Level Apartments

[Spartan]

They used to have Piccadilly's in other small towns, too. As for this, it's definitely still on. As for the grocery store, it may take a creative incentive from the city to get something sizable and significant downtown. We only do those things for hotels and Bass Pros for out of towners.

We expect development itself and vital services for underserved populations of our city to get by on themselves and be fully supported by the contradictions of the market demand.

[Larry OKC]

But isn't one of the arguments for downtown living is that you don't need to have a car? That everything is within walking distance? If you still have to have a car to get several miles to a grocery store (as you might in other areas of the city too), why live downtown?

[Spartan]

Just think, in 10 years I am sure the grocery store of everyone's dreams will be downtown, and that won't be an issue. Right now it is for the trailblazers, though.

[Architect2010]

But isn't one of the arguments for downtown living is that you don't need to have a car? That everything is within walking distance? If you still have to have a car to get several miles to a grocery store (as you might in other areas of the city too), why live downtown?

Oh come on. It's not realistic to completely live without a car here in Oklahoma City no matter what. We have nowhere near the urban amenities that could support a car-less lifestyle. That's just an unrealistic argument to be truthful. We aren't NYC or Chicago so the personal vehicle is going to be in the situation regardless.

[Spartan]

You can save a lot in gas, though, on the bright side. I think Larry's point is just pointing out that we're trying to sell "urban living" and not urban living. I still think "urban living" sells, but we're all endeavoring toward an OKC where those quotation marks are no longer there...

[Larry OKC]

Oh come on. It's not realistic to completely live without a car here in Oklahoma City no matter what. We have nowhere near the urban amenities that could support a car-less lifestyle. That's just an unrealistic argument to be truthful. We aren't NYC or Chicago so the personal vehicle is going to be in the situation regardless.

But that is the argument I have heard used.

And Spartan is correct, you may still have to have a car to make the weekly trip to the grocery store, but may be able to save a lot on gas etc for other things that are within walking distance. But when it comes to most any kind of shopping, your options are limited downtown.

[Spartan]

I don't think anyone is actually implying, "Move downtown! Live car-free!" just yet. Or at least I hope not. But hey, there are people all over OKC that live car-free, and their life is kind of inconvenient, but if you did have to live that way, downtown would definitely be the best place to attempt it. The irony is that obviously most of those people don't have the luxury of a downtown loft or condo..

[betts]

But isn't one of the arguments for downtown living is that you don't need to have a car? That everything is within walking distance? If you still have to have a car to get several miles to a grocery store (as you might in other areas of the city too), why live downtown?

Realistically, though, it's very difficult to do anything more than pick up a few items to cook dinner if you're carless. Having lived without a car when I was a college student in Denver, I would bike or take a bus to the supermarket, fill up a backpack with food and go home. It's hard to buy staples for a family of two in a backpack or a pullable grocery cart. Even if you live downtown, you're going to have to use a car to do a regular shop.

My nephew lives in Manhattan, is carless, and one of his biggest challenges is grocery shopping. There are stores that deliver, but that adds considerably to the price of already pricey groceries, according to him. Actually, 7 of my nieces and nephews live in Manhattan, but the rest have parents who drive in to visit and take them shopping or bring them groceries. My daughters drive about once a week in Chicago, and that's to go to the grocery store.

So, again, even in bigger cities going completely carless offers challenges.

[ljbab728]

Realistically, though, it's very difficult to do anything more than pick up a few items to cook dinner if you're carless. Having lived without a car when I was a college student in Denver, I would bike or take a bus to the supermarket, fill up a backpack with food and go home. It's hard to buy staples for a family of two in a backpack or a pullable grocery cart. Even if you live downtown, you're going to have to use a car to do a regular shop.

My nephew lives in Manhattan, is carless, and one of his biggest challenges is grocery shopping. There are stores that deliver, but that adds considerably to the price of already pricey groceries, according to him. Actually, 7 of my nieces and nephews live in Manhattan, but the rest have parents who drive in to visit and take them shopping or bring them groceries. My daughters drive about once a week in Chicago, and that's to go to the grocery store.

So, again, even in bigger cities going completely carless offers challenges.

