Seriously? We need a pizza by the slice place, just a small, skinny stand up or bar seating only restaurant with an outside walkup window like you'd see in any dense city.
Yes, seriously. We already have some places that sell "by the slice" as an option and your emphasis was REAL pizza. Now I know what you mean by REAL. Has nothing to do with the quality or style of pizza. You have noticed OKC isn't exactly a "dense city"? maybe that is why we don't have a place crammed into a skinny space? Going along with what Rover said.

Does JJ's Alley count? It's small, skinny, and serves pizza. Lol.

Does JJ's Alley count? It's small, skinny, and serves pizza. Lol.


Ha ha. I actually thought the same thing.

Yes, seriously. We already have some places that sell "by the slice" as an option and your emphasis was REAL pizza. Now I know what you mean by REAL. Has nothing to do with the quality or style of pizza. You have noticed OKC isn't exactly a "dense city"? maybe that is why we don't have a place crammed into a skinny space? Going along with what Rover said.
No my emphasis was on a REAL PIZZA BT THE SLICE PLACE. We have NONE? Don't be confused with places that sell pizza by the slice as one menu option. Falcones is the closest thing we have and that's not what I'm talking about. OKC could support one in the CBD and in Bricktown.

The secret to quality pizza by the slice is the turnover. If the pizza has to sit for any time at all then the crust and cheese get tough. Places like the mall pizza places use a different kind of cheese to prolong its shelf life, but it doesn't taste as good. And, because you need turnover, you are restricted to basic ingredients, kind of a "least common denominator" as you cannot afford to have expensive ingredients go to waste on pizza you have to toss when it has been under the heating lamp too long. That is why it will be difficult to put such a store on 23rd or downtown until foot traffic improves quite a lot. What cities like us have though is the truck food which can go where the people are at any given time. Or, street vendors with carts.

And, because my credentials are often challenged here my disclaimer is I do not own any pizza restaurants. However, my brother has been regional mgr. for both Dominoes and Little Ceasers and now is operations manager for a company owning 100s of fast food stores. My bro in law is VP operations for a large Pizza Hut franchiser. And, my cousin was President of the Macaroni Grille chain. I couldn't help but learn a little by osmosis. LOL.

Even places that have "real pizza by the slice" can be mediocre, I have been to a Ray's (not sure which one) and Joe's Pizza in NYC and both were not as "exceptional" as expected, especially for the reputation that both places have. Both were busy so product was being moved but it was disappointing to say the least. There is a place in Downtown Houston that we went to after an Astros game that was great, it was also packed as not that many casual places are open in that area of Downtown Houston (that we found) after an evening baseball game.

I remember the old Sammy's pizza at lunch always had good and fresh slices because they were usually busy. A "slice place" in Downtown OKC could really only be a lunch place right now, not enough people living there yet to make a profitable night time restaurant. That area of Downtown Houston has had a bunch of condo/apartment conversions to add full time residents, some of them are quite large conversions like the Rice Lofts (http://www.postproperties.com/mycommunity.aspx?community=242701) which is very close to there.

The secret to quality pizza by the slice is the turnover. If the pizza has to sit for any time at all then the crust and cheese get tough. Places like the mall pizza places use a different kind of cheese to prolong its shelf life, but it doesn't taste as good. And, because you need turnover, you are restricted to basic ingredients, kind of a "least common denominator" as you cannot afford to have expensive ingredients go to waste on pizza you have to toss when it has been under the heating lamp too long. That is why it will be difficult to put such a store on 23rd or downtown until foot traffic improves quite a lot. What cities like us have though is the truck food which can go where the people are at any given time. Or, street vendors with carts.

And, because my credentials are often challenged here my disclaimer is I do not own any pizza restaurants. However, my brother has been regional mgr. for both Dominoes and Little Ceasers and now is operations manager for a company owning 100s of fast food stores. My bro in law is VP operations for a large Pizza Hut franchiser. And, my cousin was President of the Macaroni Grille chain. I couldn't help but learn a little by osmosis. LOL.

Yet none of those places are pizza by the slice places. I seen them in almost every city, some of which have less foot traffic than our CBD or Bricktown. It could be sUpported in OKC

metro: I still stand by my original question asking for clarification. Since you say we don't have a "REAL pizza by the slice" place, it was difficult to know what you meant by the short post. Now we know. Thanks for the clarification.

