Doug, I think you have Junipurs.
Thanks, USG, that does seem to fit:
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/graphics/1068/juniperus_chinensis_robusta_green_habit_berries.jp g
This is a web photo, not mine. There are several around the porch perimeter and we just kinda let them grow where they will without any shaping or pruning.

Thanks and I hadn't heard that ... but perhaps you mean the Mercy development? Just kidding ...

I think he means the Goodwill recycling center.

We've lived cheaply most of our lives so we could pay cash for a nice home in our later years (now, 40's) and not have to worry about making a house payment on a $400K home as we get older. I personally don't see how anyone could buy a new place downtown at current prices and consider it an 'investment.'

our downtown housing cost are much lower than our peer cities and some people think over time and as downtown grows and fills in that it will change ..

our downtown housing cost are much lower than our peer cities and some people think over time and as downtown grows and fills in that it will change ..

I don't argue that. I just think when you get into the $350K + for a home you need to be realistic. For some its very small cost to thrm, but for many others it just doesnt make financial semse. I personally couldn't sleep at night knowing I had taken on that kind of debt.

That is why we chose to save for many years so when we buy 'more house than we need' we will be putting about 70% down in cash to keep the mortgage in a reasonable amount IMO ($100k).

I guess I've just known too many people who bougt expensive homes and then spent all their time simply working to make the payment and upkeep. Then when they hit a bump in their financial road, had to sell their dream home.

That is why we chose to save for many years so when we buy 'more house than we need' we will be putting about 70% down in cash to keep the mortgage in a reasonable amount IMO ($100k)

With fix interest rates at record lows and coming inflation you would be crazy to put 70% down. Keep the 70% in some other kind of investment that you can turn into cash when you need it to make the mortgage payment. Why put it in a investment that you have to sell 100% of to get any cash out of?

With fix interest rates at record lows and coming inflation you would be crazy to put 70% down. Keep the 70% in some other kind of investment that you can turn into cash when you need it to make the mortgage payment. Why put it in a investment that you have to sell 100% of to get any cash out of?

this i 100% agree ... and it is also the problem with dave ramsey and his "methods" with the cost of money so low it is not very prudent to not allow it to work for you ..

this i 100% agree ... and it is also the problem with dave ramsey and his "methods" with the cost of money so low it is not very prudent to not allow it to work for you ..

The Dave Ramsey model works great - if we were on a gold standard currency system, but we aren't. Now credit card debt is a whole other subject.

With fix interest rates at record lows and coming inflation you would be crazy to put 70% down. Keep the 70% in some other kind of investment that you can turn into cash when you need it to make the mortgage payment. Why put it in a investment that you have to sell 100% of to get any cash out of?

Doesn't bother me to use it to pay the principle and I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan. We have the money to put up a 70% payment because of letting the money work for us for over a decade. If money is needed then I'd simply get a line of credit against the principle of the house. Then you only pay back what you actually borrow.

Doesn't bother me to use it to pay the principle and I'm a big Dave Ramsey fan. We have the money to put up a 70% payment because of letting the money work for us for over a decade. If money is needed then I'd simply get a line of credit against the principle of the house. Then you only pay back what you actually borrow.

You would take out a loan to use your own money? You better check with Dave on that one. If you were able to save 70% by letting the money work for you why would you have the money stop working for you so you could put 70% of it down? Keep letting the money work for you and make your house payment on the interest it earns. When you are done you still have the house and the principle is in a near-liquid condition. The only way to get money out of a house is to sell it or take out a loan to get something that is already yours. Many Americans already tried that - it doesn't work.

My father-in-law is kind of like you. He pays cash for his cars becasue he doesn't want the payment. So he pays $30,000 in cash. However, he could get a 1.9% auto loan, put the $30,000 in CDs at 2% and at the end of 5 years have the car AND the $30,000 (plus a few dollars in interest).

1. If cheapest lifestyle is the objective, downtown many not be the right answer
2. There is no guarantee that homes will be a positive investment...just ask Californians. However, supply and demand ultimately drives pricing, so if you are in an area with demand increasing faster than supply then prices will go up.

I think downtown living can at least be reasonable, but as for the cheapest lifestyle, ideally someone shouldn't be in a situation where they have to live on like $700/mo...

You would take out a loan to use your own money? You better check with Dave on that one. If you were able to save 70% by letting the money work for you why would you have the money stop working for you so you could put 70% of it down? Keep letting the money work for you and make your house payment on the interest it earns. When you are done you still have the house and the principle is in a near-liquid condition. The only way to get money out of a house is to sell it or take out a loan to get something that is already yours. Many Americans already tried that - it doesn't work.

My father-in-law is kind of like you. He pays cash for his cars becasue he doesn't want the payment. So he pays $30,000 in cash. However, he could get a 1.9% auto loan, put the $30,000 in CDs at 2% and at the end of 5 years have the car AND the $30,000 (plus a few dollars in interest).

I like the security of no bills. Especially with my kind of work. If I punched a clock and knew what I'd make month to month and could better budget for the expected and unexpected I would probably do that. But its piece of mind that I've got it and even if something happened and I didn't make money for awhile I wouldn't lose my house.

Nah, I'd never give $30K for a car. The most I ever paid cash for a car was $20 for my wife's Infinity. That was about 2 years ago and she could still sell it for about that today.

That is a male smurf-berry tree.


This made me laught like a sophomore in High School. Congratulations I award you +1 Internets.

