Yeah! Lol. And cars!

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Good gawd, those are awesome pics! So stylish and moody.

Here's a test for ya. Send those pics to any number of people around the country and ask them to name what city it is.

How many would guess correctly? None? Unless they live in downtown OKC or are fans of this board, I don't think they'd ever get it.

Good gawd, those are awesome pics! So stylish and moody.

Here's a test for ya. Send those pics to any number of people around the country and ask them to name what city it is.

How many would guess correctly? None? Unless they live in downtown OKC or are fans of this board, I don't think they'd ever get it.

I don't know, there's no people yet, so it might be easy...

Building permit today for the 3,600 square feet on the ground floor of this project.

I assume this is for The Garage Burgers that will also make use of the courtyard.

The Garage - Burgers & Beer (http://www.eatatthegarage.com/)

Nice shot of downtown taken from a rooftop at 12th and Robinson:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BQxdMJ_CIAAk0PP.jpg:large

Source: https://twitter.com/DannyOjedaOKC/status/363768133326086144/photo/1

You can see in that photo just how looooong a building The Guardian is.

Can you imagine that view in 10 to 20 years if there are towers at 4th/EKG, Stage Center, Preftakes and BoA drive-thru…and in 15 to 30 years if there are a cluster of towers on the current Cox site, in addition to a bit of 5 to 10 story density in the background where C2S is.

God, I just feel like that parking lot needs to be developed into something...

The parking lot serves us well. Constantly full actually. The empty lot next to it def needs dev though.

As mentioned earlier, The Garage (http://www.eatatthegarage.com/) is under construction in The Guardian.

I did not realize they are taking all the lease space, which means they will not only open into that slick courtyard, they will also utilize the overhead door that opens on Robinson. Such a great use of all that space:



http://www.eatatthegarage.com/sites/aegir.thegaragenorman.com/files/Garage_promo_block_hours.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/4869d1383084684-guardian-9012760111_f8c6fd92b9_b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/4870d1383084685-guardian-9013951446_6f72200ffc_b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/5403d1387148031-guardian-garage4.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/5401d1387148030-guardian-garage1.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/attachments/development-buildings/5402d1387148030-guardian-garage2.jpg

It's going to be interesting to see how this location and Urban Johnnie's do. They'll be catering to a similar clientele. I think they'll both succeed as their aren't really many good places to catch a game in the core. If someone put a really good sports bar in Bricktown it would do extremely well, but there's not a high quality one now.

I used to think that a great sports bar is a no-brainer too. But I watch Bar Rescue religiously and host (and bar expert) Jon Taffer says that sports bars are really not a great concept these days, and usually the go-to of the rookie bar owner. So maybe not.

What's the definition of "Sports Bar" in this discussion?

I think in Taffer's case, he meant a place whose business model revolves around showing sports and drawing people to watch said sports. Now, if it is a place that is great (and a draw) even when there is not a game showing, but it also happens to have tons of screens and is a fantastic place to be when there is a game on, then that us an entirely different matter.

What's the definition of "Sports Bar" in this discussion?

That's a good question because both places could definitely draw beyond a sports bar audience. The Garage might not even be best classified as a sports bar.

Urbanized, I watch BR religiously as well and I think the one that sticks out the most to me is the one shown last weekend where a place called "Long Shots Sports Bar" in Grain Valley, Missouri had no TV's and a hipnotist doing a show in the bar. It would be hard for me to go to any sports bar twice (let alone once) if they didn't have TV's.

Yeah, that was a straight-up joke. If I went into that place expecting a sports bar I would be angry.

Yeah, that was a straight-up joke. If I went into that place expecting a sports bar I would be angry.

I wouldn't be angry, I would have just left and went to Whiskey Tango or whatever the other place was called.

LOL without question the bar scene in that town left a lot to be desired.

I wonder how confusing to out of town drivers with the "The Garage" signage be?
sorry -- poorly formed sentence, but uninterested in fixing it.

Application today for a neon sign for this property, no doubt for Garage Burgers.

Garage sign is up! (Thanks to BoulderSooner):


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/guardian022714.jpg

Any clue who manufactured the sign?

When is the restaurant supposed to be open?

Any clue who manufactured the sign?

Acura Neon, Inc.
1801 N Willow Ave
Broken Arrow, OK, 74012
Phone:
918-252-2258

Good progress:


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/garage031014a.jpg



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/garage031014b.jpg



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/garage031014c.jpg

Acura Neon, Inc.
1801 N Willow Ave
Broken Arrow, OK, 74012
Phone:
918-252-2258

Thanks

Those windows look great polished up!

Still not a fan of the mustard yellow paint on the east face.

Funny thing is, I'll bet if they had simply stripped all paint off of the original brick it would have looked very similar, especially from a distance. I suspect it just looks odd to us because we were used to the brown.

Still not a fan of the mustard yellow paint on the east face.

It will successfully evoke the Garage hamburgers.

The Garage has some great neon signs hanging in its windows, I noticed as I drove by today.

They should be getting very close to opening.

They should be getting very close to opening.

Per Garage midtown twitter they open April 14th and judging by the progress I will be surprised if they don't hit that date.