Not exciting news but at least it's an investment in the area...

Family Dollar on the NW corner of 23rd & Harvey is spending $150K for remodel/improve their location.

That's exciting news to me. I was just driving by there this afternoon, thinking about how beautiful the area could be if some businesses that are staying put would step up their game a bit. This sounds like a start.

I recently noticed that the bbq place in the same bungalow group as cuppies and joe has a now open sign. while driving by on friday night they had people and lights. not sure how long they've been open.

Bubba's opened last week. I hope his BBQ is as good as his last place out on 39th. He's a very good operator and knows his BBQ.

I was hoping to hear news about the Tower Theater.

Uptown 23rd KFC closed, sign reads "out of business".

Church's down the road is quite a bit better anyway.

I was talking to a lady at work today who went to Tucker's for the first time and is looking forward to checking out BTT and Mutt's. Another older woman (40-50) called the area "drive-by central." Do a lot of people still view the area this way?

Yes.

Keep It Local!

I was talking to a lady at work today who went to Tucker's for the first time and is looking forward to checking out BTT and Mutt's. Another older woman (40-50) called the area "drive-by central." Do a lot of people still view the area this way?

I live in Mesta Park neghborhood and I am astonished by how many people get wide eyed when I tell them I live near 23rd and 235. I get a lot of comments like "isnt that a pretty rough area? why would you live there?". Later, when those same people see the neighborhood for the first time the comments turn to "this is really nice, I had no idea this neighborhood was even here".

Granted most of the people who have this reaction live in the burbs and rarely travel closer to down town than Penn Square.

I live in Mesta Park neghborhood and I am astonished by how many people get wide eyed when I tell them I live near 23rd and 235. I get a lot of comments like "isnt that a pretty rough area? why would you live there?". Later, when those same people see the neighborhood for the first time the comments turn to "this is really nice, I had no idea this neighborhood was even here".

Granted most of the people who have this reaction live in the burbs and rarely travel closer to down town than Penn Square.

i get the same thoughts and responce telling some people that i live in Midtown

Good riddance to that KFC, and I say that as someone who (unfortunately) loves KFC from time to time. The fact that someone could fail with a KFC on a busy street is incredible, but should be no surprise to anyone who has frequented the place in recent years. They were routinely (and by that I mean nearly every visit) out of basic things (Original Recipe, anyone? Dark meat? Mashed potatoes?), and rarely were open the published hours. The place officially closed at 10 PM, and you could more often than not roll up on locked doors or a closed drive-thru at 9:30 or 9:45 PM. At least 50% of the orders I got through the window in the past 5 years were initially wrong. Last time I went in, an employee asked if she could borrow my phone and complete a customer satisfaction survey. And last time I went through the drive-thru I had food poisoning the next day.

For months now I have driven a few miles out of the way to go to the store at 23rd and Penn, anytime I get a KFC craving, which unfortunately happens to me occasionally. This despite the fact that I live almost within walking distance of the 23rd/Rob location.

Hopefully one of the great local restaurant groups takes over that building and makes another great new concept like the ones that have been popping up over the past couple of years (Tucker's, BTT, Mutts...). Maybe a local fried chicken place? I can only hope...

I was talking to a lady at work today who went to Tucker's for the first time and is looking forward to checking out BTT and Mutt's. Another older woman (40-50) called the area "drive-by central." Do a lot of people still view the area this way?

I'm in this area often and people will trip balls when I tell them that I'm over there.

I'm in this area often and people will trip balls when I tell them that I'm over there.

Just curious, but what kind of people do you associate with? I live in the area and my main annoyance is the sometimes high frequency of the "ghetto copter" fly overs that rattle the ricketiness of my rickety abode...Maybe its police copters, i dunno. Could be news ones or maybe chesapeake higher ups commuting back and forth to downtown. Drive-byes are probably 3rd or 4th on my list...

Yeah. The area is not scary. I used to run around 23rd in the morning and night and was never concerned. There are some minorities in the area and that is enough to scare about half of OKCs white population though. Whites moved away from the core b/c they were scared and a lot still haven't come back... Lol.

