900 N. Klein

[Pete]

Has this development died or are there still hopes for it to move forward?

Dead as fried chicken.

The school district jacked around, the developer pulled out and now they are going to have a very hard time getting anyone interested after all the time, money and work by the selected redeveloper was just flushed.

Beyond all that, the district doesn't seem to care about selling that property, which is a shame because there is so much potential.

[PaddyShack]

nm

[shawnw]

Building to be demolished, which is unfortunate. Could be great for affordable housing in a spot that could use it.

https://freepressokc.com/okcps-plans...in-metro-park/

[Pete]

^

That is hugely disappointing.

The district should be prepared for a huge amount of pushback.

[Pete]

BTW, much credit to Brett Dickerson who runs FreePressOKC and busts his tail to report on many things, including schools.

Let's see how long it takes for the Oklahoman to steal his story and not give him/them any credit.

[turnpup]

^

That is hugely disappointing.

The district should be prepared for a huge amount of pushback.

And they're planning to ask voters to pass a big bond issue in November.

[ChrisHayes]

There was a fire in the building a week or so ago. I was listening to the radio traffic, and apparently where the fire was there was already part of the interior of the building that had collapsed.

[shawnw]

BEFORE that fire I opened an action center ticket because so many windows were broken out and the fence they have around the place is super janky, but the ticket was closed with a "no violation" result.

[Pete]

Demolition by neglect.

We've seen it so many times.

[catch22]

Ah, man. Major bummer. Gorgeous building.

[khook]

Are we really surprised. Remember the school board has not felt the need to keep historic buildings or to take suggestions from the community as a whole. They demolished much of the historic fabric that was on the site of the new administration building

[Edmond Hausfrau]

Ah, man. Major bummer. Gorgeous building.

Such a shame. Someone up thread mentioned the McMenaman's group in Oregon; they converted an old school in Bothell WA and turned school pool into hotel pool with adjacent tiki bar and it was such a cool adaptive use .

[HangryHippo]

I cannot believe we’re going to lose this building…

[Oski]

I cannot believe we’re going to lose this building…

Public protests have stopped plans to demolish the Gold Dome, and First Christian Church, why can't we do the same thing this time? I can't believe it, haven't people learned anything from the Pei Plan? They had a chance to turn it into a beautiful hotel, and they blew it. These people are greedy, they want to keep the land, the piece of land right across the street is on the market for around $5M, prime location.

[Pete]

^

Just to be clear, the Gold Dome is within an urban district which means any change has to go through a design committee and city council.

First Christian Church does not have that protection and can be demolished at any time. I suspect that will be the ultimate outcome.

This school building also sits outside any district control and they could get a demolition permit the same day they apply and be tearing the structure down within hours. Happens all the time.


Regarding any public outcry, they will claim the building is too far gone. Demolition through neglect.

[baralheia]

Regarding any public outcry, they will claim the building is too far gone. Demolition through neglect.

Man, claims like that are almost always BS in my eyes. If the Hotel Marion could be saved, in the state that building was in, then surely this school building could be saved as well. Though in this case I suppose it does depend on how much damage was caused by that fire. KOCO reported that the fire was contained to the auditorium (https://www.koco.com/article/oklahom...omat/40541667#) so I highly doubt that even with the fire that this building is too far gone to save.

[TheTravellers]

Man, claims like that are almost always BS in my eyes. If the Hotel Marion could be saved, in the state that building was in, then surely this school building could be saved as well. Though in this case I suppose it does depend on how much damage was caused by that fire. KOCO reported that the fire was contained to the auditorium (https://www.koco.com/article/oklahom...omat/40541667#) so I highly doubt that even with the fire that this building is too far gone to save.

It's not, and the claims are probably BS, but it will be demolished, the people don't have much power to exercise in this case, so the owner can do what they want unless tons of us get out there and chain ourselves together around the building. Even then, the cops will come and cart us away and they'll still demolish the building. Sad, but that's the way it is...

[Oski]

These people have zero clue about real estate development but still want to hang on to the precious land, so the solution is to get rid of the headache and demolish the 100 year old building. I bet if that building went away, we would see the vacant land for another ten, twenty years, or ugly buildings designed by some lazy architects. Such a disaster, people working in education field have absolute no interest in keeping historic values of the city and don't mind destroying the neighborhood fabric. If they can do wonder with Page Woodson, why don't we just let them take care of this building as well? I guess the first person we should reach out to is Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon, or Marva Ellard.

[shawnw]

Neighbors feel betrayed as OKCPS preps demo of historic building
https://freepressokc.com/neighbors-f...oric-building/

[Oski]

Wow, the Carpathia Group was planning to pay $1,078,000 for the land and building, no wonder the district barked at the idea. That property is worth around $3-$5M. A public-private partnership will make more sense in this case. Too bad, OKC doesn't have many rich guys who love to preserve historic buildings.

[BoulderSooner]

Wow, the Carpathia Group was planning to pay $1,078,000 for the land and building, no wonder the district barked at the idea. That property is worth around $3-$5M. A public-private partnership will make more sense in this case. Too bad, OKC doesn't have many rich guys who love to preserve historic buildings.

lol the building is worth negative dollars .

[Oski]

A nice article by the late Lynne Rostochil telling how they helped save the First Christian Church building from the wrecking ball.

TL;DR: convincing at least 7 council members to declare the building as a landmark can add an extra layer of protection against the demolition plan.

https://okcmod.com/2019/02/why-its-i...tro-buildings/

[originalceiling]

We just produced a video about this very situation and I encourage everyone to watch!

OKCPS - Destroying History with Taxpayer Dollars

A few months ago we added the former OKCPS Admin Building to our list of developer ready properties. We talked to a few developers here and there about if there was any interest in the property, there was. We started trying to get in touch with the OKCPS Board to put them in touch with interested parties only to find that we were being turned around in circles with no answers.
We then went to the neighborhood to hear straight from the community their thoughts on redevelopment. We were shocked to hear from numerous neighbors that a deal had already been accepted and under contract in 2019 between Ross Group and Nelson + Stowe Development under the name Carpathia to renovate the abandoned building into a boutique hotel. That deal was killed by OKCPS for an unknown reason but by the looks of it doesn't look good.
We then got the shocking news two weeks ago that OKCPS voted to demolish the property using taxpayer money that would equate or succeed around $1 million per THEIR documents. We then started reaching out again along with numerous other upset parties only to find OKCPS has gone quiet ignoring all questions and concerns about the building and refusing to make a statement as to why they 1. backed out of the deal with Carpathia and 2. instead of finding another developer decided to leave it abandoned and now demolish it.

Call OKCPS today - (405) 587-0444
https://youtu.be/H-czQvcBxxE

[originalceiling]

Here is a video explaining everything about the former Admin building up to this point! Please watch and share!

Reach out to OKCPS Board and Voice your Disapproval of Using Tax Dollars to Fund Destroying History! (405) 587-0444
https://youtu.be/H-czQvcBxxE

https://youtu.be/H-czQvcBxxE

[KayneMo]

From Oct 3:

Old OKCPS Admin building saved from wrecking ball for now
https://freepressokc.com/old-okcps-a...-ball-for-now/