When I was in Orlando for a couple hours today, I drove out to the former site of the Naval Training Center where I attended nuclear power school a long time ago. That base was closed during one of the BRAC rounds and has been redeveloped into what I think (hope) Core to Shore will become. It is called Baldwin Park and meets all the goals of the C2S studies and what many people hope that area will become. I thought about putting this in the Wheeler District thread, but Blair seems to have that one well in hand with a great vision and hopefully the means to achieve it. C2S seems to be a bit adrift now since the original "plan" is fairly old now, so maybe something like Baldwin Park should serve as an example of what could be. (This may have been mentioned in this thread at some point because Baldwin Park is similar to the opportunity OKC has to redevelop a large amount of land at one time.)

Baldwin Park | Orlando, FL (http://www.baldwinparkfl.com/)

With all the discussion of the Convention Center and how it could relate to Core to Shore, I thought it might be interesting and relevant to look at some concepts for C2S.

That is certainly a wonderful development and some aspects would fit in great with Core to Shore. Most of the home architecture is not what I would envision here, though, and a few parts of it are a little more suburban in appearance than I would want here. Overall, I wouldn't complain if something similar was what ended up in Core to Shore.

That is certainly a wonderful development and some aspects would fit in great with Core to Shore. Most of the home architecture is not what I would envision here, though, and a few parts of it are a little more suburban in appearance than I would want here. Overall, I wouldn't complain if something similar was what ended up in Core to Shore.

Right - the concept would need to be adapted to a style more appropriate for OKC (just no more Dallas copycats, please). It is about as mixed use as it can be and as I drove around the area, I felt like I was encroaching by driving instead of walking.

Not really a fan. C2S ought to be like what Wheeler Park is shooting for, but even more dense. I'd hope that C2S is filled with 5 to 10 story buildings with commercial fronting the entirety of any important streets, and fronting sizable percentages of less important streets in the area (30% to 60%).

We can take our time building the district. We don't need it to be built out in 5 years…So if to get what we're looking for it takes 20 instead, that's fine…we won't have to rebuild anything for the following 75 years.

I personally wonder what Core 2 Shore will ultimately end up being. First, the city needs to establish a vision and not grant variances to any developer who wants to stick a suburban development down there. The city has already set a bad precedent with improving that law office with the setback and surface parking.

Another thing to consider is the fact that the Core 2 Shore vision is a decade old. When city leaders were pushing it, OKC didn't have the resurgence currently being seen north of Reno. This is just me, but I think districts like Midtown that still have such a long way to go would be better places for public investment than Core 2 Shore, a concept that may actually be outdated at this point. I think OKC is ultimately at risk of having its eggs in too many baskets. I think the city needs to focus on improving and making great urban neighborhoods out of Bricktown, Midtown, and the area west of the CBD that consists of Film Row, the Clayco development, and the 21c Hotel before worrying about Core 2 Shore. In my opinion, 5 years is just as important as 25 years from now.

Ultimately I see Core 2 Shore, at best, becoming something like the Wheeler district rather than creating a mini-New York as some has envisioned.

I'd be thrilled if it were a modern day Brooklyn personally. It doesn't have to be Manhattan.

I want a mini-New York.

I want stuff surrounding the park that looks like this (currently being built in Houston):

http://swamplot.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/astoria-tall.jpg

The rest of it I want to look like this:

http://www.newyork.com/images/liny/brooklyn-park-slope_540x340_2013424.jpg

and this:

http://columbiaspectator.com/sites/default/files/gentrification4_120421.jpg

An interesting update by Steve about the proposed new TIF for this area.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5468191?embargo_redirect=yes


A $395 million budget is being proposed for a new 772-acre tax increment financing district designed to spur development in the blighted Core to Shore area between downtown and the Oklahoma River.

The proposal includes $16.6 million that would go to the Oklahoma City school district that might be used for a construction of a new middle school and high school in the project area.

They are actually carving this out of the existing TIF 2 and re-starting the 25-year clock.

One thing they always say when they pitch these TIF's: 'At the end of the 25-year period all property taxes go to the taxing jurisdictions'. Then, 20 years later, they reset the clock long after everyone has forgotten that promise.

