Your concepts/ideas for OKC

[traxx]

Didn't know where else to put something like this so I stuck it here. Please move to appropriate forum if need be.

This is where we share concepts of what we would build, do, start if we had the money and the wherewithal. And then discuss said ideas.

I'll start.

1) A restaurant that hearkens back to a time when going out to eat was an event. It would have to be downtown in the CBD. Think along the lines of old fashioned places like the Stork Club in NYC in it's hey day. A nice affair. Well appointed ambiance. Great service. It would have a dress code - no shorts, probably no jeans, jacket preferred, collared shirt, etc. A place where you can dress nice. Have a live jazz band play music along the lines of Miles Davis and Charles MIngus. But it wouldn't be exclusive. It might have some expensive dishes if you want but it would also have a range of affordable dishes as well so that average Joes could eat there as well. And by affordable, I don't mean in the Chili's price range but maybe starting in the Charleston's price range and going up.

2) I think I've mentioned this one before in another thread. A water park like Great Wolf, but with an island, tiki theme instead of Great Wolf's mountain, woodsy theme. Have it be indoor/outdoor so that during the summer months the outdoor section would be open as well as the indoor and people could enjoy both of them. During the winter months, close down and winterize the outdoor section but keep the indoor open for business for year round fun. Give it a glass roof to let the sunshine indoors so as to make it feel like you're outside on an island instead of inside a dark, artificially lit building (some lighting would be required though). Also like Great Wolf, make it have a hotel in the facility as well.

White Water is old and dirty and since it has no competition it has no incentive to be any better than it is. This place could clean up financially by doing what WW falls short of and doing it year round. I would put this place out by Frontier City. There's open land on the east side of I-35 in that area that could potentially be used.

What do you guys think?

[Ross MacLochness]

Abundant safe, protected bike paths that extend in all directions so that people of all ages from all parts of the city could reasonably (and enjoyably) use a bike to get around.

[bchris02]

Great idea for a thread. There are so many things I can think of.

1) I would love to see a bar like the Green Lady in Kansas City. I really enjoyed this place when I was in KC and OKC doesn't have anything comparable, even on a smaller scale. I think it would work best in Deep Deuce or Bricktown.

http://www.greenladylounge.com/

2) A full-line grocery store in the urban core, preferably on the streetcar route. It's hard to believe that as far as downtown OKC has come, this still seems like such a pie in the sky wish.

3) A complete do-over for Lower Bricktown. I would keep the Centennial, the Harkins, and the Sonic HQ. Everything else would be demolished and redeveloped as an urban, mixed use, contiguous development with the canal as its focus. Parking would be structural and not visible from the canal. It still baffles me how Hogan thought surface parking was the best use for canal-side real estate. Hogan's style of development would be ideal for the area in Edmond around I-35 and Covell.

4) Sidewalks in the Paseo/Edgemere Park

5) Some lighting on the skyscrapers in downtown OKC. It may not seem like a big deal, but well lit skyscrapers really add to the feel of being downtown at night. It doesn't have to be anything fancy either. Something as simple as lighting the crown of the Chase tower or re-lighting the Sandridge tower would make a big difference. A city's skyline is also integral to its image. I have never seen a night skyline in a major city as dark as OKC's.

6) It would be nice to see the 39th Street district get some love from the city. It might be controversial, but something like what was recently done on Western Ave would do wonders for that area as well as make it feel like part of the city's renaissance.

7) Redevelopment of the U-Haul building into high-end loft apartments

[traxx]

Ross, I really hope that the OKC metro is moving in that direction. I think we have to get the powers that be used to bike paths and bike lanes and then hopefully we can push them on toward protected bike paths and design/re-design of streets for protected bike paths/lanes.

bchris, lots of good and interesting ideas there.

[Mike_M]

Not sure if this is along the same lines, but much higher education investment. I have tons of very active peers who would absolutely move to the urban core if they had confidence in their kids having a quality education. It's a crapshoot even in "good" districts, but public ed in Oklahoma as a whole is a total mess. All this entertainment activity is great for young adults and empty nesters, but I feel like OKC is going to really feel the burn in the next decade as the older millenials (although it's weird to lump us in with highschool snapchatters) start leaving to give their kids a better chance. Not to mention that OKC will probably never get a nod from any high-skill company as long as our education system is in the dumps.

[Jersey Boss]

An amendment to the state constitution that allows for the people in any city with a population greater than 100k to establish home rule. This would go a long way to negate the political power of rural legislators over urban interests.

[kukblue1]

A subway system that runs down reno from downtown to yukon, One going up and down 35 and 235 from Edmond to Norman. One going along I-40 to tinker and one along Nw expressway. Oh and something DT to airport. How cool would it be for OU students to be able to take a train to bricktown.

[Timshel]

Some great ideas here. My additional thoughts below.

