Auto Alley Townhomes

[Plutonic Panda]

Not sure where to put this, but thought this was the best place:

Six new homes planned for NE 7th St. in OKC

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record February 16, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Edmond-based homebuilder will soon add six homes to downtown.

Willco Homes builder Sheryl Willingham said she became interested in downtown when her daughter started looking at the area. She’s already sold one home.

She said the homes will measure about 3,000 square feet, with a price of about $300,000.

The homes are being constructed on three lots at 25 and 29 NE Seventh St. Her properties are divided by another 25-foot-wide lot that has a different owner.

SVN Land Run broker Andrew Hwang sold the lots to Willingham. He said the seller once owned all four lots and there were fourplex apartments on the property. But the owner didn’t pay property taxes on the property in the center, so it was sold through a tax sale. It changed hands again, and the current owner didn’t want to sell. Hwang said the owner figured no one would buy the other three lots without buying his as well.

That wasn’t the case for Willingham. She was the second person to have the three lots under contract, Hwang said. The first buyer backed out once it was learned the middle lot wasn’t available.

Willingham’s homes were presented and approved by the Downtown Design Review Committee on Thursday. The site plan shows a rectangle piece of land between her homes. At the meeting, she was asked about the ownership, where she explained she had tried to buy it.

Willingham said her homes will offer plenty of storage space and a traditional-home-type feel. This includes having two-car garages on the bottom floor. There are four stories in total, with a garage, then three stories on top.

DDRC member Deborah Richards said she wasn’t in favor of the garages facing Seventh Street. She said there are creative ways to hide the garages and keep the urban atmosphere.

The city planning department staff recommended approving the design, even with the street-facing garages because the homes will have balconies and large windows, so there will still be a building-to-pedestrian relationship, according to the staff report.

Willingham’s plan includes finishing out the alleyway, where three of the homes will have access to their entrances. That would normally not be allowed by downtown development regulations, but given the density of the project the access is needed, so the staff supported it.

“We haven’t had a product like that in that area in a very long time,” said Laura Griggs with the planning department staff.

Willingham was also asked to install a sidewalk along her development on Seventh Street.

She said she’ll start building the homes in March.

Is there an update on this? Are these homes being worked on?

[Pete]

^

One is complete.

[Plutonic Panda]

Sweet! Thank you for the response. Are they waiting for confirmed buyers to build?

[Pete]

I believe that first house is for the builder's family.

There has not been any building permits for anything else.

[Pete]

Placeholder

[Pete]

[PaddyShack]

Where would one go to get pricing info on these lots? Does the builder have a website?

[fightlessllama]

I'm still not a fan of the garage and driveway facing 7th street. Yeah I know there's three houses being built on the alley but it still looks pretty ugly and I can only imagine 2 more being built just like it. Also, I thought the plans called for 4 stories total and I'm only seeing 3 including the garage level?

[Pete]

^

The one home is built to the southern limit of the property line. That driveway is actually in a wide public easement; nothing can be built there anyway.

[fightlessllama]

I actually like this density of 6 houses on such a small amount of land. Plus, I don't mind this exception just this once for a suburban style driveway fronting 7th street since the Central Exchange and 19 and 23 NE 6th developments are basically relegating it to parking lot entrances anyways. But I don't understand the thought process that if a development has a slightly larger than normal easement then it should all be turned to concrete as if it couldn't be used for anything else. I mean no building ends at the curb and many seem to do fine without driveways. Things like a larger sidewalk, trees, and eventually maybe parallel parking and a bike lane on this street since the easement is already there.

But also, did they shrink the buildings from 4 stories as originally stated to 3? And do they have to go in front of the design review board again when they switch from their original plans?

[Pete]

I believe this is a PUD where they get approval on a wide set of standards up front, then can make changes freely within those limits.

But I believe any time anything new is to be built in one of the urban design review districts, that has to go through committee.

[HOT ROD]

they need to ensure sidewalks and lighting gets built. Perhaps add a few trees/landscaping...

.. dang-it OKC. .....

[Anonymous.]

3 separate AC units for that one residence seems interesting. I guess one per floor??? Any HVAC experts here?

[Rover]

3 separate AC units for that one residence seems interesting. I guess one per floor??? Any HVAC experts here?

Three zones. Doesn’t have to be by floor, but probably is. Zones can be designed by use (bedroom areas vs living), location (east vs west side, or by floor), or by other criteria (master br area vs guest rooms, etc.). But, as heat migrates up, and uses generally vary by floor, it is most likely by floors.

[shoei]

they need to ensure sidewalks and lighting gets built. Perhaps add a few trees/landscaping...

