Walker is the likely plan for getting the streetcar down the Capitol Hill eventually anyway, right?

I'm not sure walker has any more advantage than robinson except maybe more direct access to the streetcar mx facility

thanks. plus i think this idea would do more for the spirit of the core to shore concept. the more urban development next to the river the better.
people are naturally attracted to water and having any form of shore line is too good a resource to pass. core to shore is a fantastic concept
that serves as the leading vessel in the urban modernization of the city.




Nice work!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop102217a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop102217b.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop111217.jpg

Once this land is fully scrapped. The visuals from I-40 with this and the park under construction - it is going to look like a bomb went off.

How long is it supposed to take to completely remove everything from the land?

https://www.reddit.com/r/oklahoma/comments/7cpm5v/im_a_photographer_who_was_born_and_raised_here_in/

Cool photo.

Once this land is fully scrapped. The visuals from I-40 with this and the park under construction - it is going to look like a bomb went off.


Yeah, no. I think way too many people here are way too familiar with EXACTLY what that looks like.

if Amazon was to chose Oklahoma City for their new headquarters, the $5 billion dollar office complex, this would be the perfect location

if Amazon was to chose Oklahoma City for their new headquarters, the $5 billion dollar office complex, this would be the perfect location

Why are we even still discussing it as a possibility? We meet virtually none of their requirements. It's a great signpost for us to determine what we need to improve to attract major companies like this in the future, but it won't be Amazon.

We aren't. And if we were, we would be doing it in the Amazon thread.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop111917a.jpg


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Those silos would make amazing night clubs. Wish they could keep at least one.

It kind of makes me sad. Another piece of our historic industrial roots is gone

It kind of makes me sad. Another piece of our historic industrial roots is gone

Could have easily been repurposed. One of the few things that makes OKC unique.

Now, we'll get some cookie-cutter new development, of which we already have dozens.

I'm really sad to see it go.

Apparently, I'm in the new minority. I absolutely hate these things and have wanted to see them torn down for a while. They're just silos. You can find them all over the state, why do we need them downtown?

Apparently, I'm in the new minority. I absolutely hate these things and have wanted to see them torn down for a while. They're just silos. You can find them all over the state, why do we need them downtown?

I'm with you on this one. Maybe I'm just having trouble visualizing what could have been done with them a la the ones in Lubbock, but I've always found these hideous and to reflect poorly on our downtown. I certainly hope there isn't just cookie cutter development put in its place (although looking at the list of every other project they've done.... ugh), but I'm glad to see them go.

Not that it would happen, but keep the big one on the East - would make an awesome in door soccer complex.

Apparently, I'm in the new minority. I absolutely hate these things and have wanted to see them torn down for a while. They're just silos. You can find them all over the state, why do we need them downtown?

+1

+1

+2

I wonder about how feasible it would be to repurpose these things, given the likely huge amount of environmental cleanup this area will require.

I wonder about how feasible it would be to repurpose these things, given the likely huge amount of environmental cleanup this area will require.

It's been done elsewhere.

Could have easily been repurposed. One of the few things that makes OKC unique.

Now, we'll get some cookie-cutter new development, of which we already have dozens.

I'm really sad to see it go.

Agreed, would have been cool to see these integrated into something new.

It kind of makes me sad. Another piece of our historic industrial roots is gone

I just read this last night in the "Fun in the Facts" section of the Nov issue of So6ix: "The highest percentage of existing structures in Oklahoma were built between 1970 and 1979." Not OKC specifically, but the whole state. That's kind of sad too...

Tear them down!!

I certainly have a level of regret about losing unique structures, but the level of excitement for the new development far out weighs the loss. For a really long time I hated how they looked and how the perception I feared the gay to outsiders.

I'm no fan of these things but would be okay with a few getting repurposed. I mean, at 80+ years downtown, they might deserve a little homage.