As for the money that will 'go to the schools': 1) they would receive much more without the TIF and 2) the TIF requires them to spend the allocation within the district boundaries as opposed to putting that money back in the general fund. This is hardly any sort of gift to schools; it's really the opposite.


This is also one of a bunch of new TIF's they will be pushing through; well more than just First National and Core to Shore. That pitch has already been made to City Council (more districts) and will be coming up for approval soon.

Much more on this to come.

AMG adds Parkview Village to portfolio | The Journal Record (http://journalrecord.com/2015/12/18/amg-adds-parkview-village-to-portfolio-real-estate/)

I think if Core 2 Shore is to reach its potential, now is the time to develop a vision and develop design codes to promote that vision and create synergy. The city needs to learn from the mistakes of Lower Bricktown and do this right, even if that means development will take longer than it would if the city let developers build anything they wanted.

I think Core 2 Shore done right should end up being a combination of Deep Deuce and Uptown Dallas. It should be a self-sustaining urban community with retail, providing all the services residents need. One Core 2 Shore is developed, people living there should have no need to drive to NW Expressway for basic needs.

Core to Shore needs two things. A new name and an urban design code similar to Paris or some other big urban city to use as a model to develop a true mixed-use urban district. These codes need not be overlooked nor should any variances be issued. This is the time for the city to put their foot down and be strict.

No set backs. Very few curb cuts. No dedicated turn lanes. Narrow streets. Low speed limits. Have commercial corridors with residential neighborhoods with row houses behind them. Establish a height limit to 12 stories. Things like that.

Right, and when developers propose substandard development, the city should stand their ground. I can see it now, people will be defending bad development on grounds that at least something is being developed and it will help spur other development, and mistakes can be corrected later. However, we've seen how that way of thinking has turned out in Lower Bricktown. It will be much easier if the city doesn't let mistakes be made in the first place.

AMG adds Parkview Village to portfolio | The Journal Record (http://journalrecord.com/2015/12/18/amg-adds-parkview-village-to-portfolio-real-estate/)

AMG adds Parkview Village to portfolio
Chicago multifamily investor now owns three in OKC metro

By: Molly M. Fleming
The Journal Record
December 18, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – A developing district near the Oklahoma River helped persuade a buyer to acquire the Parkview Village Apartments.

The complex sold this week to Chicago-based AMG Realty Group, which already owned two metro-area properties: Western Oaks in Bethany and Cherry Hill in Oklahoma City. The company bought the Parkview, a 240-unit complex, for $4 million.

Justin Wilson, Brandon Lamb, David Burnett and Tim McKay with ARA, A Newmark Company handled the transaction.

The property was on the market for four months before AMG purchased it.

“We knew they would be a good fit for us,” Wilson said.

Built in 1948, Parkview has 88 buildings, with a combination of quadplexes and duplexes, with one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Rents are $525 for the one-bedroom units and $625 for the two-bedroom units.

The complex sprawls between SW 22nd Street, SW 20th Street, S. Kentucky Place and S. Mehl Drive. In total, it occupies 17 acres directly south of Rotary Park and southwest of the former Oklahoma City Downtown Airpark. The airpark is being developed into the Windsor District.

The Windsor District’s potential effect in the area, as well as other developments in south Oklahoma City, were big selling points for the apartments, said Wilson. He said the work being done on SW 25th, known as the Capitol Hill area, helped with the sale as well.

The new owners will be good for the property’s future, he said.

“(AMG’s) model is to go in and buy lower-occupied properties, make them nicer, and fill them up,” Wilson said.

Built in 1948, the complex has had some troubles in the last few years. In 2013, it was foreclosed on and owned by Fannie Mae. Tritex Real Estate Advisors helped renovate the buildings and bring the occupancy to 75 percent.

AMG will spend $1 million on continued improvements and wants to increase the occupancy.

“They plan to improve the outside of the property and get a convenience store or community store in the neighborhood,” Wilson said.

This is the part of the last article that I posted that I was most interested in. I'm surprised that nobody else seems to be interested even if it has been discussed as a possibility before.


The new schools are being looked at by Superintendent Robert Neu and the school board as a response to the growing downtown population and popularity of John W. Rex Elementary.

School board member Justin Ellis said Monday the elementary would act as a feeder school for the higher grades.

“We've got to have another school down here, and that's exactly what this is about,” Ellis said.

