Downtown OKC 2033

[ljbab728]

Steve's vision about what will take place in the next 20 years.

Downtown Oklahoma City, 2033 | News OK

On reflection, this topic might be better in another area if the moderators want to move it.

[Praedura]

Zoinks! It's raining articles over at Steve's site. Not just the one you posted, but also:

Outlook 2013: Downtown Oklahoma City is expected to continue roaring growth | News OK

Outlook 2013: Revitalization of MidTown creates energy, momentum | News OK

Outlook 2013: Oklahoma City mayor foresees a changing downtown | News OK

Outlook 2013: 3 questions with Lee Allan Smith | News OK

3 questions with Anthony McDermid | News OK

Too much there for me to comment on in complete. However, just a few standouts:

In looking ahead, McDermid sees corporate towers all around the Myriad Gardens and the Core to Shore area becoming a big, upscale residential spot.


And Lee Allan Smith sees:

* more skyscrapers
* increased downtown beautifcation, gardens, statues, etc.
* downtown amphitheater
* high speed trains to/from regional cities
* fast trains connecting the airport/downtown/Edmond/Norman/El Reno
* dramatically developed riverfront with boardwalk, carousels, ferris wheel (modern day Delmar Gardens)

Speculative stuff, but a great (and optimistic) read.

[ThomPaine]

Awesome! It didn't take too long for ths group of folks to find a creative solution! I like "Union Commons" but would be happy with "Union Park" as well. Great work!

un·ion


1. The action or fact of joining together or being joined together, esp. in a political context.
2. A state of harmony or agreement: "they live in perfect union".


com·mons


Land or resources belonging to or affecting the whole of a community.

[Pete]

From the interview with McDermid:

Corporate towers will surround the latest renovation of Myriad Gardens, and Oklahoma Park (the MAPS 3 Core to Shore park) will become the premiere address for upscale living

So, what we have been calling Central Park is now going to be named Oklahoma Park??

As in Oklahoma Park, on Oklahoma City Boulevard which borders the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma????

[GoThunder]

As in Oklahoma Park, on Oklahoma City Boulevard which borders the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma????

Absolutely agree, this is ridiculous. You go to basically any other city and there are parks/districts/areas with wacky, distinctive names. These are the things that make cities unique. It may not be as big of a deal to those of us who have lived here our whole lives, but when visitors come from out of town they like to see diversity; not the same word plastered everywhere.

[catch22]

I'm okay with calling the Central Park....

[Praedura]

I'm okay with calling the Central Park....

I hate Central Park for the name. That is already highly associated with something else far more famous.

But I hate Oklahoma Park even more, as it's so generic and blah.

I'll take Central Park if that's the only other option. But dang, can't we come up with a good and *distinctive* name?

[catch22]

Many cities have a "Central Park"

[Praedura]

Many cities have a "Central Park"

So what.

I reiterate -- can't we come up with a good and distinctive name?

[catch22]

No I don't believe so, there doesn't seem to be an ounce of creativity where the decisions are made in this city.

[Praedura]

No I don't believe so, there doesn't seem to be an ounce of creativity where the decisions are made in this city.

Could be.

Still, they don't have to be all that creative themselves. Just recognize and accept a good name that someone else thinks up.

Maybe we could start a lets-name-our-new-downtown-park thread here.

[hoya]

What about Union Park, after the Union Station? I dunno, anything has to be better than "Oklahoma Park".

[Praedura]

What about Union Park, after the Union Station? I dunno, anything has to be better than "Oklahoma Park".

What the... wow! I was going to make the EXACT same suggestion.

Great minds think alike, I guess.

[Praedura]

The more I think about it, the more I like the name Union Park.

It's easy to say and easy to spell. It kinda just rolls off the tongue. Has a nice sound to it.

Furthermore, it not only ties into the Union Station, but it makes sense in the general meaning.
Since it ties together all of the elements of downtown: the business district, bricktown, core-to-shore, riverfront, etc.
and will be a central meeting place for people and events amongst all that, it very much will act like a union for the city.