I honestly have no opinion either way about these buildings, I'm just completely flummoxed that they are considered unique, but just a short distance away, people are chomping at the bit saying U-Haul should be forced to sell. When odds are that building was there before anybody here was, and I can't name a ton of other places that have a spinning U-Haul truck on their building. People have decided that butt-ugly bird "sculpture" is iconic, but that spinning U-Haul told you where you were before that thing was a gleam in anyone's eye...or for that matter, before whoever thought of it was a gleam in his/her Daddy's eye. If U-Haul "needs to sell" just because some idiots deliberately planned a road route badly, then why are these so sacred?

Could have easily been repurposed. One of the few things that makes OKC unique.

Now, we'll get some cookie-cutter new development, of which we already have dozens.

Exactly. Lost an opportunity to do something unique. Whatever the plans end up being, they will certainly be less attention-grabbing than had the original silos been repurposed into something new. Didn't even need to leave them all. Just one or two in the middle of new development would have been noteworthy.

I honestly have no opinion either way about these buildings, I'm just completely flummoxed that they are considered unique, but just a short distance away, people are chomping at the bit saying U-Haul should be forced to sell. When odds are that building was there before anybody here was, and I can't name a ton of other places that have a spinning U-Haul truck on their building. People have decided that butt-ugly bird "sculpture" is iconic, but that spinning U-Haul told you where you were before that thing was a gleam in anyone's eye...or for that matter, before whoever thought of it was a gleam in his/her Daddy's eye. If U-Haul "needs to sell" just because some idiots deliberately planned a road route badly, then why are these so sacred?

I think the thought behind UHaul being forced to sell is that it kills two birds with one stone. OKC could put the street where it wants and then someone could buy the building, peel off the aluminum siding and restore it to its early 20th century glory.

Bob Funk Jr. played a video for us at lunch today with a fly through of his proposed development for this area, and it was incredible. Obviously it has fallen through and not happening, but if we can get anything close to what they had envisioned this place will be really special.

I honestly have no opinion either way about these buildings, I'm just completely flummoxed that they are considered unique, but just a short distance away, people are chomping at the bit saying U-Haul should be forced to sell. When odds are that building was there before anybody here was, and I can't name a ton of other places that have a spinning U-Haul truck on their building. People have decided that butt-ugly bird "sculpture" is iconic, but that spinning U-Haul told you where you were before that thing was a gleam in anyone's eye...or for that matter, before whoever thought of it was a gleam in his/her Daddy's eye. If U-Haul "needs to sell" just because some idiots deliberately planned a road route badly, then why are these so sacred?
+1

Glad to see the dismantle of the Producer's Cooperative Mill's clinking clanking clattering collection of collagenous junk:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop111917e.jpg



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkLyjPmpxTE
It will be gone; but not forgotten...

Could have easily been repurposed. One of the few things that makes OKC unique.

Now, we'll get some cookie-cutter new development, of which we already have dozens.

I'm really sad to see it go.

Nah... OKC has plenty of sheet metal buildings. If this is considered important architecture or heritage in OKC, we set our bar very, very low. It was smelly and an eyesore and has been for years. We might have a chance to clean the site up and do something to create more life and vibrancy in our core. Not all old is valuable.

If this is considered important architecture or heritage in OKC, we set our bar very, very low.

Well, yeah, the bar is low. Not every city leveled their downtown in the 60's and 70's. OKC only has so many more large structures like this.

I seriously doubt many/any cities have some big complex like this in the urban core.

THAT is unique and this could have been something very, very cool.

We have talked about how much work it will be to just make the dirt safe for human activity in that area, I can do without trying to create living spaces out of the storage buildings that contained the greatest concentrations of industrial materials.

I don't think the silos ever contained anything other than the cotton seed hulls.

And as I stated before, lots of these things have been repurposed.

Nah... OKC has plenty of sheet metal buildings. If this is considered important architecture or heritage in OKC, we set our bar very, very low. It was smelly and an eyesore and has been for years. We might have a chance to clean the site up and do something to create more life and vibrancy in our core. Not all old is valuable.