1.) Rather than a single large grocery store in the urban core I would like to see a variety of/multiple medium to small grocery stores peppered throughout the urban core, to where all residents of the urban core are a short walk to some sort of place to get basic groceries and then a longer walk/streetcar ride/very short drive to anything they need, depending on where they live. Although I doubt they ever would, I think Braum's is in a perfect position to be the leader on this, as the scale of their current grocery store concept (built and adapted for an urban environment, of course) is what I have in my mind for a place with the "basics" (and they have the scale/distribution network/etc. to where it might be financially feasible), which would be supplemented by higher end specialty stores such as Native Roots and bodega-like stores on the lower end that have basic perishables, non-perishables, and a deli/sandwich counter.

2.) I would love to see the development and redevelopment of many of the small commercial pockets in OKC's historic neighborhoods. There are all sorts of small versions of the plaza district throughout many of our historic neighborhoods that I would love to see revitalized and turned into each neighborhood's "meeting place." Think a bar and/or restaurant or two, a coffee shop, a couple of retail spaces, or a news stand, etc. Nothing crazy, but enough to serve as a walkable gathering and community space for a neighborhood's residents (that is open to all, of course, but in practice serves primarily the neighborhood's residents) that would take on the character of the neighborhood itself.

3.) As a smaller version of number 2, I would like to see some responsible commercial activity introduced to our neighborhood parks. I live in a neighborhood with a park that gets a decent amount of use throughout the day and into the evening, but it would be so much more enjoyable and inviting if there were some sort of stall or stand where visitors could get a drink/snack/grab-and-go sandwich also perhaps with a small retail component with magazines, picnic supplies, items for activities at the park (kites, sporting equipment, etc.).

4.) I'm surprised the "speakeasy" trend hasn't caught on in OKC yet. I know the Union technically has one but I have yet to see any really cool speakeasies in OKC (or maybe I'm not that cool and not aware of them).

5.) I may be in the minority on this, but I would much rather see a dense network of 3-5 story mixed use buildings in the Producer's Co-Op, in essence creating a new neighborhood/district than a couple of high rise apartment buildings, soccer stadium, etc. and a bunch of dead space.

6.) While I voted for and supported the latest "Maps for neighborhoods/sidewalks/infrastructure" I really hope that the next version gets back to the original purpose of maps of building large scale, visible, public projects.

7.) This is probably pretty pie-in-the-sky and not realistic at all given most of the companies I'm thinking of have recently built or moved into new buildings, but I would like to see the city somehow seriously incentivize some of our bigger companies to build buildings downtown. There could be some pretty solid additions to the skyline if the likes of Paycom, Love's, American Fidelity, etc. moved downtown.

1-3 are common in many other places I've visited and would love to see all of them implemented in OKC. If anyone has a few million dollars lying around I'm happy to use that to lead the charge!

[Ross MacLochness]

^^^ I've thought a lot about what you are talking about in #2 it would be great to really revitalize these nodes of main streetiness in these neighborhoods with retail including houshold necessities, bars, restaurants, meeting spaces, whatever. Then connect these walkable nodes of community oriented develoipment together with a streetcar. Examples of these nodes include Walker & 30th, 36th and Shartel, there are others (not including Plaza, Western Ave, etc) but they are slipping my mind rn.

[bchris02]

A subway system that runs down reno from downtown to yukon, One going up and down 35 and 235 from Edmond to Norman. One going along I-40 to tinker and one along Nw expressway. Oh and something DT to airport. How cool would it be for OU students to be able to take a train to bricktown.

Not a bad idea but I think park-and-ride light rail like what DFW has would be more practical than a subway. I really think downtown OKC and Norman should be connected by rail. I think downtown to Norman and downtown to the airport would be the most successful routes starting out. Edmond would be a tougher sell.

[Ross MacLochness]

Not a bad idea but I think park-and-ride light rail like what DFW has would be more practical than a subway. I really think downtown OKC and Norman should be connected by rail. I think downtown to Norman and downtown to the airport would be the most successful routes starting out. Edmond would be a tougher sell.

Death to Park and ride! lol (jk kinda)

I like the concept of having transit between metro cities, but the main transit stops should ideally be near main streets or be built with walkable developments rather than be surrounded by huge parking lots. There should be ample structured parking, no doubt, for park and riders, but if there isn't other stuff too, the system would have no use other than park and ride.

[Timshel]

^^^ I've thought a lot about what you are talking about in #2 it would be great to really revitalize these nodes of main streetiness in these neighborhoods with retail including houshold necessities, bars, restaurants, meeting spaces, whatever. Then connect these walkable nodes of community oriented develoipment together with a streetcar. Examples of these nodes include Walker & 30th, 36th and Shartel, there are others (not including Plaza, Western Ave, etc) but they are slipping my mind rn.

Yeah we're definitely on the same page. Others that come to mind are 33rd and Villa, the 16th and Drexel/Linwood area, there are similar areas in Crestwood and Miller, and you could even throw 30th and Penn (and really most of the commercial area between 25th and 30th on Penn - even though Penn is a significantly more of a major street than what we're generally talking about).

[HangryHippo]

My pie-in-the-sky wish would be that MidFirst Bank, Love's, Paycom, & American Fidelity all move downtown. It doesn't have to be in skyscrapers, but I'd love for the big companies to be located downtown.

