Man, something needs to happen to that big ass parking lot in front of BEC.

Agree. I vote for an Energy stadium. :Smiley199
Credit to d usa for the photoshop.

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He's talking about Bricktown Event Center.
Oh. Yeah I wish that would go away as well.

They need to take another stab at that site plan. I am willing to offer free consultation.

What changes would you make?

What changes would you make?

Far from perfect, but it's pretty good.

Well it's a little weird to see an entire city block proposal in Bricktown that is surface-parked...

This project just screams cheapola. Because that's what it is. But as far as cheap goes, no it isn't bad. They didn't do anything maliciously stupid like the Candlewood project across the street.

I think this is an instance where you apply standards here for the sake of protecting Gary Brooks' investment (that is if you need a reason other than having standards). The Steelyard, and all of the hard work that Brooks has poured into that which by the way he didn't have to do, really should raise the bar for East Bricktown. Really all of Bricktown.

I just worry with the way that things go in OKC that once Steelyard is done, people will be amazed at how excellent it is, and then we will go straight back to the type of developments that East Bricktown has always had: Bass Pro, McDonald's, gas station, suburban city-built fire station, green pitch roof inn, Harkins, Sonic, Toby Keith's, Earl's Rib Palace, KD's Soul Food, and of course parking on parking (but not actually on top of said parking).

The parking area is a very large garage I believe.

The parking area is a very large garage I believe.

Didn't see the ramp. That's certainly better than I realized then, thanks for bringing that to my attention. ;)

Didn't see the ramp. That's certainly better than I realized then, thanks for bringing that to my attention. ;)
It seems to be only 2 stories though. They could have stacked it more instead of having a parking garage fronting Lincoln.

Agreed, but that's still way better than anything anyone else has done along Lincoln. Really anywhere from I-40 up to... I-44? lol

Every city has a corridor that is really much, much worse than the locals realize. Lincoln ("Renaissance" and all) may be ours. It's pretty bad.

I just worry with the way that things go in OKC that once Steelyard is done, people will be amazed at how excellent it is, and then we will go straight back to the type of developments that East Bricktown has always had: Bass Pro, McDonald's, gas station, suburban city-built fire station, green pitch roof inn, Harkins, Sonic, Toby Keith's, Earl's Rib Palace, KD's Soul Food, and of course parking on parking (but not actually on top of said parking).

Hopefully once the Steelyard is done, people will understand how these developments should be done and others will raise the bar.

Most of what you mention was built by Randy Hogan. While there is so much to be excited about in OKC, I get depressed every time I walk the canal down past the Harkins. Randy Hogan also had no excuse given what other cities were building at the time.

Let alone some of what he has done in other cities, including proposed in suburban Jenks, Oklahoma...

Hopefully once the Steelyard is done, people will understand how these developments should be done and others will raise the bar.

Most of what you mention was built by Randy Hogan. While there is so much to be excited about in OKC, I get depressed every time I walk the canal down past the Harkins. Randy Hogan also had no excuse given what other cities were building at the time.

Wait, you don't like Lower Bricktown?

Let alone some of what he has done in other cities, including proposed in suburban Jenks, Oklahoma...

What development are you referring to?

Across the Creek Turnpike from the Oklahoma Aquarium there..

OKCTalk - First look at 10-story Canopy Hotel for Bricktown (http://www.okctalk.com/content/255-first-look-10-story-canopy-hotel-bricktown.html)

Looks like the condo plans may be on hold but hotel is going forward.

I rather like the way the hotel looks but I'm not sure the facade has enough brick to fit into the character of the district. I'm also rather concerned by the amount of surface parking as well; I know it's easy to remove a parking lot and build a building, and that parking is still a necessary evil, but I honestly would much rather see structured parking of some sort versus surface parking. All of that aside though, the Canopy flag is a pretty awesome get, and I'm super excited to see Bricktown continue to fill out. Before too much longer, all of the vacant space will be built on and we can start working to overhaul the crazy parking situation! :)

Are those EIFS on the non-bricked part? Would be great if it were anything other than that.