Lol. It doesn't have to be considered important architecture to be worth redeveloping into something interesting and unique.

I think we can all agree that it would have at least been nice to see what we are gonna get in its place before they tore everything down.

I think we can all agree that it would have at least been nice to see what we are gonna get in its place before they tore everything down.

Now this I agree with.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop112617a.jpg


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http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop120317b.jpg

Every time I see a pic of that site I think perfect place for a nice new CC Hotel Complex. Hands down the best place in the downtown area IMO.

Every time I see a pic of that site I think perfect place for a nice new CC Hotel Complex. Hands down the best place in the downtown area IMO.

Me too. Would’ve been perfect.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/coop121017.jpg

As it gets cleared it becomes much more obvious how large this site is and how long it may take to fully develop. It is a large area to hope for dense urban development. I imagine it will have to be eaten slowly and a bite at a time.

As it gets cleared it becomes much more obvious how large this site is and how long it may take to fully develop. It is a large area to hope for dense urban development. I imagine it will have to be eaten slowly and a bite at a time.

As it should be! I think it would be much better in the long run for such a huge parcel to be developed bit by bit rather than one huge masterplanned unit.

I spent a few days in Kansas City last week and, after seeing what they did with the Power and Light district, I wish we could look forward to something similar. I'm guessing they're fairly similar in size, and it is full of high rise housing, restaurants, bars, an open air music venue. Not much retail, and, of course they have the arena to anchor it, albeit without a professional team.

The Panther Island concept in Fort Worth is another good comparable for what this area should be in terms of the right mix of density and proximity to the CBD.

http://www.trinityrivervision.org/projects/panther-island

I spent a few days in Kansas City last week and, after seeing what they did with the Power and Light district, I wish we could look forward to something similar. I'm guessing they're fairly similar in size, and it is full of high rise housing, restaurants, bars, an open air music venue. Not much retail, and, of course they have the arena to anchor it, albeit without a professional team.
Replicating Power and Light would require massive public subsidy - just like the massive public subsidy that P&L received - and while that development looks great to a casual visitor it is far from an unqualified success: http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=35905&page=66&p=1014976#post1014976

What that article also fails to mention is the negative financial and other impacts experienced by existing, previously successful KC districts. Is it really good economic development for the city if it’s merely a shell game transferring the same entertainment dollar from one district to another?

Also KC’s downtown was completely dead before P&L. Development of that district was essentially their version of MAPS, and their city’s associated debt load certainly bears this out. OKC is not nearly so desperate for success, with mostly organic growth occurring downtown at a pretty quick pace at this point, and with very little municipal debt involved.

In the case of the cotton mill, its proximity to existing districts makes it possible to benefit the rest of downtown a bit more easily. Of course, successful redevelopment of the cotton mill probably WILL require SOME public participation. But instead of mortgaging the future and going all-in like KC did with P&L (with some after-the-fact regret) OKC needs to be a bit more thoughtful with the approach we take, and to better integrate with an existing, already-booming downtown.

Thank you Urbanized. You always seem to be the voice of reason.

I think the best plan here is to extend the canal into this area (the canal as it is in Bricktown, where it follows straight lines and streets, not as it is in Lower Bricktown, where it wanders and meanders). Establish some pretty strict design guidelines, and adhere to them. Then put in some large anchor developments -- apartment buildings, a few hotels, some retail. If you can get some kind of destination attraction, that would be great too. Probably concentrate the construction on the land nearest the boulevard, so that people will cross over from Lower Bricktown. Then you gradually work your way south.

The whole property doesn't need to be developed all at once. I don't know that OKC could absorb that much new development. Let it grow naturally like Deep Deuce and Bricktown have. If you start with something the quality and scale of what Bricktown has added in the last 5 years or so -- the Steelyard, the Criterion, AC Hotel/Hyatt Place, Springhill Suites, you'd have a nice base to work with. From there you just let it fill in naturally. Better to let it take some time, I think, than to risk everything on a roll of the dice.