[soonerguru]

The more I think about it, the more I like the name Union Park.

It's easy to say and easy to spell. It kinda just rolls off the tongue. Has a nice sound to it.

Furthermore, it not only ties into the Union Station, but it makes sense in the general meaning.
Since it ties together all of the elements of downtown: the business district, bricktown, core-to-shore, riverfront, etc.
and will be a central meeting place for people and events amongst all that, it very much will act like a union for the city.

I love it! But some of the GOPers will hate it because they sure as hell hate unions!

[hoya]

What the... wow! I was going to make the EXACT same suggestion.

Great minds think alike, I guess.

Yup. Ours too.

I see our city developing so that Union Park (I'm gonna pull a Berry Tramel and just call it my own nickname from here on out) ends up bordered by a lot of high-end residential. It would be our own version of Central Park West. I could see a lot of very expensive mid-rise development, say 10-15 story buildings with a lot of ornate details. If it becomes trendy, you'd see NBA players and corporate executives buying large apartments in those buildings instead of in Gallardia or Nichols Hills. Can't you just see some snooty trophy wife of a wealthy surgeon telling all her friends "Yes, we just moved into the Sequoyah Building, on the 12th floor. Yes, we're right across from Union Park."

In 20 years, Deep Deuce and Bricktown will be totally full, and will have merged together with Automobile Alley and Midtown into one nice, continuous walkable area. It will also stretch down to Film Row and up to Heritage Hills/Mesta Park. There shouldn't be any empty lots in this area by that point. We'll see the Myriad replaced by new towers and developments. The county jail will have long since been torn down and replaced by something better. The business and economic growth that will come with this growth will leave OKC ready to take on its largest project to date.

In 20 years, we'll be ready to tear down the Cotton Seed Mill and put in an NFL stadium.

[bchris02]

In 20 years, we'll be ready to tear down the Cotton Seed Mill and put in an NFL stadium.

I agree with this. OKC should look at trying to recruit the NFL when it reaches the 1.5-1.7 million MSA mark in my opinion. This city will be a perfect fit and if a stadium is part of MAPS 4 it could become a reality, especially if the team took the name "Oklahoma" rather than "Oklahoma City" as to not alienate potential Tulsa fans.

[Praedura]

.... I see our city developing so that Union Park (I'm gonna pull a Berry Tramel and just call it my own nickname from here on out) ends up bordered by a lot of high-end residential. It would be our own version of Central Park West. I could see a lot of very expensive mid-rise development, say 10-15 story buildings with a lot of ornate details.

Maybe, something like this?



(high rise condos in Chicago's Lakeview district)

Source: Urban Neighborhoods: Chicago's Lakeview | Metro Jacksonville

[Just the facts]

Maybe, something like this?

I wish. The biggest problem to that actually happening though is modern architecture - which is going in the opposite direction when compared to the modern television; unlike historic vernacular buildings whose pixels consisted of the individual brick, modern architecture's smallest pixel is a 4' X 6' pane of glass. That is why modern buildings don't show any sign of ornateness at the sidewalk and are best viewed from 10 miles away compared with historical buildings that don't even rise out of the surrounding urban fabric when viewed from Lake Hefner, but are crowd favorites at the sidewalk level.

[hoya]

Maybe, something like this?

(high rise condos in Chicago's Lakeview district)

That's exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. Put a minimum height requirement along the edges of Union Commons, say 8 stories. Require very small setbacks from the street and the highest construction standards. You'd be setting it up to be very expensive from the beginning, which might offend some people with the appearance of elitism, but this sort of development is something that doesn't exist anywhere in the state. My brain visualizes a lot of art deco and gothic style buildings, with maybe something weird thrown in by Rand Elliott every now and then.

This sort of area would make a fantastic entrance to downtown. Imagine getting off the interstate on Robinson and seeing the First National Building directly ahead of you, and on your right you pass building after building like this:







There are enough wealthy people in this city who would pay through the nose to live in buildings like that.