[dankrutka]

Not a bad idea but I think park-and-ride light rail like what DFW has would be more practical than a subway. I really think downtown OKC and Norman should be connected by rail. I think downtown to Norman and downtown to the airport would be the most successful routes starting out. Edmond would be a tougher sell.

I like most your ideas, bchris02, but oh, please, please no on this one. The mistake the the DART made is park and ride. If they'd run the Green line through the downtowns of the various towns through which it passes, it would have been far more successful. If OKC expands it's streetcar, run it through mainstreets and dense downtown areas to spur further growth, not parking lots.

[dankrutka]

Great idea for a thread. There are so many things I can think of.

1) I would love to see a bar like the Green Lady in Kansas City. I really enjoyed this place when I was in KC and OKC doesn't have anything comparable, even on a smaller scale. I think it would work best in Deep Deuce or Bricktown.

http://www.greenladylounge.com/

What was the name of the jazz club in Bricktown that closed 5-6 years ago? I always thought that was a cool place. It was kind of hidden and felt like a speakeasy.

[dankrutka]

I'd just like to see the Bricktown Events Center, UHaul, and Bass Pro parking lots developed into dense, mixed use residential developments with ground level retail, restaurants, and bars. While I generally prefer 4-6 story developments, I'd be okay with at least one taller residential tower to offer the kind of urban living not really available in OKC's core. Heck, lets add large balconies to add eyes on the streets, underground parking, and put a grocery store in one of those developments too (see Tulsa's proposed downtown Reasor's). Those parking lots really kill the urban feel along Reno, but if developed well, could really make the area feel like a continuous urban neighborhood. While we're at it, let's give Reno a road diet with bike lanes too.

(Love this thread... we need more spaces to imagine what's possible instead of focusing what doesn't exist)

[Jeepnokc]

What was the name of the jazz club in Bricktown that closed 5-6 years ago? I always thought that was a cool place. It was kind of hidden and felt like a speakeasy.

The new STAG is a speakeasy type establishment.

[ABCOKC]

3) A complete do-over for Lower Bricktown. I would keep the Centennial, the Harkins, and the Sonic HQ. Everything else would be demolished and redeveloped as an urban, mixed use, contiguous development with the canal as its focus. Parking would be structural and not visible from the canal. It still baffles me how Hogan thought surface parking was the best use for canal-side real estate. Hogan's style of development would be ideal for the area in Edmond around I-35 and Covell.

Totally agree. I once made a model in SketchUp -> Google Earth for a redeveloped Lower Bricktown. I think it would be cool to extend the canal toward Bass Pro where there is currently just that tiny stream. From there, we could turn Lower Bricktown into a kind of outdoor mall anchored by Harkins at one end and Bass Pro at the other, similar to Branson Landing, which is anchored by Bass Pro and Belk.

As Dan said, build out all of the parking lots south of Reno with mixed-use spaces and parking garages with ground-level retail, and knock down any buildings that don't fit with urbanist principles (aside from Bass Pro and Harkins).

Oh and also get rid of the Boulevard. Or at the very least develop it into an actual Boulevard: tree-lined, pedestrian friendly, wide sidewalks, narrow lanes, on-street parking, attractive medians, ability to close off portions for street festivals.

[KayneMo]

A more built-up Bricktown. I made a SketchUp model of what that could look like:

[dankrutka]

^^^
Channeling Field of Dreams: Is this heaven? No, it's Bricktown.

Thanks for creating that SketchUp, KanyeMo. That's the stuff of dreams. Feel free to continue the development on that Toby Keith's lot too.

[bchris02]

A more built-up Bricktown. I made a SketchUp model of what that could look like:

Pretty impressive. I think that is doable within ten or fifteen years if things came together the right way. I think an integral piece will be the Chevy Events Center parking lot. That really needs a mixed use development on it. Once that is done, I think Hogan might start feeling the pressure to either sell or develop his parking lots.

[ABCOKC]

A more built-up Bricktown. I made a SketchUp model of what that could look like:

Wow, that is beautiful!

I especially appreciate the odd angles of the buildings along the canal. Noticed that when I was trying to make my model, the winding nature of the LB canal makes it relatively difficult for buildings to interact with it. Really cool so see the way you approached that!

[Urbanized]

The Toby Keith’s lot would be best utilized as structured parking to support new and existing uses. This infill model of LB is similar to what I’ve been advocating for years. There is nothing wrong with LB that could not be fixed with infill.

[SoonerScot]

What I would like to see isn't just for OKC as it would also affect Tulsa, but I would like to see a change in state law to allow ODOT to sell bonds for any road construction project that will cost over $100 million. This should eliminate the need to build some of these massive interstate realignments in phases and them taking 10+ years to complete.

[HangryHippo]

What I would like to see isn't just for OKC as it would also affect Tulsa, but I would like to see a change in state law to allow ODOT to sell bonds for any road construction project that will cost over $100 million. This should eliminate the need to build some of these massive interstate realignments in phases and them taking 10+ years to complete.

This is another fantastic idea. It's beyond ridiculous (and irritating as hell!) that road projects take as long as they do in this state!