.. dang-it OKC. .....

i agree with lighting! i live near there and it's so dark on Oklahoma from 10th street to 6th street!

[rte66man]

i agree with lighting! i live near there and it's so dark on Oklahoma from 10th street to 6th street!

It won't matter since the lights aren't maintained. Once they go out, it will take an act of Congress to get them fixed.

[TheTravellers]

It won't matter since the lights aren't maintained. Once they go out, it will take an act of Congress to get them fixed.

I'm holding out hope that with the new mayor and councilpeople, things might actually change (Ms. Hamon said that streetlights were one of the reasons she ran). Yeah, I know, but this time might actually be different.

[AP]

It’s been insisted on here that it’s impossible to do new construction in the core for less than 250+ $/sqft. According to that article these are at $100. How are they making this work?

[Pete]

It’s been insisted on here that it’s impossible to do new construction in the core for less than 250+ $/sqft. According to that article these are at $100. How are they making this work?

They haven't built any for sale units at that price; just one for a family member that was never sold on the open market. In fact, ownership hasn't transfered from the builder.

They paid $380K just for the land. Even divided by 6, that is $63K just for each lot.

And almost no way to do new home construction -- exspecially vertical -- for less than $200K per SF. If you look at the website for this builder you'll see most their homes exceed that amount.

So right away, that's $600K for a 3,000SF home plus another $63K for the lot. The one house that was built is 3,500SF.

This is why similar 2- or 3-story homes in the urban core all go for $700K and up.

[Pete]

It’s been insisted on here that it’s impossible to do new construction in the core for less than 250+ $/sqft. According to that article these are at $100. How are they making this work?

They haven't built any for sale units at that price; just one for a family member that was never sold on the open market. In fact, ownership hasn't transfered from the builder.

They paid $380K just for the land. Even divided by 6, that is $63K just for each small lot.

And almost no way to do new home construction -- exspecially vertical -- for less than $200 per SF. If you look at the website for this builder you'll see most their homes exceed that amount. When I spoke to Sheryl Willingham she described these homes as 'luxury' and that's all they build in Gallardia, Rose Creek, etc.

So the bare minimum would be $600K for a 3,000SF home plus another $63K for the lot. The one house that was built is 3,500SF.

This is why similar 2- or 3-story homes in the urban core all go for $700K and up.

If and when more of these are built, I can almost guarantee they will be over $800K. Sale prices for new construction in the core are all around or over $300/SF.

[Pete]

These are some recent comps for newish construction sold in the core:

[hoya]

And almost no way to do new home construction -- exspecially vertical -- for less than $200K per SF.

I understand that people are choosing not to build for less than that, but "almost no way to do it" seems like an overstatement. Most of the for sale housing downtown have granite countertops and other things that boost the price. They are targeted at a certain price point, and they aim for that market. New construction in other parts of the city can be way cheaper.

[Anonymous.]

There will come a point where the desire [for more people than those who have already taken the plunge] to live downtown at these prices becomes much more common than today. With all of the new entertainment and food options blowing up downtown. The school, the parks, the streetcar, and the company relocations - it is all outpacing anything the suburbs can offer. The crossing point on the graph is coming in the next 10 years, I believe.

But as it stands right now, it is an extreme minority of people who are willing to drop half a million on a downtown property when they could get nearly twice as much house for the dollar in the suburbs. This minority is what the past and current downtown for-sale developers are trying to grab.

[Pete]

I understand that people are choosing not to build for less than that, but "almost no way to do it" seems like an overstatement. Most of the for sale housing downtown have granite countertops and other things that boost the price. They are targeted at a certain price point, and they aim for that market. New construction in other parts of the city can be way cheaper.

Given the land prices and that you have to build vertically, that puts any new construction down there over $300K unless something is very tiny (less than 1,000SF) at a place like the Civic. And those still sold for more than $250K/SF.

So people aren't going to buy formica counter tops in that price range and solid surface counters are only a fraction of the cost due to the high basis you start with.

There is a reason that nothing newish downtown is selling for less than $300/SF. If there was money to be made at $200 or $300 developers would be building them and cashing in.


People need to release the fantasy of afforably priced new housing in the core. If you want value, buy an existing place (like Sycamore Square or Classen Glen) and fix it up. Or rent an older apartment.

[hoya]

I'm not disagreeing that it makes good economic sense for them to go after the high end of the market. You want to maximize your return on whatever you build. I was just making a pedantic point that you could build for a lot cheaper than $200 or $300 a square foot if you wanted to. A quick Google search shows those prices are well above average for new construction.