My brother, who lives in the Hollywood area in LA, decided to sell his car a few years ago and has been carless since then in a city where the car is king. He lives within walking distance of several grocery stores and if he needs a large bill he can order groceries on the internet and have them delivered. He is also lucky to live only about 5 blocks from his job so he walks to work every day.

[dankrutka]

Back to the original question, when is this starting? I could have sworn early 2011 was mentioned, but things can change...

[Spartan]

January I believe.

[betts]

It has a name, so thought I'd start a new thread.


$24 million apartment complex planned in Deep Deuce

Sitting at the Deep Deuce Grill, a chance encounter with nearby resident Brent Bebee illustrates why Richard McKown went through the extra hurdles required to add a $24 million, 228-unit apartment complex to the growing downtown neighborhood. The 228-unit Level Urban Apartments were designed by Wade Scaramucci, an architect with London-based Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, and Oklahoma City-based Architectural Design Group. Construction is set to start this month with an opening by mid-2012. Each apartment unit will feature an open-plan living area, oversized windows and gourmet kitchens. Each unit's interior living space is extended to its own private balcony or terrace with either a view of the downtown skyline or one of two fully-contained, landscaped courtyards. One courtyard is designed to function as the community's social hub, equipped with a pool, deck, terraces and a patio that feeds into the ground level's indoor gathering space. The second other courtyard is intended to become a quiet retreat and green oasis. An interior garage will provide parking for residents while angled parking spaces will be added along the adjoining streets to accommodate visitors and patrons of a grocery and restaurant facing NE 2.

"What was driving the housing market 30 years ago is very different from what's going on today. You've got 25 percent of households being single people now, and being single can be pretty lonely in suburbia where everyone else has families and kids. ”
Richard McKown
Construction is set to start within the next couple weeks after a process that McKnown admits has sometimes felt like “a roller-coaster ride.” Some of the extra scrutiny came with the successful application for $1.25 million in tax increment financing. The deal, approved by the Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday, is the first that provides the city a guarantee of being paid back. McKnown won't receive the money until after the project is fully built and opened.



Read more: http://newsok.com/24-million-apartme...#ixzz1AQ3qk4sB

[Larry OKC]

Grocery? Did someone mention grocery?

EXCELLENT provision, he doesn't get the money from the City until the project is complete and open!

[betts]

Grocery. He told me a "European market concept".

[Spartan]

I think it might be more similar to one of the organic grocers around here already, but a "European market concept" would be even cooler.

[Larry OKC]

For those of us that are clueless, what is "European market concept"?

[Kerry]

I think is where the store kind of spills out onto the sidewalk with fresh fruits and vegetables on display in bins outside the store.

[Rover]

It is cool to call it a "European market", but that could be anything. The markets there are diverse. Heck, Aldi is a European market. I would like it to be as depicted above, but our extreme weather could be a problem.

Is it just me, but from a marketing perspective, the name doesn't seem to resonate. Am I just the wrong demographic? Am I just too uncool to understand? What is it supposed to mean? Someone cool enlighten me please. Spartan?

[RadioOKC]

I have always thought Aldi would be a nice addition to Downtown. We lived @ Park Harvey for a Year and outside of
parking becoming a nightmare when Devon construction got started we loved it. Aldi would work nicely for
downtown residents.


Chris
http://www.radiookc.com

[Steve]

FYI - we have a new auto-correct software that gets too aggressive... his name is Richard McKown, not McKnown

[okcpulse]

FYI - we have a new auto-correct software that gets too aggressive... his name is Richard McKown, not McKnown

Sounds to me like the programmers didn't create logic that properly separates names from the rest of the structured sentence.

[Steve]

No, it's a bit more complicated than that. It allows for writers and reporters to put in commonly misspelled names, and then it tries to force a correction even if this is a different name. Don't get me started... I might go into a full rant.

[wsucougz]

On these apartments, what material is the white? EIFS?

[Kerry]

No, it's a bit more complicated than that. It allows for writers and reporters to put in commonly misspelled names, and then it tries to force a correction even if this is a different name. Don't get me started... I might go into a full rant.

Maybe you guys should just switch to using Microsoft Word.

[Steve]

Moving on....