Rerouting Oklahoma Avenue at U-haul/Boulevard

[Finn]

I belatedly heard the city has dropped its plans to acquire U-haul’s parking lot (in order to extend Oklahoma Ave directly to the new boulevard), and instead has drawn up plans to reroute it again. Currently Oklahoma Ave hugs the west side of the building. Is this correct? Is the city planning to reroute it again? If so, is it to the east or the west of the U-haul building? Are there written plans? Timeline?Thanks!

[Pete]

Yes, the city dropped its eminent domain suit to forcibly take the property just to the east of the Uhaul building in order to properly connect Oklahoma Ave. from Reno to the new intersection at the OKC Boulevard.

Currently, there is a temporary solution that bends around the Uhaul building but to the east on the right of way of old Compress Avenue.

I believe the current plan is actually to move the intersection on the Bouelvard one block to the west where it will align with Compress and then angle into the Oklahoma intersection at Reno.

And yes, that would mean tearing out the just-built intersection on the boulevard and putting in a new one.

None of this is set but I believe talks are well underway with Randy Hogan who owns the right-of-way needed on the west side of U-haul.

[David]

Geeze. If the solution to the current bad arrangement is just a different slightly less bad arrangement let's just leave it how it is and not spend the money.

[Pete]

This has been a cluster on so many levels.

There WAS an intersection at Compress that was taken out after the city directed ODOT to put the new intersection where it is.

And of course, why on earth did the city wait until now -- years and years after all this was decided -- to try and lock down the needed property? I know they talked to U-haul earlier but also knew this was going to be contenscious so why not work things to conclusion way back when?

Worst of all, this will now place the one and only means of ingress and egress to the very important Lumberyard and Coop properties at their almost far west end, very near the railroad tracks. I can just hear them now: "We need millions in incentives from the city due to poor access".

[Sooner.Arch]

Gosh, I still am dreaming that the U-Haul building goes under renovation to transfer into apartments or another hotel similar to 21C. That’s my dream haha. The Itens biscuit building has too much potential! Someone save that beauty!

[PaddyShack]

Does U-Haul use the upper floors for anything, if so in what ways do they use them?

[Ginkasa]

Does U-Haul use the upper floors for anything, if so in what ways do they use them?

Its all a bunch of rentable storage rooms, I believe.

[LordGerald]

Does U-Haul use the upper floors for anything, if so in what ways do they use them?

It is an active storage facility. My former workplace has a large space, and every time I was there, people were utilizing the building to access storage.

[Pete]

I think that Uhaul storage facility is quite active and relatively full, which is why they are so protective of it.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^
Yep.

[rezman]

^^^ Not only that but U-Haul spend big bucks on renovating that building at the behest of the City, so I don’t blame them for holding their position... Good for U-Haul!.

[Finn]

Thanks for the info. Moving the intersection to the west sure seems to make for a complicated intersection with lights, train underpass, then immediately more lights.

[HangryHippo]

Thanks for the info. Moving the intersection to the west sure seems to make for a complicated intersection with lights, train underpass, then immediately more lights.

The Oklahoma standard. lol. Lights followed by more lights followed by more lights.

[SEMIweather]

The Oklahoma standard. lol. Lights followed by more lights followed by more lights.

See also: Western between NW 50th and Avondale.

[Pete]

Here is a guess at how this all will shake out:

[Finn]

Great photos. I was trying to picture what it used to look like.

My guess, based on Pete’s info above, they will use the hypotenuse of your upper green and yellow segments.

[Pete]

My understanding is the decision has been made to relocate the intersection at Oklahoma Avenue to what was originally Compress Avenue (they yellow lines in the graphic above).

I believe the entire intersection will be moved at the city's expense, as ODOT placed it at the Oklahoma Ave. location at the due to instructions by the city.

It seems all efforts to pay U-Haul are now off and the drive will go on the east side of that structure, rather than the west where it was to go through and align with Oklahoma.


