Oklahoman reporting that EMSA is moving out of Midtown.

Their triangular piece of property is almost an acre and sits between Plaza Court and St. Anthony.

BD Eddie owns the property. They are mainly a suburban developer of strip centers and small office. They are the group behind Deercrest Marketplace.

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one of the best properties for development in all of okc

I wonder if SSM will be seeking the property for future expansion...

I wonder if SSM will be seeking the property for future expansion...

They own adjacent property that is vacant and sold more to the Midtown Renaissance group. So, I wouldn't think so.

The future of this lot not having any residential units included would be criminal.

They own adjacent property that is vacant and sold more to the Midtown Renaissance group. So, I wouldn't think so.

This might be a neat location for a Bleu Garten type place, if BG didn't already exist.

I've been waiting for this for years now. Can't wait to see what happens here.

Would love to see a building built that mirrors Plaza Court

Anyone know the history of that building? What was it in the past? I just don't remember.

Maybe this could be the actual Midtown Plaza, or at least the small wedge closest to the traffic circle

This site really needs to be residential

This site really needs to be residential

i say a mixed use... but yes... first floor commercial retail... and then several stories of residential. my only question would be height restrictions do to the helipad to the south

Mixed use would be the best for sure. I could see it being a nice low rise office property as well. I hope they don’t piss ol’ Marva off by building tallish. Is this far enough west that it wouldn’t impede the skyline view from Villa Teresa? Regardless, I fall in the “you should’ve built taller or acquired the air rights” crowd.

In the Oklahoman story, the owners said they don't do residential and suggested it would be office space only

In the Oklahoman story, the owners said they don't do residential and suggested it would be office space only

They will likely get all kinds of offers to buy.

They will likely get all kinds of offers to buy.
This would be a great spot for the Ross Group out of Tulsa.

This would be a great spot for the Ross Group out of Tulsa.

They have been trying to sell off their OKC property in Film Row for a couple of years now.

Anyone know the history of that building? What was it in the past? I just don't remember.

from newsok.com "originally was home to Boulevard Cafeteria."

It was built in 1966.

i say a mixed use... but yes... first floor commercial retail... and then several stories of residential. my only question would be height restrictions do to the helipad to the south

There are two helipads at St Anthony's, but the one you are talking about has an 18/36 approach path. You could build it just as tall as St Anthony's and it would be perfectly appropriate for the area and not interfere at all with the path.

Applications have been filed to demolish the structures on this property.

EMSA has fully relocated to 6205 S. Sooner Road, although their signs remain on the property.

More interestingly, about a month ago I saw an application to split this property and it was made by the Midtown Renaissance group (redevelopers of Plaza Court just to the north as well as the large majority of projects in Midtown over the last 15 years) which indicates they are in the process of buying this property for development. Given how MidtownR built The Boulevard project very nearby (lower left of first photo below), I would expect a similar type of triangular retail/office mix.

As of today, the property is still owned by BD Eddie but it seems obvious a sale is in the works, which will likely close sometime after the demolition.

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very good news

I have no love for this building, BUT, before we tear it down, is it an old structure underneath or is it a relatively new build? If it's older it would be nice if we _tried_ to restore/adaptively reuse it in combination with new build components on the parking lots.

I have no love for this building, BUT, before we tear it down, is it an old structure underneath or is it a relatively new build? If it's older it would be nice if we _tried_ to restore/adaptively reuse it in combination with new build components on the parking lots.

It used to be home to the original Boulevard cafeteria but what is there now is just an ugly synthetic stucco structure built in the late '60s.

I would like a chipotle to go in here, but I'm sure it'll be a chik fil a with 5 drive thru lanes. Sigh

I would like a chipotle to go in here, but I'm sure it'll be a chik fil a with 5 drive thru lanes. Sigh

Midtown Renaissance doesn't do chains or drive-thrus or cannabis. They also don't build housing units for sale, only rent.

I expect a project very similar to the Boulevard, with at least two levels facing Classen Drive with parking (maybe a structure) behind.

They could easily do a restaurant space and patio facing the traffic circle ala McNellie's.

I expect a project very similar to the Boulevard, with at least two levels facing Classen Drive with parking (maybe a structure) behind.

They could easily do a restaurant space and patio facing the traffic circle ala McNellie's.

You beat me to the punch on the patio and parking. The bulk of parking being located along Dewey would be a win as it maximizes the frontage along Classen and the Roundabout.

The multifamily market is on fire right now but Midtown R has other properties that are far better suited for heavy multifamily development than this one due to its layout. Not to say it couldn't be done but commercial in this particular location makes more sense IMO.

^

Midtown R still owns some large generally vacant lots in Midtown, such as the one south of Fassler Hall and to the north and west of City Garden (formerly Blue Garten).