I like the design and I think it will fit well in the district, especially as far East as it sets.

Have they completely thrown out the previous site plan or will there still be room for the condos/apartments?

No condos now?!

Definitely have a Hotel District vibe going on in eastern Bricktown. Will contrast the Parking Garage District nicely on the west side of CBD.

No condos now?!

Definitely have a Hotel District vibe going on in eastern Bricktown. Will contrast the Parking Garage District nicely on the west side of CBD.

I wouldn't assume that. It's a big parcel of land and they could easily construct structured parking and add more buildings.

It's just easy to finance hotels right now, and they had already locked down the Canopy flag over their competitors at Oklahoma & Sheridan, so that franchise agreement no doubt required them to get going on this.

I actually like that there are two entrances from either the east or west and it is right up against Charlie Christian Avenue. This makes the future development on the east part of that site (parking garages, condos, etc) easier.

Pete, do you know if the West side will be more inviting? The east is all cement walls until the entrance then more cement walls. Reminds me of a lot of the buildings in the CBD that covered their ground floor Windows. i.e. AT&T building.

My from-the-hip guess is the bottom floors on the east side are done that way for future structured parking - previous plans all showed a 2-level parking garage.

It would be nice to bring California Ave through to Lincoln to break down the block and have more street frontage.

OKCTalk - Detailed plans revealed for new 9-story Canopy Hotel in Bricktown (http://www.okctalk.com/content/278-detailed-plans-revealed-new-9-story-canopy-hotel-bricktown.html)

^^Looks great!

Nice!

Plans filed with the Bricktown Urban Design Committee will be reviewed in their May 11th meeting and reveal design details as well as plans to add structured parking, and 6-story Cambria and LaQuinta hotels in a future phase.

Will there be a Waffle House nearby? I think there's a law somewhere requiring that.

Will there be a Waffle House nearby? I think there's a law somewhere requiring that.

There is one less than half-a-mile east on Reno.

Will there be a Waffle House nearby? I think there's a law somewhere requiring that.

I thought it was Denny's?

I thought it was Denny's?

It is, joke I've always heard is what does La Quinta mean in English...behind Denny's.

So are the originally site-planned condos just not happening now?

Why is it nearly impossible to get for-sale residential in downtown OKC?

So are the originally site-planned condos just not happening now?

Why is it nearly impossible to get for-sale residential in downtown OKC?

Nope, not happening.

And there are actually a fair number of condo options downtown now: The Hill, the Civic, Dwellings at SoSA, Lisbon Lofts (still one unit for sale), etc.

But the main reason developers don't build more condos is they want to hold onto the property due to rapidly escalating property values. Why sell when you can invest and hold?

Midtown Renaissance is an example of a developer who has pretty much said they will never build for-sale units and I've heard other say the same thing.

Is this Canopy Hotel likely to make it past the BUDC with the exterior materials? Hasn't the BUDC denied previous iterations of other hotels for not having enough brick?

That Canopy design is mostly brick.

I'm sure the city staff and committee will have some comments but I bet this gets approved pretty much as planned.

Nope, not happening.

And there are actually a fair number of condo options downtown now: The Hill, the Civic, Dwellings at SoSA, Lisbon Lofts (still one unit for sale), etc.

But the main reason developers don't build more condos is they want to hold onto the property due to rapidly escalating property values. Why sell when you can invest and hold?

Midtown Renaissance is an example of a developer who has pretty much said they will never build for-sale units and I've heard other say the same thing.

Why sell? For the betterment of the community. So that other citizens of OKC can have a chance to invest in downtown without needing to find millions of dollars of capital.

I get it, it makes perfect business sense. It's just unsatisfying that our city's core is going to be the economic playground of 20 entities rather than a community of 2,000 - 20,000 invested individuals, companies, and development entities.