What this also means is the only real ingress and egrees out of the Lumberyard and old Coop will be at the far west end, almost at the western border of both properties.

Access to the properties is also provided by S. 4th and S. 7th streets. The former crosses Shields and goes under the RR tracks; the latter under both.

It also means there will be two lights quite close together; one on each side of the railroad overpass.

[Plutonic Panda]

It also means there will be two lights quite close together; one on each side of the railroad overpass.

This would be of no issue if the lights are synchronized.

That said, this whole thing is awful and seems to imply the people at the uHaul facility give not two sh!ts about the community. They could work with the city, redevelop the historic building into something more deserving than a storage facility with metal covering a beautiful facade, and develop the lot into structured parking with urban storage which is common in many major cities. So frustrating. :/

It's hard to have compassion for these guys when they are smack dab in the middle of a new major recently built Boulevard and streetcar line, a stones throw away from a potentially billion dollar development to the south, next door to a future bus hub/parking garage for a major passenger rail station that is soon to be home to commuter rail and an extended national passenger rail line not to mention possibly light and HS rail, and yet they want to stick to the status quo keeping their heads in the sand and being reactive and not proactive.

[Pete]

U-Haul would have had to relocate their entrance from the east to west side, thus triggering a lot or related and very expensive work. Remember, this is a very old building underneath that cladding.

The city was unwilling to pay them for that and backed out before the independent commissioners placed a fair market value, as they knew U-Haul was likely to get their way and once there is a ruling, the parties are obligated.

The owners of U-Haul are not the villians here. The city should have figured this out before they had ODOT build that intersection.

[Plutonic Panda]

I didn’t say they were the villains, but they aren’t saints either and common sense would say to extend the road reconnecting the grid straight instead of having a disjointed layout.

As I said, there are many options to be had such as relocation and renovating the building into something like apartments or offices and building a new structure in the parking lot which could double as storage and structured parking. That could be an added bonus for any potenial client or inhabitant of the renovated existing building.

[Pete]

Like everyone else, they are entitled to fair payment when the gov wants to take their property.

In the end, the city wasn't willing to pay the amount determined by independent assessors appointed by the court.

[Ross MacLochness]

#maps4movingtrucks

[OKC Guy]

This would be of no issue if the lights are synchronized.

That said, this whole thing is awful and seems to imply the people at the uHaul facility give not two sh!ts about the community. They could work with the city, redevelop the historic building into something more deserving than a storage facility with metal covering a beautiful facade, and develop the lot into structured parking with urban storage which is common in many major cities. So frustrating. :/

It's hard to have compassion for these guys when they are smack dab in the middle of a new major recently built Boulevard and streetcar line, a stones throw away from a potentially billion dollar development to the south, next door to a future bus hub/parking garage for a major passenger rail station that is soon to be home to commuter rail and an extended national passenger rail line not to mention possibly light and HS rail, and yet they want to stick to the status quo keeping their heads in the sand and being reactive and not proactive.

This type mentality is why the out of downtown public is starting to seperate away from downtown thinkers.

You blame owners who were there even before Maps1. How in the flip is it their fault?

Wow!

Same as your comment about car parking along SC route - you want all street parking eliminated with no concern or thought or study to businesses along route.

Same as comments here about new Penn development when I brought up how some home owners might not like the massive buildings and need made whole if they want to move.

It seems some just don’t care about existing businesses or homes - its all in the way of progress - until they want “your” home or business then its the evil government.

UHaul was there first and all building (roads and streets) were planned knowing this. Looks like planners are at fault here so stop blaming the business owners. Thats not fair to them. OKC messed this up not UHaul

[OKCRT]

The city should just go ahead and buy Uhaul out now. They deserve to be paid and that place is standing in the way of development. Pony up and pay them before spending even more redoing stuff already paid for.

[jn1780]

As silly as it is to rebuild, it is still far more cheaper to do this then buyout Uhaul.