I think another nice precedent for Core to Shore would be Back Bay in Boston, I absolutely love that neighborhood. I also agree about the idea of a new name for C2S.

Oh, did they move the Windsor District from near Bethany to South of the river? And will it go next to the Wheeler District? :-P

Honestly I think the C2S vision should probably be revisited before development starts in earnest. That plan is nearly a decade old at this point (planning sessions were in 2006), and MUCH has changed elsewhere in downtown and even in the local understanding of urban planning and development.

Consider how much Wheeler District's vision changed from when the Humphreys family first announced plans for the old Downtown Airpark property. Night and day differences, and most would agree that the changes were excellent.

Revisit the vision, rework the plan, and codify the results. That is the only way that we can ensure that it works with the downtown we've built since the idea was first hatched, and that what is built bears any resemblance to what's on paper.

OKC could see a breakthrough year in 2019-20 with the completion of these projects:



New convention center.
Omni convention center conference hotel.
Oklahoma City downtown central park.
Intermodal Transit Hub.
Oklahoma City street car transit system.
American Indian Cultural Center & Museum.
New State Fair Arena.




There's private development:



BOK Park Plaza Tower.
First National Center Tower renovation.
Wheeler Park Development.



Not to mention the private development with a mix of hotels, office & residential you could see on the Producers' Cooperative Mill site; also, the possibility of an MLS style stadium in some early stages of development. We should know more once the sale of the site is completed.

Just read an article in 405 Magazine (http://www.405magazine.com/October-2016/A-District-Discussion/) that at a whole talks about all the districts around OKC, but it also mentioned the South Robinson area, between I-40, the Oklahoma River, Shields and Western. I think this area has so much potential! The article mentions this too. After doing some perusing on Google Maps, it's a really neat area, and I have driven through there a couple times. I know a long time ago, there was renderings of putting high rises in this area long the river. Not sure what I think of that. But I hope that the day this area gets developed, a lot of the structures along Robinson are kept because they could be turned into some neat businesses and restaurants and this whole area could be turned into like what East 6th in Austin is, which also has a large latino influence. The article compared it to the next Automobile Alley. Thoughts? Or anybody know any momentum going on in this area with the development of the park to the north?

Just read an article in 405 Magazine (http://www.405magazine.com/October-2016/A-District-Discussion/) that at a whole talks about all the districts around OKC, but it also mentioned the South Robinson area, between I-40, the Oklahoma River, Shields and Western. I think this area has so much potential! The article mentions this too. After doing some perusing on Google Maps, it's a really neat area, and I have driven through there a couple times. I know a long time ago, there was renderings of putting high rises in this area long the river. Not sure what I think of that. But I hope that the day this area gets developed, a lot of the structures along Robinson are kept because they could be turned into some neat businesses and restaurants and this whole area could be turned into like what East 6th in Austin is, which also has a large latino influence. The article compared it to the next Automobile Alley. Thoughts? Or anybody know any momentum going on in this area with the development of the park to the north?

Please see post number 1231 here.

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=24502&page=50

Just read an article in 405 Magazine (http://www.405magazine.com/October-2016/A-District-Discussion/) that at a whole talks about all the districts around OKC, but it also mentioned the South Robinson area, between I-40, the Oklahoma River, Shields and Western. I think this area has so much potential! The article mentions this too. After doing some perusing on Google Maps, it's a really neat area, and I have driven through there a couple times. I know a long time ago, there was renderings of putting high rises in this area long the river. Not sure what I think of that. But I hope that the day this area gets developed, a lot of the structures along Robinson are kept because they could be turned into some neat businesses and restaurants and this whole area could be turned into like what East 6th in Austin is, which also has a large latino influence. The article compared it to the next Automobile Alley. Thoughts? Or anybody know any momentum going on in this area with the development of the park to the north?

What's currently labeled "Hubcap Alley" I drive past every day going to and from work. Someone with some real skill could take some of the bones there and do some neat stuff. I for one have always loved the old tire shop at the NE corner of 15th and Robinson. I feel like someone could make a killer sports bar there with those big overhead doors, but it's obviously a little soon for that.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/river111618b.jpg

I'd forgotten about this name. Seems almost as out there and dated as String of Pearls parks.