Just curious, but what kind of people do you associate with? I live in the area and my main annoyance is the sometimes high frequency of the "ghetto copter" fly overs that rattle the ricketiness of my rickety abode...Maybe its police copters, i dunno. Could be news ones or maybe chesapeake higher ups commuting back and forth to downtown. Drive-byes are probably 3rd or 4th on my list...
Not to mention met are medi flight helicopters with the hospitals nearby

We do have several groups of panhandlers, but that's about it. I've lived nearby for 10 years and have been really happy with the progress 23rd Street has made. We have had Cheevers for 11 years; things have changed tremendously for the positive. As far as drive-byes...I haven't heard of a single occurrence in several years. This area is much safer than some of the areas further north on 122nd IMO. Kinda funny to read some of the posts...

Blah, I fat-fingered F5, so now I'm going to have to post a shortened version of my original message:

Basically, I haven't parsed the thread to see if it's here, but here's a list of things I think that this area (the mile stretch of NW 23rd between Broadway and Classen) needs, likely in this order:

1. Entertainment: Tower will be key here. I'm not sure what other avenues would be good.

2. Bars: Nice, more upscale bars. Bars are a form of entertainment themselves, and you could even have a piano bar or a bar/cigar lounge. Something to attract the younger people who are excited to walk down the street from block to block doing this that and the other.

3. Shopping: Not a shopper, but I imagine it's key. Not sure what should be targeted, but definitely a necessary component.

4. Landscaping: A small park-like area, maybe a fountain, or one of those multi-hole "geyser" like fountains. Something to give the area a natural touch. They do a decent job on the median, when it's there, but part of it is probably just as much the buildings looking shabby.

5. Housing: This is definitely way down on the list, but could be useful.

6. Eats: I actually think this is already a really strong stretch for the eats: Cheever's, Big Truck, Tucker's, Pho Lien Hoa, Someplace Else (though that's actually on Western), Bubbas? BBQ, Several fast-food joints. Then there's Cuppies and Joe, and if this stretch could add one other thing slightly like that, but different, it would be all the better.

It really is an exciting area. I would be incredibly interested to see what just $10M to $50M could do in this area. I think this street (despite people apparently thinking there are drive-by's galore), would be one of the very best streets in town for night-life if the investment would be made. And honestly, a simple coat of paint might strike enough interest in people's minds to start developing this area business and traffic wise.

So what are we going to do with the former KFC building?

It is boarded up and is already an eyesore for anyone traveling west after exiting 235.

Maybe someone could suggest that Italiano's move from Lincoln over to 23rd street. There are no options for Italian food anywhere along the Uptown 23rd street.

There WAS a time that the area around Cheever's was very seedy, with CRIPS hanging out and crack deals taking place in the open. When Cheever's first opened, it was amusing to sit on the patio, enjoy a nice drink, and watch the drug deals going down. There were three or four pay phones in the empty lot across the street, which was extremely convenient for the neighborhood dealers. That was during a time in which Jefferson Park itself was somewhat scary -- early to mid 1990s. It's completely gentrified now, the pay phones are gone and I haven't seen gang members there in over a decade.

There was also a sign in the windows of the space next to Dollar Tree or whatever about a $150000 renovation. I bet that is for their expansion.

Great addiction, this is across from Cuppies and Joe, so great to build more critical mass at that intersection.

Great addiction

Wow metro, I didn't know you liked to go to 23rd Street for your addictions..

Great addiction, this is across from Cuppies and Joe, so great to build more critical mass at that intersection.

There were many addictions -- and other afflictions -- causing mayhem in Uptown, but it's been more than a decade.

Has anybody noticed active work on the Tower Theater?

A building permit was issued a few weeks ago.

None I've seen

Same, I went by there tonight, same old crap.

Ironically, if they would just leave the doors open with a jackhammer and receptacle bins inside, many of us would probably just get them started just to see some progress that we're all yearning for on this project. Paradoxically, that would be a disaster with the waning-but-still-present homeless problem...

Same, I went by there tonight, same old crap.

A week ago, the T was unlit on one side and TO unlit on the other. :-(

Metro, thanks for the heads-up. That's fantastic news about Deep Fork's new restaurant and bar going into the retail space at the Tower Theater!

Anybody have an idea of the concept they'll be going with?



