yeah, I think if they got rid of that stupid orange paneling and changed it to reflective (would be awesome) or even black or grey or blue, it would make a HUGE difference.

probably wouldnt be too expensive??? I cant imagine that orange crap is that costly.

I wonder if the historic tax credits prevent them from changing the outside other than polishing it up?

http://olive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/2007/04/14/20/Img/Pc0200400.jpg

http://olive.newsok.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=DOK/2007/04/14/20/Img/Pc0200500.jpg


At the corner of ‘Walk’ and ‘Don’t Walk’
Transformation to apartments nearly complete
By Richard Mize Real Estate Editor

Richard Mize: 475-3518, richardmize@oklahoman.com




If it looks like an office building on the outside, and it looks like an office building in the lobby, and at the elevator landings, and in the hallways, then it could be Park Harvey Center in downtown Oklahoma City.

The office building at 200 N Harvey was built in 1957 next door to the Oklahoma County Courthouse. For almost half a century, it provided a warren of work places for lawyers, bankers and oil, insurance and other executives.

But it’s an apartment building now, no longer an office building, with 162 apartment homes — and they look like new apartments inside, not old offices.

Conversion completion

Despite a couple of stubborn office tenants who balked at moving, concern over parking — Park Harvey Center has none of its own — and questions, now dormant, surrounding the interpretation of a 99-year ground lease attached to the building, Gardner-Tanenbaum Group is close to completing the conversion.

Obstinate tenants were bought out, parking hasn’t been an issue after all, and the owners of the ground under the building are not pushing their claims that the lease requires offices, not residences, a complaint they once sought to soothe by demanding money, said Richard Tanenbaum, chief executive of the development company.

So, 18 months after he acquired the 17-story Park Harvey Center, “We’ve ended up with a 162-apartment, extremely well-located, downtown residential community,” he said. “The location is No. 1. The affordability is No. 2, as far as the tenants.”

Rents range $595 per month for a lower-level studio apartment to $1,330 for a two-bedroom apartment in an upper floor. A 16,000-square-foot athletic club, under way on the basement level, is the biggest amenity.

Center of convenience

Park Harvey Center’s location in the heart of downtown, with its entertainment venues, is what lured 23-year-old Zachary Pyron, a Seminole native who works at the state Capitol in the office of Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing.

“For me, it was the convenience. I was living in Norman — I’d gone to OU — and was commuting every day to the Capitol,” Pyron said, noting that he now drives 2 ½ miles to work.

But downtown — Tanenbaum calls it “living at ‘Walk’ and ‘Don’t Walk’ ” — he’s even closer to play.

“I went to the Hornets game the other night and walked home from it. It was awesome,” Pyron said.

Downtown connections

Pyron is the type of renter who is perfect for Park Harvey Center, said Charles Dodson, vice president of Gardner-Tanenbaum’s multifamily division.

“They come in knowing they want to live here because of the location,” he said, noting that the downtown trolley stops at the building, which is connected to The Underground — formerly the Conncourse — via Leadership Square, to which Park Harvey is attached.

A dozen apartments are occupied and another 10 or so are rented, Dodson said this week as crews continued renovations with the aim of completing them in time for a grand opening in early May.

Historic appointments

“Renovation” did not mean tearing out every vestige of the building’s past as an office tower. In fact, Gardner-Tanenbaum used historic tax credits, which required it to maintain certain historic aspects of the property.

Outside, it meant not changing the exterior, which is in the International style of urban commercial architecture. The boxy steel-and-glass facade is being cleaned, and that’s all.

Inside, it meant keeping the granite wainscoting in the hallways, period tile patterns on the landings and some wooden doors to nowhere with side windows with no view — the original office entries.

Signs of the ’50s

Plaques will be installed to recognize the building’s first tenants, which included Fidelity National Bank on the first floor, Arthur Anderson & Co. on the second, Sinclair Oil & Gas on the third, Continental Oil Co. on the fourth and sixth, Pan Am Petroleum Corp. on the ninth through 17th and more than 20 smaller companies.

Maintaining the historic exterior and keeping the office-like appointments in some common areas adds to the personality of such a distinctive downtown living environment, Tanenbaum said.

“I think it’s the charm of the building, the history of the building, that we’ve preserved because of the historic tax credits. The original flooring, the original hallway elements and finish, all are from 1957,” he said.

Housing boom

The downtown housing situation has changed considerably since Gardner-Tanenbaum revealed plans for Park Harvey Center. The Montgomery, also by Gardner-Tanenbaum, was about the only new housing available.

Now, housing options under way include Block 42, Central Avenue Villas, Brownstones at Maywood Park, Legacy at Arts Quarter and The Hill.

Tanenbaum sees no negatives from the competition.

“I’m glad to see it,” he said. “The appreciation of the housing we’ve invested in will increase because of the mass that’s being created.”

I guess the historic tax credits explain why he didn't do anything to dress up the exterior of the building. Too bad. New windows and a nice entrance and perhaps a sign at the top of the building would really dress it up and make it stand out.

I'm glad to see this. Certain renovations would have been nice, but it sounds like he's keeping within the standards for the historic tax credits. And really, if you think about it, residential buildings in most downtowns don't have much more than a plaque outside the front door and a lot of people think that's cool and very urban.

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It's simple, low-key, and functional. It aint' pretty but it does the job.

It's not perfect...it's perfectly urban.