I like the security of no bills. Especially with my kind of work. If I punched a clock and knew what I'd make month to month and could better budget for the expected and unexpected I would probably do that. But its piece of mind that I've got it and even if something happened and I didn't make money for awhile I wouldn't lose my house.

Nah, I'd never give $30K for a car. The most I ever paid cash for a car was $20 for my wife's Infinity. That was about 2 years ago and she could still sell it for about that today.

Well - if it works for you then more power to you.

Building permit issued today for this project.

Excellent

Why would they turn it into a seating area when they are building residences on the site? Go back and read the original post/rendering.


http://photos3.newsok.com/cache/w300-a8cfde0ec4ac65db165075c190996f7d.jpg

Building permit issued today for this project.

Cool deal! I presume that this is for the new construction, as work has been ongoing for a long time inside the old Allen's Cafe..

Any updates on this?

Last time I went by a few weeks ago, they were still working on the Allen's Cafe building.

Yeah not much visible progress right now, mainly interior gutting on the Allen's cafe building.

Lots of progress on the old building, but no work on the empty lots. The old building will be done then the corner work will start which does not make a whole lot of sense to me.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa408/wschnitt/IMG_0315-1.jpg<br>http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa408/wschnitt/IMG_0316-1.jpg<br>http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa408/wschnitt/IMG_0317-1.jpg<br>http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa408/wschnitt/IMG_0318-1.jpg

Fantastic. I believe the townhomes will begin only once the old Allen's Cafe is finished. Btw, townhome renderings have disappeared, did anyone save some by any chance?

I may be in the minority with the following sentiment, but this project is a damn shame. And the fact that they booted one of downtown's most delicious restaurants for this makes it all the more disappointing.

If your talking about Allen's, he retired. If your talking about the deli, I thought they "didn't make it." If they were booted, its news to me. Every time I went by there it was closed.

I did tour the house renovation. One of the painters showed me around. lol Very cool interior.

I was talking about Allen's, but the bit about retirement is news to me... From discussions with some people that worked there, I was under the impression they were not allowed to stay.

It was my understanding that he was paid handsomely for the building. But who really knows. I guess he does. lol

Probably, lol. I still mourn the loss of Allen's patty melts though...

I may be in the minority with the following sentiment, but this project is a damn shame. And the fact that they booted one of downtown's most delicious restaurants for this makes it all the more disappointing.

Old blog post Steve did on Hayden Allen:
http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2010/01/18/the-lunch-box/

The building was sold in 2007, but didn't he close the cafe long before that? This happened forever ago.. it blends in my memory with Bricktowns' brief foray into retail with LiT, Uncommon Grounds, and other long lost places. :/

He did indeed close Allen's quite a while ago. There was another restaurant that operated in there for maybe a year or so, sometime after Allen's ended its run.

http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa408/wschnitt/IMG_0433.jpghttp://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/aa408/wschnitt/IMG_0434.jpg

They have now listed the upstairs unit on Craigslist -- photos are of the owner's downstairs unit:


$2500 / 2br - 1500ft² - Loft @ 6th and Hudson (Midtown OKC)

Date: 2012-08-25, 5:00PM CDT


Beautifully redesigned 1500 sq/ft brick commercial building built in 1912 right in the heart of Downtown/Midtown OKC. This Condo features oversized storefront windows, gourmet kitchen, office, relaxing bedroom, lavish bathrooms (two full), 700 sq/ft patio and covered parking. Located 1 block from the National Memorial & Museum and a 5 minute walk to Bricktown, Devon Tower, Chesapeake Arena, two YMCAs, OKC Musuem of Art, and the Myriad Botanical gardens, this is the perfect location. Also within walking distance are plenty of local hotspots such as Elemental Coffee, Coffee Slingers, Ludavine, Louie's Grill & Bar, 1492 New World Latin Cuisine, Stella's Modern Italian Cuisine, Mcnellies Irish Pub, Brown's Bakery, Kaiser's American Bistro, GoGo Sushi, Pachinko Sushi, Sara Sara Cupcakes, Foodies Express, S&B Burger, Iguana Mexican Grill. You will also find TWO Spokies (OKC bikeshare program) locations within two blocks of my home. $2500 includes water and trash, tenant will pay utilities and cable. PERFECT for a single professional or couple wanting to live downtown with ZERO lawn maintenance, etc... PLEASE contact me for details, LOFT WILL BE COMPLETE AND AVAILABLE NOV 2012. (Pictures are of my loft downstairs as an example. The upstairs is the loft for rent and will also have stainless steel appliances, gas range, everything is top of the line!) Thank you.




http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/711hudsona.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/711hudsonb.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/711hudsonc.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/711hudsond.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/711hudsone.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/711hudsonf.jpg

I wish people would build white-box condos and let people choose their own finishes.

1500 sq ft and a 700 sq ft patio?

Surely that patio they're not speaking of is the concrete slab in front of the "covered parking"? A rooftop patio would be very neat at this location.


Also that awkward giant utility pole between this building and the one next to it makes me a little uneasy. Looking forward to seeing photos of the top unit and if they're doing a rooftop patio, if not - $2500 seems a little crazy? This location is good, but not as good as the Deep Deuce area ($1500-2000 for similar), IMO.

I wish people would build white-box condos and let people choose their own finishes.

Block42 did, this however is a FOR RENT property.

I think the unit is very nicely finished out...bravo Marva

Any word on when the construction of the 3 new town homes will start?

Mmm bump