Here's the entire article:

http://okc.biz/oklahoma/article-5737-uptown-developments.html
June 20th, 2011 - Kelley Chambers
Uptown developments

NW 23 Street is home to several new restaurant concepts, with more planned as the area is revitalized

As restaurants continue to pop up along NW 23 Street from around Hudson Avenue to just west of Classen Boulevard, several have found successful concepts, leading to incremental growth and redevelopment of the area.

On May 18, Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs joined the line of specialty eateries along a stretch of road that includes dilapidated and largely vacant strip centers, wig shops, discount convenience stores, pawn shops, fast-food restaurants and a steady stream of vagrants.

But rather than write off the area, developers and restaurateurs including Keith and Heather Paul, Chris Lower, Mike Tharasena and Marty Dillon are investing in long-neglected properties.

Set to open in August is Tucker’s Onion Burgers across the street from Cheever’s. Keith Paul says he wanted to open an eatery with a distinctly Oklahoma flair.

“We’ve been working on a burger concept for about two years,” he says. “We thought that no one is really focusing on the only cuisine that’s from Oklahoma.”

At the Tower Theater, Dillon is leasing space to the Deep Fork Group for a 4,000-square-foot restaurant and a 1,000-square-foot bar in the retail space facing the street. At Big Truck Tacos, the owners have taken a space for a catering kitchen and a gift store. They will share the building, which Dillon owns, with a gelato shop.

At the 23rd Street Courts, Tharasena has filled that space with Cuppies & Joe, a law office, a tattoo shop and others. Behind Cuppies & Joe, he is renovating a building for restaurant space.

Despite the pockets of restaurants and retail, several abandoned strips and underutilized space stand.

Lower says there is no concerted effort to find a use for that space, but he believes the momentum of the area is catching on and attracting others to take a second look at that stretch of road.

“Getting rid of some of the crummier tenants down there will help,” Lower says. “I think the Tower will become the hub of 23rd.”

NW 23 Street is the north boundary of the city’s sixth ward, represented by Councilwoman Meg Salyer. She has watched as the area slowly has gone from an area of blight to an up-and-coming dining and entertainment district.

“These are all great, brave entrepreneurs,” she says.

Salyer says the key word for growth and improvement in the area is “incremental.” While she and others would like to see the area shape up faster, hurdles remain from owners who leave their properties run down, or have no interest in the revitalization.

“Having folks that are unrealistic about the value of their property, you can end up with some unwilling property owners to get involved in the process,” she says.
Despite some sketchy areas that remain, Keith Paul says there is no place he would rather be doing business. He envisions a day when 23rd is a long stretch of retail and a true destination.

“I hope it will be a neighborhood people will flock to,” he says. “We hope someday people will walk from Cheever’s to Cuppies & Joe, and have things to do along the way.”

Mutts Amazing Hot Dogs
1400 NW 23
Built: 1968
Square feet: 1,728
Valuation of project: about $150,000

After visiting Chicago and trying hot dogs in the Windy City, Chris Lower, Cally Johnson and Kathryn Mathis – the masterminds behind Big Truck Tacos – decided to mix up their meat between a tortilla concept and fixings in a bun.

23rd Street Courts
North side of NW 23, between Shartel and Lee avenues
Square feet: more than 20,000 in eight buildings
Valuation of project: about $3 million to $5 million invested to date

Developer Mike Tharasena and architect Brian Fitzsimmons converted a collection of rundown bungalows into a lively retail strip. Set to open soon is Bubba’s, serving barbecue at 715 NW 23. Behind the strip, a 4,000-square-foot building is being renovated for a restaurant space.

Hotel Motel Liquidation
511 NW 23
Built: 1939
Square feet: 21,840

While “going out of business” has been painted on the windows of this building for years, it is on the market for $1.5 million. Chad Elmore, listing broker with InterWest Realty, says the owner is looking to sell the building and close the business. No future plans for the building have been announced.

Truong-Than Supermarket
2400 N Walker
Built: 1926
Square feet: 9,586

The retail space is connected to the Tower Theater at the northeast corner of NW 23 Street and Walker Avenue. Chad Elmore, listing broker with InterWest Realty, has the property on the market for a lease rate of about $9 per square foot.

Big Truck Tacos
530 NW 23
Built: 1966
Square feet: 1,931
Valuation of project: about $200,000

Chris Lower, Cally Johnson and Kathryn Mathis opened the taco eatery in 2009. The owners also have taken space in a building to the east of the restaurant for a larger kitchen and a gift shop. Next door to Big Truck, Avianos, an Italian gelato shop, is set to open this summer.

