The Tease Is At It Again

[Doug Loudenback]

My good friend, Steve Lackmeyer, likes to tease. He's good at it!

See his latest at Downtown investment trend not at an end | NewsOK.com in which he concludes,

So let's take a deep breath. Have we seen the last big announcement for downtown? Don't count on it.

Soooo, Mr. Lackmeyer, what have you got in mind?

[Kerry]

Doug - I thought the exact same thing when reading his story this morning. Steve, you are killing us.

[metro]

Downtown investment trend not at an end

By Steve Lackmeyer
Main Street

This is turning out to be quite a month for downtown Oklahoma City.
March is just halfway through, yet the ramifications of announcements this month outweigh the entire expanse of the city's original MAPS projects.

Voters on March 4 approved continuing the "MAPS” tax that is now funding improvements to the city's public schools in order to pay for improvements to Ford Center and build a practice arena. That vote, which was approved by a margin of 62 percent, seems to have clinched a deal for the NBA SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City from Seattle.

The next week we learned that owners of First National Center are proceeding with extensive renovations to the landmark's ground floor arcade and creation of a Park Avenue entrance. The First National announcement could have been a contender for front page news if not for the other big announcement that same day: Devon Energy's decision to build a tower, at least 37 stories tall, across from the Myriad Gardens.

What's amazing about all this is that these developments aren't the start of a big wave of development downtown, but rather they follow an already impressive string of developments.

Consider:

•Construction is wrapping up on more than 150 condominiums built by various developers in the Deep Deuce and Flat Iron districts. More housing construction is ramping up for this summer.

•St. Anthony Hospital's new office building and campus entry are giving the MidTown landmark an entirely different face for the future. MidTown itself is getting lively with the openings of restaurants and shops as part of Greg Banta's MidTown Renaissance development.

•The view along Automobile Alley has never been better, with renovations finished on several landmark buildings, the openings of restaurants and shops, and the construction of a headquarters for the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.

•Developer Grant Humphreys is ready to start construction on the Flatiron, which will convert an ugly but well-traveled entryway into a showcase for visitors exiting from Interstate 235.

•The long-awaited conversion of several one-way streets to two-way traffic is under way.

•The nine-story steel structure is up on the site of the new Bricktown Hampton Inn, and it certainly will appear to be the entertainment district's tallest building. But it might not hold that bragging right for long — developer Gary Cotton is proceeding with plans to build his 12-story Cotton Exchange along the Bricktown Canal.

•Bricktown also likely will see construction starting later this year on a Holiday Inn Express along Main Street.

•Remember when downtown only had one hotel and was desperate for more rooms? That was only a decade ago. Downtown now boasts six hotels. The Hampton Inn will open later this year, and don't be surprised if two more hotels are announced for Bricktown and a third major hotel is proposed for the Oklahoma Health Center just east of downtown.

•Finally, let's not forget SandRidge Energy's purchase of Kerr-McGee Tower. This growing company is quietly renovating the tower, moving employees into downtown and making big plans for its future as a downtown corporate anchor.

Amidst all this activity, risks, challenges and opportunities remain. Within the gleaming new city some property owners sit on their decaying buildings, content to do nothing but wait for a big payday that may or may not follow.

Parking continues to be the biggest problem that does and does not exist (half reality, half perception depending on where and when).

The search continues for a downtown grocery. The answer might lie not with the opening of one big store, but rather the addition of a handful of smaller retailers that could address the same needs for a growing downtown residential population.

A glance at other cities shows downtown Oklahoma City can do a lot more in terms of promotion and creating a "vibe.” Where are the colorful banners and flags? Where are the event marquees?

Consider that downtown is continuing to grow geographically. The city is aggressively pursuing development of Core-to-Shore, the blighted area between downtown and the Oklahoma River. The challenge is to attract new life to this area without hurting downtown as we know it today.

Finally, there is a risk of getting a bit too confident with all this activity. Visit Kansas City, Mo., Dallas or St. Louis and be awed at what's going on elsewhere.

Or take a long look at our own downtown and you'll see examples of restaurants, shops and other businesses that simply couldn't cash in on the renaissance. Sites that were targeted for major development years ago are testimony to the simple fact that an announcement doesn't always translate into bricks and mortar.

So let's take a deep breath. Have we seen the last big announcement for downtown? Don't count on it.

[Luke]

It really is exciting to live in OKC and be young

[Pete]

don't be surprised if two more hotels are announced for Bricktown and a third major hotel is proposed for the Oklahoma Health Center just east of downtown

I wonder if he means in addition to the one announced by Cotton?

Have we seen the last big announcement for downtown? Don't count on it.

Perhaps American Fidelity kicks off Core to Shore?

[Luke]

Wasn't an Embassy Suites mentioned a while back?

[Karried]

It really is exciting to live in OKC and be young

It really is exciting to live in OKC and feel young

[andy157]

It really is exciting to live in OKC and feel young

It's really exciting to be alive in OKC

[Matt]

Better to be alive in OKC than dead somewhere else, I guess.

[andy157]

Better to be alive in OKC than dead somewhere else, I guess.

You guess?

[Karried]

lol .... the alternative's not looking so good

[JWil]

It's really exciting to be alive in OKC

It's really exciting.

[CCOKC]

It's exciting to be the parent of teenagers who at least are entertaining the thought of living in OKC after college graduation. I am one of only a handful of my friends who stayed in OKC after they graduated from high school in the mid 80's.

[betts]

It's exciting to be the parent of teenagers who at least are entertaining the thought of living in OKC after college graduation. I am one of only a handful of my friends who stayed in OKC after they graduated from high school in the mid 80's.

I wish I were. I'm hoping to lure one or two back eventually with all that's going on now. My daughter was most impressed with Midtown when she came back. If we could just get an Anthropologie here, I'm thinking she might agree to move here as it's manager.....maybe.

[Matt]

You guess?

Yep, that's what I said.

[andy157]

Yep, that's what I said.

Yep, you did say that.

[jbrown84]

I wonder if he means in addition to the one announced by Cotton?

Cotton has announced a planned hotel?

[Pete]

No, sorry. I thought that the 4-story building in Cotton's development was to be a hotel, but upon re-reading the articles he said he decided against that.

So, where will the two new hotels be in Bricktown?

[jbrown84]

Isn't one supposed to go on the surface lot between Bourbon Street and Zio's?

[metro]

Not to my knowledge jbrown, haven't heard of that one. The two new hotels in Bricktown are the Hampton Inn under construction, and the proposed Holiday Inn Express that was just passed through Bricktown Design Committee.

[jbrown84]

No, he mentioned two mysterious ones in addition to those.