting roofs and boarded up windows. Others are content.

Midtowner
12-02-2009, 10:00 AM
I asked the same question when this rumor came up a while back and was told by a couple of the lawyers on the thread that having the law school in close proximity to the law firms in town is a great advantage. Not being a lawyer, I don't know much more than that, but maybe it helps.

Yep.

1) Cheap labor -- a ready supply of legal interns willing to work either for free or at least on the cheap.
2) A law library -- this is a huge expense for even a small firm to keep. Free and quick access to a school's law library would be a big deal for any sized firm.
3) Close proximity of the students to the jail and to the courthouse -- Dean Hellman has been working on an innocence project. At the very least, this will result in nationwide recognition for the law school. At the very most, it can help to augment the effectiveness of our beleaguered public defender's office while providing students with valuable experience.

And is it good for OCU? Well, several departments seem to think so since they're already trying to stake out Sarkeys as being the place they should expand into.

PennyQuilts
12-02-2009, 10:30 AM
I dunno. Most law students I know would kill to work with the firms and being closer is not going to make there be a significantly larger pool. And as for the law library - do people even use them anymore? Even ten years ago I used electronic even though I was up at the law school for other reasons at least once a week. Maybe being close to the jail or courthouse helps but I interned at the DA's office for a summer and it didn't really impact me when I was taking classes.

Midtowner
12-02-2009, 10:46 AM
I dunno. Most law students I know would kill to work with the firms and being closer is not going to make there be a significantly larger pool. And as for the law library - do people even use them anymore? Even ten years ago I used electronic even though I was up at the law school for other reasons at least once a week. Maybe being close to the jail or courthouse helps but I interned at the DA's office for a summer and it didn't really impact me when I was taking classes.

The library actually gets quite a bit of use by local practitioners. And as for proximity, assuming there's a rail line, I think it's much more likely that interns could spend more time with their employers than they could right now. Also, as for the innocence project, I think the proximity issue will be a bigger deal for the profs who would supervise such a program than the students.

PennyQuilts
12-02-2009, 10:47 AM
The library actually gets quite a bit of use by local practitioners.

Yeah the OLD ones!!!! :numchucks

Midtowner
12-02-2009, 10:52 AM
Yeah the OLD ones!!!! :numchucks

I used to see younger ones down there as well. Most, like me, have Westlaw subscriptions with whatever we need in them. But that's really expensive, and if I could save $400 or so/month by running across the street, well, I might just do that.

Architect2010
12-02-2009, 10:54 AM
bomber...your point is exactly correct. Garages are VERY expensive.

I understand them not owning the land and why it's not practical to build one for themselves. But the expensive argument is exactly why Lower Bricktown is a sea of parking lots. It's a bull**** excuse for urbanity.

Comm'l Real Estate Guy
12-02-2009, 11:18 AM
I understand them not owning the land and why it's not practical to build one for themselves. But the expensive argument is exactly why Lower Bricktown is a sea of parking lots. It's a bull**** excuse for urbanity.

Architect, while I absolutely share your point of view about urbanity, it's only a qualitative point of view.

Even if the owner built the garage, wouldn't OCU's rent have to increase to cover those costs?

kevinpate
12-02-2009, 09:16 PM
Yeah the OLD ones!!!! :numchucks

LOL, I recall a particular chap that if I ever needed to speak to him, I just went to the OK CO Law Library. I was never positive, but at times I swore he used it as much as a place to hide between client conference just beyond the regular smoking areas as a place to research.

Not sure he even had an office space of his own come to think of it.

bombermwc
12-03-2009, 08:40 AM
With the garage, if OCU actually owned the land and buildings, it might be a different story. But OCU is simply leasing the building here. If a garage was built, it would have to be paid for some how. Either it would be a pay garage (which makes it less attractive to everyone involved), or OCU's lease would have to cover the cost of it in some way.

Another option would be to have the students get a free pass with their parking permit. Then only have the visitors pay...such as those using the law library. If you can park on the street for free, more power to you. But for some reason people always think garages should be free. They are INCREDIBLY expensive to build, and that cash has to come from somewhere.

onthestrip
12-03-2009, 08:46 AM
Just to give some perspective, parking garages cost around $10,000 per spot.

Urbanized
12-03-2009, 09:23 AM
TIF funding can be used to build the garage. That's exactly the type of thing TIFs exist to do, in fact. TIF money has already been used to build structured parking downtown.

Comm'l Real Estate Guy
12-03-2009, 09:27 AM
Just to give some perspective, parking garages cost around $10,000 per spot.

Onthestrip, I'm not qualified in the parking garage area, but I think they cost even more than that. $10,000/spot is what they might be bought for, but I'm not sure they can built for that. Back to your point, if OCU built a 500 space garage and it cost $10,000/space....that's a $5,000,000 garage. There might be money from other sources available for that garage, but I bet people would cry foul over public money being spent this way.

flintysooner
12-03-2009, 09:34 AM
Last garage I actually know anything about came in at $36K per spot cost not including land. But land values have to be plugged in differently than surface obviously.

Urbanized
12-03-2009, 09:39 AM
Onthestrip, I'm not qualified in the parking garage area, but I think they cost even more than that. $10,000/spot is what they might be bought for, but I'm not sure they can built for that. Back to your point, if OCU built a 500 space garage and it cost $10,000/space....that's a $5,000,000 garage. There might be money from other sources available for that garage, but I bet people would cry foul over public money being spent this way.
Like I said, it has already been done. Public money has already been used to build structured parking for a private development downtown, with no public outcry that I know of. That's the type of thing TIFs were created for, and in fact as far as I know can't be used for purposes OTHER than providing incentive for private development within the area of the TIF district in question. Outcry happens when people don't understand the TIF mechanism and confuse the money with money from the City's general fund.