[bchris02]

We won't need I-40, 35, or 235 in 2033. Skyways built for flying cars will replace the interstate highway system. That will open up the existing expressways for development. Downtown will be built up very dense and the suburbs will be considered the "ghetto." People of affluence will live downtown. Maybe OKC will have a spaceport to transplant people to the Mars colony and beyond!

[Spartan]

I love Union Park. Or even Station Park. Maybe Union/Station Commons. Or the Union Green? Union Station Green? If in 20-30 years we began eying a baseball/soccer/football stadium, it could be [Corporate] Station Stadium. I always loved how Enron Field in Houston's design was evolved out of Houston's Union Station, in fact, before Enron was found as a sponsor it was "The Ballpark at Union Station."


The old Union Station Lobby is now the grand entrance into Minute Maid Park!! My family was always huge Astros fans, esp back in the 90s/early 2000s when they were good, and I always thought the ballpark experience was among the best in the nation, easily the best new-ish ballpark. When the Astros were good, Houstonian life revolved around the 'Stros, and it was a great, innovative way to build the present on Houston's architectural history.

I always liked the name Commons in lieu of Park. I'd try and get away from a name that says, "This is a Park, and it's in the Center of Oklahoma." Additionally, I've always hated how this park and every other MAPS3 project we assign away to out of state planners and architects inevitably comes back to us as this drab, soul-less, boilerplate new thing devoid of any Okie-ness. If we went back to the drawing boards with the goal of truly building this park around Union Station and OKC's history, we will come back with something infinitely better and no more expensive.

Shouldn't that be the goal of MAPS3? and every MAPS?

[soonerguru]

I love Union Park. Or even Station Park. Maybe Union/Station Commons. Or the Union Green? Union Station Green? If in 20-30 years we began eying a baseball/soccer/football stadium, it could be [Corporate] Station Stadium. I always loved how Enron Field in Houston's design was evolved out of Houston's Union Station, in fact, before Enron was found as a sponsor it was "The Ballpark at Union Station."


The old Union Station Lobby is now the grand entrance into Minute Maid Park!! My family was always huge Astros fans, esp back in the 90s/early 2000s when they were good, and I always thought the ballpark experience was among the best in the nation, easily the best new-ish ballpark. When the Astros were good, Houstonian life revolved around the 'Stros, and it was a great, innovative way to build the present on Houston's architectural history.

I always liked the name Commons in lieu of Park. I'd try and get away from a name that says, "This is a Park, and it's in the Center of Oklahoma." Additionally, I've always hated how this park and every other MAPS3 project we assign away to out of state planners and architects inevitably comes back to us as this drab, soul-less, boilerplate new thing devoid of any Okie-ness. If we went back to the drawing boards with the goal of truly building this park around Union Station and OKC's history, we will come back with something infinitely better and no more expensive.

Shouldn't that be the goal of MAPS3? and every MAPS?

Very well said. Thank you.

[zookeeper]

I always liked the name Commons in lieu of Park. I'd try and get away from a name that says, "This is a Park, and it's in the Center of Oklahoma." Additionally, I've always hated how this park and every other MAPS3 project we assign away to out of state planners and architects inevitably comes back to us as this drab, soul-less, boilerplate new thing devoid of any Okie-ness. If we went back to the drawing boards with the goal of truly building this park around Union Station and OKC's history, we will come back with something infinitely better and no more expensive.

I like the City Commons. Or even the admittedly redundant City Commons Park. "It's over in the City Commons." It rolls off the tongue. Pete got it right with all the Oklahoma here there and everywhere, it's just ridiculous.

[bchris02]

I like the City Commons. Or even the admittedly redundant City Commons Park. "It's over in the City Commons." It rolls off the tongue. Pete got it right with all the Oklahoma here there and everywhere, it's just ridiculous.

They probably name everything "Oklahoma" because they think its likely to cause the least controversy. Take the boulevard for instance and all the people who were in uproar about the potential of it being named "The Big Friendly" or "Ackerman." Naming something "Oklahoma" is the path of least resistance. However, I do strongly agree that this park needs a unique name that rolls off the tongue so to say. I like Union Park or City Commons Park.