I peeked in today while on the architecture tool and it was packed with people inside and on the patio. And that burger smell... mmmm....

Does anyone that has lived there care to share their experience? I am going to take a look at a unit this week and am curious to know if it's been posititive/negative. I assume that it is on par with other's experiences at other Midtown Renaissance locations which has been nothing but positive.

Went on the architecture tour. It's a true loft type experience, no "rooms", just wide open space. So good for just me, but not my kids...

Does anyone that has lived there care to share their experience? I am going to take a look at a unit this week and am curious to know if it's been posititive/negative. I assume that it is on par with other's experiences at other Midtown Renaissance locations which has been nothing but positive.

Co-worker just moved in and she hates it. She says all the small stuff is wrong. Cabinets can't open because they run into other kitchen elements, etc. Stuff like that. Nothing major but a lot of minor details,

If he doesn't chime in soon, send a PM to Urban Pioneer.

He lived there for quite some time and I saw his unit -- pretty fantastic.

Went on the architecture tour. It's a true loft type experience, no "rooms", just wide open space. So good for just me, but not my kids...

That's how my unit at 430 was. Really liked it.

I really want one of those 430 units with a downtown facing balcony some day (when my kids are grown). Man... nice...

I looked at a unit at 430, but it was a 1st floor north facing unit (and only 550sf). While I don't need a whole lot of space, I decided to wait until another unit became available with a little more space. I am excited to walk through the Guardian and see how it compares.

I was on the southside first floor. I had the option of that or one on the second with a balcony same side. I picked first floor becuase I didn't want to move things up a flight of stairs. I regret that. Second floor had a way better view.

I saw his unit -- pretty fantastic.
That's high praise, right there!

My son lives on the first floor there and is very happy with it. He has one of the units with a sleeping loft and it certainly looks good. He has twice had problems with the A/C in the past year and a half and they fixed it quickly. Otherwise I think everything has worked well.

If he doesn't chime in soon, send a PM to Urban Pioneer.

He lived there for quite some time and I saw his unit -- pretty fantastic.

Thanks for the compliment. I will send you some photos for sharing and write a more detailed review. In short, its an awesome place but has some quirks. In terms of the aesthetic ambience, the units are awesome. I felt like I was in New York or something.

That's high praise, right there!

LOL! I hope UP doesn't send pics, he could get thrown in jail for that.

This got weird

This got weird

Not so much weird as sophomoric.

Thank you all for the responses, I'll keep that in mind when I go take a look. Of all the MidtownR properties, this was on the top of my list, so I am excited to see it.

LOL! I hope UP doesn't send pics, he could get thrown in jail for that.

LOL guys. Apt or otherwise, at least I wouldn't have anything to be ashamed of.

And yes... sophomoric.

I have had a couple PM's about wanting the review.


I love the Guardian. The quirks vary depending on which unit you are looking at and the way that the unit to the outside faces. Because it is an old building, some of the historic windows do not open at all, are difficult to open, can get stuck. etc I had a wrench and a crowbar nearby in case I got into trouble. lol

The old frames of the windows can also be a real challenge in managing temperatures inside the unit. I was on the SE corner and therefore had a constant battle with keeping the roller shades down to enjoy the view of downtown and the church while managing the temperature in the space. My recommendation would be to buy a Nest thermostat to help you manage the temperature more easily and remotely turn on the AC and Heat before you come home. Also, keep the shades closed when your gone during the summer and open during the winter.

The building is very noisy. If your young and up late or you don't mind wearing ear plugs, you can cope with it. Just keep in mind that the entire building is made up of reflective surfaces. A dog barks in that building and you hear it. The worst experience is when I would forget the windows open on Wed morning. The trash truck drivers have a race down Robinson to see how fast they can empty dumpsters. Crash and burn I swear. CRASH!!!! lol After two Wed's experiencing waking up to that, I remembered to close the windows. Again, ear plugs or wave machines help with these situations.

Regarding the unleveled cabinets, the rolling closets will go unleveled with the doors if you move them and do not reset the doors with a screw driver. I'm sure management would have done that if I had asked, but I didn't mind fixing that problem myself. They are huge closets. Because it is an old building, 2nd floor units do not have perfectly level floors. Moving these massive rolling closets causes them to shift around and require the reseting.

Another quirk is the glass shower. The seal on my door would allow some water to leak out onto the floor. I always had to attempt to focus how I was showering to prevent water from excessively running out into the bathroom floor.

The "non-scratch" counter tops do indeed scratch. Avoid cutting or dragging anything heavy and sharp across them.

Another quirk is that mortar and dust along the exposed brick walls required regular vacuuming. Not sure if it is all of the earthquakes, but mortar crumbles and mortar dust required regular attention to the floor and cabinets along the wall.

With all of these quirks the Guardian is an awesome rebuild of a true urban building. The ambience and the awesome windows make for an extremely uplifting home. If you want no maintenance and no quirks, go to a new apartment complex. And even in those (I lived in Deep Deuce for 7 years and The Legacy for 2) have their own quirks too. The Guardian is a great place to be. Snow storms and thunderstorms are awesome experiences in that building.