Midtown R has never done a large multi-family project; just a bunch of smaller ones. Ideally, they'd build housing over retail on their biggest properties.

In the meantime, The Spaniard (formerly the Elliot condo project) should break ground soon and add a bunch of units to the area. The Edge remains highly occupied as do all of Midtown R's rental properties.

Pie in the sky dream would be a shorter Flatiron-esque housing development with retail on the ground floor. But I’m sure Midtown R will deliver another home run.

Here are the plans for this property: 3 levels of residential with retail/restaurant space on the ground floor.

These are being submitted by the current owners, BD Eddie, so not sure if Midtown Renaissance will be involved. However, BD Eddie had previously told the Oklahoman "we don't do housing".

The project name is Classen Marquette which is also the name of the plat at this location.



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Very nice. Too much parking, but love the residential on top by the streetcar line.

nice, about 75% right. Very safe development that increases density.

Perfect for that lot would have been at least 6-floors above retail in a V configuration fronting both 10th and Classen Drive, with u/g parking (if any). The courtyard would have residential amenities, and perhaps there could be a rooftop restaurant (fronting 10th) and perhaps a rooftop noise-insulated bar/club (fronting Classen Dr). THAT would be a 100% home-run imo.

But good enough and leaves room for possible development along 10th in the future.

Very nice. Too much parking, but love the residential on top by the streetcar line.

This is when having zero parking minimums doesn't help... the downtown code needs parking maximums too.

You know which architecture firm is working on this project?

You know which architecture firm is working on this project?

Common Works.

Common Works.
Thanks, Pete!

More housing is IMO the #1 thing we should be building in the core (for the sake of our downtown and the financial sustainability of our entire sprawling city) so I am really happy to see some built on this lot! The project looks great minus the large parking lot adjacent to the streetcar stop. Is that not a violation of the city's adopted urban guidelines to build a parking lot next to a streetcar stop?

^

It seems that no matter how much housing is built in the core, it quickly fills.

Midtown in particular could absorb much more.

Not bad. A little too much surface parking, but more infill is always good and infill housing is even better.

Looks good!

The comments section on Instagram is wild. One person who went off on a crazy rant on those talking about the need for more projects that bring density to the area.

Agree with all posters above, needs to be the full triangle perimeter with parking garage underneath/center with a rooftop pool.

I definitely have to give props to the design for properly facing Classen Dr and avoiding the stepped design with parking in the front.

Yeah but across the street there's a fence and a parking lot creating a block long barrier and then on the back side there's a whole parking lot creating a barrier to the streetcar stop. It's an island for people surrounded by car storage in one of the most people focused places in OKC.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. I rather a good design that only utilizes half of a lot than a bad design occupying the entire lot preventing any chance of improvement.

It’s pretty easy to tear down a parking lot to build another building. Much harder to tear down a poorly designed building that is brand new.

Actually surprised there isn’t more parking with the large amount of retail/restaurant space. Is that surface lot parking that and the units above?

You know, I often read here that X project is a "home run." In this case, I would say it's a definite base hit!

^ exactly,

maybe a double with the Classen frontage but an error with the streetcar facing surface lot. ...

You know, I often read here that X project is a "home run." In this case, I would say it's a definite base hit!

I agree with you guru, nothing wrong playing small ball. You can still win the game.

Some more renderings courtesy of Common Works Architecture:

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the is a great location for anther restaurant ... hopefully the mcnellies group brings another one of their concepts to OKC

the is a great location for anther restaurant ... hopefully the mcnellies group brings another one of their concepts to OKC

Mr. Kim's, the new Korean BBQ spot in Tulsa, looks fantastic. Would love to see that here.

I wonder what the pricing on these will be, doesn't look quite as high-end as some of the other apartments in the area so it makes me wonder if it's targeted at a bit more affordable.

Awesome renderings. How many units will this feature?

Demolition permits have been filed for the old EMSA building, so it should be scraped soon.

It may not be the place to post that but the EMSA on South Walker is gone too. The building is for lease I think.

It may not be the place to post that but the EMSA on South Walker is gone too. The building is for lease I think.

They relocated all of their OKC operations to the old Wood Group/GE Baker Hughes site at 6205 S. Sooner Road. They have a much larger office, Fleet Maintenance and supply warehouse all on one site now.

They relocated all of their OKC operations to the old Wood Group/GE Baker Hughes site at 6205 S. Sooner Road. They have a much larger office, Fleet Maintenance and supply warehouse all on one site now.

It's off topic, but either EMSA gets reformed and a larger fleet or OKC dumps them and builds out their own ambulance fleet within the fire department. EMSA is terrible.

Down she comes:

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this project will fully change the feel of this area

^^ +1

Good riddance to that building. Very excited about this project.