And it's not just the developers making out here, it's their architects, their contractors, their families.

I mean, congratulations, and a ton of thanks for investing in downtown. But sometimes it's worth giving up a little to others so they can bring something to the table that you simply will never ever be able bring yourself.

But they really do an amazing job. So much of what is getting proposed is excellent stuff. So at the end of the day I'm mostly thankful to all of these entities.

^

This is where public incentives come in and where the City actually has some leverage to influence the behaviors of developers.

But that's not at all how the TIF program works, as I've well documented.

^

This is where public incentives come in and where the City actually has some leverage to influence the behaviors of developers.

But that's not at all how the TIF program works, as I've well documented.

Makes you think that every RFP from this point forward should stipulate for sale property.

Makes you think that every RFP from this point forward should stipulate for sale property.

And/or where public incentives are being applied, more affordable rental units.

Article in the Oklahoman says they may end up adding condos or apartments above the parking structure:

http://newsok.com/upscale-housing-is-planned-as-part-of-bricktown-hotel-development/article/5497569

Drove by the site yesterday and they have started demo. Looks like they had half the Bodyworks building down.

^^Excellent!

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks060916a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks060916b.jpg

Can someone fill me in on why the Canopy is going here instead of in the parking lot in the middle of bricktown? I must have missed some betting war in the past that allowed it to move to this location...

Can someone fill me in on why the Canopy is going here instead of in the parking lot in the middle of bricktown? I must have missed some betting war in the past that allowed it to move to this location...

The more central Bricktown location never nailed down the franchise agreements and Mazaheri & Co. swooped in and convinced them to come to their site (Bodyworks) instead.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bodyworks062616.jpg

$9.8MM building permit filed for this project.

Should see construction starting soon.

$9.8MM building permit filed for this project.

Should see construction starting soon.

What will 9.8 M build?

http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=278-Detailed-plans-revealed-for-new-9-story-Canopy-Hotel-in-Bricktown

http://www.okctalk.com/content.php?r=278-Detailed-plans-revealed-for-new-9-story-Canopy-Hotel-in-Bricktown
Thanks

What about the other hotels? And the condo? Is that still part of this project?

What about the other hotels? And the condo? Is that still part of this project?

Those were always going to be later phases and I don't believe there is a specific time table.

I don't want to knock this project because it's impressive we are getting a Canopy and very exciting to see Bricktown move further east, but look at the design they went with in San Antonio... Our's looks incredibly bland now... Construction on their Canopy is supposed to start any day now.
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I don't want to knock this project because it's impressive we are getting a Canopy and very exciting to see Bricktown move further east, but look at the design they went with in San Antonio... Our's looks incredibly bland now... Construction on their Canopy is supposed to start any day now.
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As long as it's executed well, I'm okay with the design that they've proposed for here as compared to the one you showed in the pic. I don't like that design. Maybe because it looks like a game of Jenga about to topple over.

I don't want to knock this project because it's impressive we are getting a Canopy and very exciting to see Bricktown move further east, but look at the design they went with in San Antonio... Our's looks incredibly bland now... Construction on their Canopy is supposed to start any day now.
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Pretty standard here honestly. Other cities get designs that impress, we usually get run of the mill.

Pretty standard here honestly. Other cities get designs that impress, we usually get run of the mill.

+1

I like our current design better as well. It fits in better than something contemporary like this.

Also, I know it will be, but that building just looks unsafe.

I like our current design better as well. It fits in better than something contemporary like this.

Also, I know it will be, but that building just looks unsafe.

+1, that design looks like a chopped up Citizens Bank tower. I'll go with something that actually fits well in Bricktown in this instance.

Pretty standard here honestly. Other cities get designs that impress, we usually get run of the mill.

Impress? I find that tower to be quite ugly.

Pretty standard here honestly. Other cities get designs that impress, we usually get run of the mill.
Hits nail on head.