Lexford Park (formerly First Christian Church)

[GaryOKC6]

They were not wasting any time. I am guessing that they dinn't want to give anyone time to protest.

[Jake]

Out of the rubble will rise another dispensary.

[Pete]

They were not wasting any time. I am guessing that they dinn't want to give anyone time to protest.

Yep.

They basically have someone file with the city and as soon as they pay the fee, they call/text the crew already on site and start demolition.

Happens all the time.

[BoulderSooner]

this may signal the beginning of the end of this building

and boom

[David]

RIP. Deep shame that nobody was ever able to make a better use development plan stick.

[Martin]

oh wow... this makes me really sad. while i understand that there would be a challenge in finding a new use for the structure, it's sad that something so architecturally unique is lost.

moving forward... it would be nice to see something along the lines of the mixed-use proposal from around ten or so years ago come to pass here. i'm not sure that the surrounding neighborhood is willing to let that happen, though.

[Pete]

I bet almost all of it will become housing.

Great location and beautiful piece of property.

They must have a buyer who didn't want to close until this was done, so the blood wouldn't be on their hands.

[David]

If we had to lose First Christian for it I would want to see something big and mixed-use. Lots of apartment residents, some retail and/or restaurants.

[Pete]

The very corner (less than an acre) is zoned C-3 which allows almost any type of commercial use.

But the remainder is R-1, the designation for single-family housing.

Nearby residents will fight like hell over any re-zoning. There are a ton of attorneys who own homes in Crown Heights and that neighborhood is highly organized -- maybe more so than anywhere in OKC.

[Colbafone]

Come on now. You already know that's not what's coming. Whatever comes is going to be the most average of average developments.

[dankrutka]

Just such a lack of imagination on the part of developers. They could have created an iconic housing development by reusing these buildings. Instead, they're for sure going to build something that could have been built in any city anywhere. It's an absolute shame. Oklahoma City is the city without a history.

[David]

Come on now. You already know that's not what's coming. Whatever comes is going to be the most average of average developments.

Hope springs eternal.

[Oski]

Will they spare the other building and the bell tower?

[Pete]

Will they spare the other building and the bell tower?

I highly doubt any of that will be saved.

[onthestrip]

oh wow... this makes me really sad. while i understand that there would be a challenge in finding a new use for the structure, it's sad that something so architecturally unique is lost.

moving forward... it would be nice to see something along the lines of the mixed-use proposal from around ten or so years ago come to pass here. i'm not sure that the surrounding neighborhood is willing to let that happen, though.

The very corner (less than an acre) is zoned C-3 which allows almost any type of commercial use.

But the remainder is R-1, the designation for single-family housing.

Nearby residents will fight like hell over any re-zoning. There are a ton of attorneys who own homes in Crown Heights and that neighborhood is highly organized -- maybe more so than anywhere in OKC.

It sucks that this was demolished but the biggest problem is not that, but the NIMBYism that will almost surely come no matter what is proposed. Any somewhat dense housing or any large retail will be fought by neighbors and for absolutely no good reason. Any argument they will make will not be bore out in reality. More traffic, cheaper housing, renters (gasp!), lack of beauty of the development will be what they throw against the wall to stop anything new. It will be a shame too because its a great site for denser housing and quality retail.

[Pete]

Probably the highest and best use that would be somewhat palatable to the surrounding neighborhood would be something like the Waterford.

Or the modern equivalent, such as small-lot homes.

[PhiAlpha]

Come on now. You already know that's not what's coming. Whatever comes is going to be the most average of average developments.

meh, if most of it ends up being single family housing, it will likely be pretty nice and connect with the neighborhood. Given how active the neighborhood is, I highly doubt this will end up being a halfassed development. I really think the best use of this lot would be all residential. Just seems too isolated from other commercial developments for that to make much sense and it’s basically in the middle of a neighborhood.

Edit: Basically what Pete said. Didn’t see his response before hitting send.

[okatty]

I probably attended FCC for the first time sometime in the 70’s and then a lot during the 80’s and 90s. Our kids attended the pre-school and my wife actually taught there and was on the playground in April 19, 1995, the day of the OKC bombing. My kids are in their late 20s/early30s now and still remember and talk about the great fall carnivals they had there. We took our son in a little devil costume one year (oops). We have a lot of good memories relating to FCC, and today is a sad and nostalgic day in that regard.