Tower Theatre
425 NW 23
Built: 1926
Square feet: 25,400
Valuation of project: $3 million

Owner Marty Dillon plans to restore the space to its former glory. The first floor of the auditorium will be renovated into an event space, and the 280-seat balcony will be used for screening films. Dillon’s Party Galaxy store is moving into the upstairs office space.

Tucker’s Onion Burgers
324 NW 23
Built: 1959
Square feet: 1,470

Owner Keith Paul says onion burgers are perhaps the only true Oklahoma-originated cuisine. The restaurant will feature onion burgers, French fries, hand-dipped milk shakes and freshly squeezed lemonade. The restaurant will seat about 50 people inside and 25 outside. Average check: $10.

Cheever’s Café and catering building
2409 N Hudson Ave. and 401 NW 23
Built: 1937
Square feet: about 4,500 combined

Owners Keith and Heather Paul continue serving food at the restaurant. Next door, a building facing NW 23 Street that previously housed Market C, has been converted to catering space.

I've been putting together some information on all north side development lately, and because of how amazingly helpful this ONE post was, I thought I'd bump it up in case it is as helpful to some lurkers on this thread or other members as well

Hopefully the start of something very cool for Uptown 23rd street.
websitehttp://uptown23rd.com/
twitterhttps://twitter.com/#!/Uptown23rd

Uptown 23rd creating their own website and twitter for online marketing. Much needed and overdue for 23rd street. This could quickly and very easily become something like the Plaza District is doing.

Thanks for the links, Skyline! I live in the Uptown area and am excited to see all the new development.

On a related note: I've been thinking about how to create better public transit along the NW 23rd corridor, and have wondered what it would be like to have one lane of traffic set aside for buses, taxis, and bicycles only. It would require MetroTransit to increase the buses running along the route to come every 10-15 minutes, but I think it could get more people to choose public transit in the area and help increase visitors to all the new businesses going in. San Francisco has a lot of bus only lanes on big business corridors to help make bus travel more efficient. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Agree

Hopefully the start of something very cool for Uptown 23rd street.
websitehttp://uptown23rd.com/
twitterhttps://twitter.com/#!/Uptown23rd

Uptown 23rd creating their own website and twitter for online marketing. Much needed and overdue for 23rd street. This could quickly and very easily become something like the Plaza District is doing.

No offense to the Plaza, but I feel like 23rd is already quite a ways ahead of the Plaza. They're both very different, if for nothing else than location...but 23rd could easily become one of the best entertainment/night-life strips in the city. Just needs a couple bars, some music, some late night restaurants, and maybe some apartments/condos on the strip (I'm looking at you, Hotel/Motel Liquidation).

Once the Tower gets cranking that strip will pretty much have turned the corner and I bet several more pieces will quickly fall into place.

Jefferson Park may end up being the best bang-for-your-buck neighborhood in OKC.

just ate a the Chinese Buffet restaurant on the corner of 23rd & Classen, right in the misdt of Sun Moon Plaza. After I finished eating, I was able to walk across the street to Chase Bank, and walk back across the street to T-Mobile. Many people were on the street walking, people waiting at bus stops, cars were bumper to bumper on 23rd, and city buses rolling by, I felt URBAN!
:cool18:

very nice. and yes, very urban sounding.

what time of day (and what day) was this?

Don't knock Plaza, they have huge street crowds.

Not that I am biased or anything, but the Plaza District is arguably the coolest neighborhood in OKC at the moment and still a fantastic bargain for your housing dollars.

very nice. and yes, very urban sounding.

what time of day (and what day) was this?

I am at this intersection (23rd & Classen) nearly everyday and can tell you that this "urban" experience is almost non stop. Pick any time or any day and 23rd & Classen is crowded with cars, buses, and pedestrians. I really wish that 23rd could incorporate the bicycle lanes and adding more crosswalks that are being seen downtown.

Also I think the streetcar would be an instant success traveling along the Uptown 23rd corridor.

very good to hear, Skyline!! :)

I don't think there's any doubt that OCU would be huge, to be able to connect a university with kind of liberal arts composition to downtown. I also understand that according to data collected by the transit subcommittee, a bus route following NW 23rd all the way across is by far the city's busiest bus route. And also, supposedly the area around OCU has the highest proportion of non-car users in the city.