I spent a few days in Kansas City last week and, after seeing what they did with the Power and Light district, I wish we could look forward to something similar. I'm guessing they're fairly similar in size, and it is full of high rise housing, restaurants, bars, an open air music venue. Not much retail, and, of course they have the arena to anchor it, albeit without a professional team.

I was in Kansas City in September and I thought the same thing. It's also very similar to the Epicentre in Charlotte. Interestingly, the competing developer for Lower Bricktown (who lost to Randy Hogan) was the same developer who did the P&L district. In my personal opinion, Lower Bricktown is easily one of the biggest screwups in post-urban renewal OKC development history and I really hope that the city doesn't repeat the same mistakes with the Producer's Co-op. It will be much better in the long run to do it right even if it means filling in more slowly.

I would say the River Market district in Kansas City was the most impressive. I really wish that OKC had something similar, even if on a smaller scale. Maybe someday the Farmer's Market area can become something like that.

Oops haha. My link in the longwinded post up thread was to the wrong thing (can you guess what else I was thinking of replying to? �� )

The correct link demonstrating that the Power and Light District, while popular, is not an unqualified success for KC is here: http://amp.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article9530081.html

There are many, many other articles pointing out some things about P&L that are problematic for KC, but I'll spare everyone. Feel free to Google.

If something like the P&L district was to be attempted here, I think the Cox Center block is where it should happen, NOT the Producer's Co-op. That kind of development on the other hand would be perfect for the Cox block and could help bridge the gap between Bricktown and the CBD, which will see a huge shot in the arm when First National Center's revitalization is complete. A lot of cities have similar developments with various levels of public incentives. Charlotte has the Epicentre and Louisville has 4th Street Live.

It is a good question though in terms of what kind of impact a P&L-like district would have had on OKC if that would have been done in Lower Bricktown (something that was very close to happening). Would there have been the kind of incentive and drive to invest in revitalizing places such as Midtown, Uptown, and the Plaza district?

For years OKC suffered from too many separate development agendas. No area could gain critical mass and therefore we have many, many commercial, residential, business areas in OKC and not a few fully developed ones. There is only so much new development economically that can be successful here without significant increase in population and/or gdp increase. Neither is likely soon. Therefore, the more new development areas we have, the more it will drain existing or other proposed areas. We will again be in danger of doing a whole lot of things half way but not a few things well. We love to cannibalize and marginalize what we have or want to do.

For years OKC suffered from too many separate development agendas. No area could gain critical mass and therefore we have many, many commercial, residential, business areas in OKC and not a few fully developed ones. There is only so much new development economically that can be successful here without significant increase in population and/or gdp increase. Neither is likely soon. Therefore, the more new development areas we have, the more it will drain existing or other proposed areas. We will again be in danger of doing a whole lot of things half way but not a few things well. We love to cannibalize and marginalize what we have or want to do.

You have some great points here and I agree with them. This is one thing that is concerning about Core 2 Shore/Strawberry Fields and the Wheeler District. Does OKC really have the population to sustain all of these districts/development areas? This city already has more than most of its peer cities yet they all fall short one way or another. To me, it would make more sense to focus on continuing to develop and improve Film Row, Midtown, Uptown/Paseo, fixing Lower Bricktown (Producer's Co-Op can be part of this), and bridging the gap between the CBD and Midtown. The streetcar corridor should be a priority. I think it would be much better for OKC to have a few awesome urban districts as opposed to twice as many "meh" ones.

I don't work downtown anymore so it's not an issue now, but I won't miss the smell of that place when it was running full steam. Hooey it was a distinct odor.

Once cleared and environmental cleaned; those 37-43 acres will be primed for development. It will take someone with deep pockets to develop this area should it be sectioned into parcels of 6 to 7 acre tracks.