ULI to host tour of renovated Sieber Hotel

[metro]

ULI Oklahoma - YLG: The Seiber Hotel: A New Face for the 21st Century
Thursday, February 21, 2008
- Location -
Seiber Hotel
1311 N. Hudson
Lobby
Oklahoma City, OK 73103

YLG Oklahoma presents a tour of
The Seiber Hotel: A New Face for the 21st Century
February 21, 2008
5:30 PM Tour of Seiber Hotel
6:15 PM Mixer at 1492

Be among the first to see the transformation of the 1920’s Seiber Grocery and Apartment Hotel to a 21st Century Urban Center.

The Seiber Hotel was constructed in 1928 and the adjacent two story building was constructed in 1924.

The current renovation will result in:

38 apartment units ranging from 789 sf to 1,401 sf
4,400 sf of commercial space on the first level
The upscale units will feature:

Hardwood floors
Granite countertops
Stainless steel appliances
Planning for the renovation began in 2000 with construction commencing in 2006. The multi-source financing had a significant impact on the construction timeline.

Sources of financing include:

$4 Million - FHA insured mortgage
$1.5 Million - No interest loan from the City of Oklahoma City (Murrah Revitalization District Revolving Loan Program)
$3.2 Million – Historic Tax Credits
Occupancy is targeted for March, 2008

Players:
Owner/developer
Seiber Holdings, LLC – Marva Ellard

Contractor
J.L. Walker Construction, Inc.

Design Architects
Allen Brown, original architect
Larry Kester Architects Collective, took over before construction began

This is a FREE event, but please pre-register!

Questions? For questions about registration or special needs requests, please call ULI Customer Service at 800-321-5011, or at 410-626-7505 if calling from outside the United States.

The last day to pre-register online is February 18, 2008. Register online now

Urban Land Institute | ULI Oklahoma - YLG: The Seiber Hotel: A New Face for the 21st Century

[mecarr]

Wow this sounds great. I can't wait to see what it looks like.

[mecarr]

Here is an interesting article about the Seiber Hotel. It was back in late 2006 when it was written..
--
BY KELLEY CHAMBERS
THE JOURNAL RECORD
OKLAHOMA CITY - In the spirit of breathing new life into old buildings, a group of local investors is restoring a hotel that was built and run by the same family for nearly 50 years.

The six-story Sieber Hotel at 1311 N. Hudson Ave., which was built in 1928, has been boarded up since the early 1980s when the building and its Midtown neighborhood fell into decline. The property also has an adjoining building, which was built in 1922 and once housed the Sieber family's grocery store.

Sieber Holdings LLC purchased the property at auction in October 1997 and closed on it in May 1998. The group is working to restore the building and rename the property the Sieber Apartment Hotel.

Once the property was secured, funding for renovations was an issue the investors had to address.

With an estimated cost of $8.5 million for repairs the investors looked to several grants available on the state and federal level.

Marva Ellard, one of the five investors, said the group began to pursue creative tactics to attain rehabilitation tax credits and a mortgage guaranteed loan. The process took several years.

"We worked long and hard to put the financing together," she said.

Financing was secured, including the mortgage guarantee, through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and funds from the city of Oklahoma City.

In May 2003 the City Council voted to allow the Murrah Revitalization District Advisory Committee the authority to negotiate a more than $1 million loan agreement to the Sieber partners for a Murrah Revitalization District revolving loan to help rehabilitate the buildings.

Other financing came from Bank of Oklahoma, The Sherwin-Williams Co. and United Health Group.

Dave Ortenburger, president of Banta Realty Advisors, which owns more than 30 properties in the Midtown area, said his company supports the restoration and the addition of the apartments.

"We absolutely welcome them," he said. "We welcome them renovating the building. It will just add to the future development of this part of town."

Plans call for 30 apartments in the six-story building and eight units in the adjoining two-story building.

Ellard said rehabilitation tax credits require the building keep the units as rental apartments for five years. After that time Ellard said the owners have considered selling the individual units.

The apartments will range in size from 800-square-feet to 1,400-square-feet and will likely rent for between $900 and $1,650 a month.

Construction on the property began in August by J.L. Walker Construction Inc. Ellard said construction should be complete by the fall of 2007 and she hopes to begin pre-leasing in the spring of 2007.

Along with the apartments, the first floor will contain a restaurant and retail space.

Other than the original tile in the lobby, most everything else will be replaced or fixed.

The concrete slab floors in the residential units will be covered with wood floors and carpeting in addition to the construction of walls to divide the units. The building also had an elevator that will be replaced.

Ellard said she had been interested in the building and its potential in the years it sat empty.

"It's a handsome building from the outside," she said. "I always wondered when someone was going to do something with it."

Ellard said she sees a particular type of tenant who is perhaps a downtown professional not looking to live in a lively area such as Bricktown.

"There are those who want to live in the mix of things," she said. "I think someone living here is looking for a neighborhood feel."

[Pete]

Wow, I wish I could go to that!

Kudos to Marva Ellard for doing things the right way.

We need more developers like her!

[jbrown84]

I wish I could go, but I don't get off work til 5:30. Anybody know if it's something where you can join in late?

[mecarr]

Did anyone go to this? If so, how did the apartments look?

[metro]

I would have gone but it was the same day and time as the UN meeting with Roy Williams speaking on the Ford Center.