So if you want to talk about viable mass transit in OKC, look no further than 23rd.

I don't think there's any doubt that OCU would be huge, to be able to connect a university with kind of liberal arts composition to downtown. I also understand that according to data collected by the transit subcommittee, a bus route following NW 23rd all the way across is by far the city's busiest bus route. And also, supposedly the area around OCU has the highest proportion of non-car users in the city.

So if you want to talk about viable mass transit in OKC, look no further than 23rd.

If the street car could make it to OCU and make a trip to downtown a 20 minute or less proposition for OCU students, then that would be awesome. I know several people who didn't have cars while I was there, and if they could have caught a ride, that would have helped them be able to find good jobs.

I would agree that tying in 23rd along with the Capital/Health Sciences Center through the streetcar would be a complete game-changer for the urban core.

By doing so, you'd be connecting the main concentration of students along with key amenities, employers and housing areas. Let's face it, if you live in Mesta Park or HH or further south you can just walk downtown pretty easily. But not so much from OCU, Jefferson Park, the Capital and HSC.

I would think it's obvious that the Street Car Route goes from Broadway to 23rd to Classen to Reno. Downtown obviously you can go up and down the streets that make sense.

Then "Metro Transit" can focus on 23rd & Classen/Western outward. And even 23rd & Broadway to the capital. I think it would be huge if there was continual traffic to Belle Isle and the Chesapeake area from 23rd. Metro Transit just doesn't make it happen quite yet.

After being a business owner for several years in this area, having an office at the corner of 18th/Classen, I traveled 23rd daily. With my past experience and now, I would say that 23rd from Sante Fe all the way to Penn is one of the busiest and urban corridors in the city. Most of the businesses are pushed to the street on 23rd, and you see not only cars, but buses and many pedestrians all the time. They also have an urban school Dove Science Academy right off 23rd.

I live in Moore, but I work in Oklahoma City, and when I am there, 99.9% of my time is spent in the 23rd/Classen/Asian District area, and I love it. There is even a mom/pop deli I love going to on the corner of 23rd/Western called Someplace Else, been there for years, best sandwiches in the metro!

http://pics3.city-data.com/businesses/p/6/2/1/2/8006212.JPG

I live in Moore, but I work in Oklahoma City, and when I am there, 99.9% of my time is spent in the 23rd/Classen/Asian District area, and I love it. There is even a mom/pop deli I love going to on the corner of 23rd/Western called Someplace Else, been there for years, best sandwiches in the metro!

http://pics3.city-data.com/businesses/p/6/2/1/2/8006212.JPG

If American Fidelity really is building downtown, Someplace Else is going to take a hit. I doubt they'd close, but I imagine they do a good chunk of business from AF employees during lunch and early dinner.

If AF relocated, their existing space would be leased to new businesses.

And given the very tight nature of the local office market, I bet they'd fill most if it sooner rather than later.

But hopefully the AF offices become available for other tenants. There is a need for decent size contiguous spaces of A&B office space in this city. AF building downtown would bring more business to the mid-town area via their old offices. Win-win.

I get the pleasure of moving to the Plaza District from Edmond next month. Count me excited!

To everybody else: Sorry for being a lurker. (I'll pay for my membership soon!)

I would agree that tying in 23rd along with the Capital/Health Sciences Center through the streetcar would be a complete game-changer for the urban core.

By doing so, you'd be connecting the main concentration of students along with key amenities, employers and housing areas. Let's face it, if you live in Mesta Park or HH or further south you can just walk downtown pretty easily. But not so much from OCU, Jefferson Park, the Capital and HSC.

There are also a large number of lower-income people around the Capitol who don't own cars, which would be another potential goldmine for ridership. That end of the socioeconomic range will be important to balance along with more upscale infill development, not just for ridership, but for a healthy, diverse urban core.

My understanding is that connecting NE OKC to medical services could also potentially open up federal grants, although we know the likelihood of any of those ever going to us...

A good chunk of OCU students don't have cars either b/c a lot of kids come from out of state for the performing arts, and while OCU's enrollment is just a few thousand, that would provide some ridership to the streetcar if it made it to 23rd. OCU holds monthly events in Bricktown at Harkins, etc. so there's definite demand for an OCU to downtown access.