[BDP]

Probably the highest and best use that would be somewhat palatable to the surrounding neighborhood would be something like the Waterford.

Or the modern equivalent, such as small-lot homes.

This does make the most sense at this point.

I remember the proposal for a mixed use development there years ago that I believe the neighborhoods fought against. At the time, the concept was kind of exciting for OKC because we didn't have much, or any, of that in the city's core. If anything, just the concept of having another grocery option or other retail below 50th along with housing that created density seemed almost pioneering.

But so much has changed since then and some sort of OAK-like development in this location seems out of place. It definitely feels weird to say, but at this point, this city doesn't need another one of those. And, really, infrastructure wise, it'd be a weird fit. I don't know how, but 36th between Walker and 235 would have to be reworked. And not just to address NIMBY issues, but just to make it attractive to potential retailer tenants who would want convenient access for customers.

Some sort of single family housing focused development makes the most sense and that no longer equates to a lost opportunity to bring retail and services to the core, because we have a lot of that now, or, at the very least, a ton more than when this property first came up for redevelopment.

I think the real loss here is that could have been done without the demolition of the unique-to-OKC mid-century historic architecture. There's a lot of land there, and the assets destroyed today could have been integrated into a single family housing development in a way that would have elevated it, or at least differentiated it, from a Waterford type space. That would have taken work, vision, and investment, for sure, and I don't know what it would have taken to repurpose these buildings for, say, community centers or value added amenities for those buying houses in the development, but it could have been something really unique in a market that mixed use semi-dense housing developments aren't as much of a unicorn as it once was.

Basically, this will probably end up being a nice single family condo development, but it could have had architecturally significant midcentury assets as its signature.

[soonerguru]

David Box was the same attorney involved with the sneak destruction of Citizens Bank on North May. It was handled the same way. NOTHING has been built there. It is just a scraped lot. I hate the way this city operates sometimes. So much of our taxpayer money invested to improve it from the armpit it was for decades, yet developers place little value in iconic architecture. And people in high places in OKC must hate trees because it is one of the most barren places in the USA. I am numb to this news in a way because it is SOP in OKC.

[stlokc]

Great post, BDP!

I further agree that single family residential is the best use of this land. So what can be done to make sure that whatever comes blends well with the historic neighborhoods surrounding? I shudder to think of a development that looks like "NW 175th-and-wherever" with nearly identical 2500 SF boxes being introduced to this area.

[bombermwc]

I know that this is no surprise to anyone and its' been a struggle to find a purpose for over a decade, but it still pains me to see this happen.

[Bill Robertson]

Sad! I wish Crossings could have bought it when that was on the table a few years ago. But they're very watchful of getting the most for money they spend and just to make the building serviceable was going to cost a fortune.

[Colbafone]

If it stays strictly as housing, it should be fine. But I'd just about bet my life savings that *if* there's any retail component in what's to come, it's going to suck. I REALLY hope I eat my words on that.

[BDP]

I further agree that single family residential is the best use of this land. So what can be done to make sure that whatever comes blends well with the historic neighborhoods surrounding? I shudder to think of a development that looks like "NW 175th-and-wherever" with nearly identical 2500 SF boxes being introduced to this area.

At some point, hopefully, the market would dictate that it blends well with the neighborhood. But I don't think we even know who is interested in redeveloping it.

Also, "blends well" is very subjective. Does that mean "looks as close to the the 90 year old structures that surround it" or "a modern design that approaches detail to the same level of the older structures". Sometimes going for the former ends up being a bigger miss than going for the latter.

There are some newer builds in the area, specifically two just across 36th. They went for a modern deco look, I guess. If there's a commercial element to this, the developer would at least have precedent using those new builds against any resistance the neighborhoods might present.

If the developer wants to rezone it, they probably need to be ready for a protracted fight. I don't know if that would ultimately prevent a bad development, but if I were an investor, I think I would look for path of least resistance and work with the neighborhoods in order to start generating returns sooner rather than later.