Urbanized
12-03-2009, 09:47 AM
Assuming that a parking garage has to cash flow to make sense is myopic. Preserving the surrounding buildings rather than knocking them down for surface parking OR replacing them with new buildings has the potential to offset the cost of a parking structure in the long term, especially one with a public funding component. Despite its cheapness, surface parking is pretty much the OPPOSITE of "highest and best use" of downtown property.

jbrown84
12-03-2009, 03:43 PM
Assuming that a parking garage has to cash flow to make sense is myopic.

It's just another example of the kind of narrow thinking that has people voting against MAPS 3 because they don't think it will affect them in any positive way.

Midtowner
12-03-2009, 03:55 PM
I don't know whether you've driven around that area Urbanized, but much of the area is already surface parking as many of those buildings were razed many years ago (probably during the urban renewal days).

Urbanized
12-03-2009, 04:09 PM
Yeah, I'm actually really familiar with the area. In fact, I'm pretty familiar with exactly which buildings/property are/is owned by the Hall family, since another of my nine lives included working for them for about 5 years.

There are a number of buildings there still worth preserving IMO. That said, I'm not such a hardcore preservationist that I don't also believe that sometimes new buildings replacing old, when done right, is OK and even at times preferable. It's the "higher and better use" standard. The old Model T plant is non-negotiable from a preservation standpoint, but some of the others are not.

A sea of surface parking should ALWAYS be considered a temporary solution at best and frowned upon from an urban development standpoint, which I know you know.

I feel pretty confident that the Halls and OCU will find and do the right thing. Those are two very community-minded entities.

Midtowner
12-03-2009, 04:25 PM
I feel pretty confident that the Halls and OCU will find and do the right thing. Those are two very community-minded entities.

There's no question about that. I'm hoping that they simply demolish some of the less historical significant (and functionally useless) parts of the plant in favor of an on-site parking garage. The facility could theoretically all be self-contained if done right.

As I've said before, the land surrounding the Plant will probably be in high demand for the construction of buildings for office space, storefronts, copy shops and those sorts of things.

jbrown84
12-03-2009, 04:25 PM
If surface parking already exists, it makes for a good temporary solution, but I agree that OCU and the Halls' should aim to build a garage eventually if not immediately. As the area grows, it will be needed more by the general public in addition to the students and faculty.

Urbanized
12-03-2009, 04:28 PM
Which is why TIF makes so much sense. I think typically one of the requirements for TIF funding of a parking structure attached to a private development is that a certain number of spaces are set aside for public use.

bombermwc
12-04-2009, 09:50 AM
jbrown - as a student, i would have said BOOO to that. Students should be first and foremost the main thought behind parking. Any public needs to come second. If they don't provide enough parking for students because the public ends up paying to use the garage, then the public needs to go....same for a surface lot. This would first be an academic institution...the public needs to take a back seat.

With that in mind, if it doesn't make sense witht he number of students versus the number of spaces available...then why build a garage? Is there anyone here that things adding a garage won't detract from the look of the building? Even a small 3 or 4 floor structure would significantly change the look of the area and who would rather look at garage instead of that building?

jbrown84
12-04-2009, 12:18 PM
I'm not saying students should be pushed out for the public, but as an example, they might have fewer students using it on a weekend and could make up some of the cost by doing public parking for events and general use.

Midtowner
12-04-2009, 10:40 PM
jbrown - as a student, i would have said BOOO to that. Students should be first and foremost the main thought behind parking. Any public needs to come second. If they don't provide enough parking for students because the public ends up paying to use the garage, then the public needs to go....same for a surface lot. This would first be an academic institution...the public needs to take a back seat.

With that in mind, if it doesn't make sense witht he number of students versus the number of spaces available...then why build a garage? Is there anyone here that things adding a garage won't detract from the look of the building? Even a small 3 or 4 floor structure would significantly change the look of the area and who would rather look at garage instead of that building?

Have you actually looked at the building? Apparently not. The entire south end of the building consists of a single story structure which isn't all that big. Could be easily removed and replaced with a 3-4 story parking garage. The facade of the building wouldn't change one iota. The south end wouldn't suffer either. It's not like that structure is historical or even good looking.

mugofbeer
12-04-2009, 10:55 PM
Seems like they could simply include the cost of parking in a parking structure - which would be used to pay FOR the parking structure in the tuition. Make the garage exclusive to the law school to keep the public out. Then it would be a moot point.

Midtowner
12-04-2009, 11:03 PM
Seems like they could simply include the cost of parking in a parking structure - which would be used to pay FOR the parking structure in the tuition. Make the garage exclusive to the law school to keep the public out. Then it would be a moot point.

Unless the school built a structure with space to spare.... then they could charge the public for parking.

But yeah, I agree.

mugofbeer
12-04-2009, 11:05 PM
Maybe open floor 1 to paying public and floors 2+ to security badged students only?

okclee
05-24-2010, 12:09 PM
Is this project moving along? I haven't seen or heard much since the MAPS 3 vote.

Midtowner
05-24-2010, 12:16 PM
Drove by the other day, nothing seems to have changed.

okclee
05-24-2010, 12:34 PM
I would think that it would be in the planning stage with architects putting things together.

Does anyone know if they have selected an architect?

Midtowner
05-24-2010, 12:37 PM
I would think that it would be in the planning stage with architects putting things together.

Does anyone know if they have selected an architect?

Or they could be stuck waiting for leases to expire.

CuatrodeMayo
05-24-2010, 01:31 PM
I know a design team has been selected. That's all I got.

metro
05-24-2010, 01:32 PM
I always understood it that it was going to be over the course of several years starting in 2011 or 2012 if I understood correctly. Not sure how long the Vodka distillery has a lease for.