Bricktown battle

[betts]

Here's Steve's latest, and I'm wondering what kind of action can be taken. In areas with historic districts, people can be required to remove and restore any additions and renovations they've created that were not approved.

NewsOK

The Brewer family, a veteran property owner in Bricktown, is once again being criticized for not following urban design regulations for the historic warehouse district. The late Jim Brewer was criticized by the Bricktown Urban Design Committee for exterior renovations and tearing down old warehouses without obtaining permission from the review group, as required by ordinance.

follow the link to read the rest of the story

[metro]

I'm sure they'll get a free pass with the City unfortunately. This definitely sets a precedent and I'm not happy that City Manager Jim Couch has STILL not got this problem fixed. How many more historic buildings are you going to issue permits for demolition before you finally lite the fire with city employees wrongly issuing permits Jim?

[Larry OKC]

I'm sure they'll get a free pass with the City unfortunately. This definitely sets a precedent and I'm not happy that City Manager Jim Couch has STILL not got this problem fixed. How many more historic buildings are you going to issue permits for demolition before you finally lite the fire with city employees wrongly issuing permits Jim?

[Martin]

i can't help but think battle brewing over bricktwon project sounds like a doctor seuss headline.

...and when brewer brothers
battle bricktown boards
in a puddle with a paddle
it's a brewer brother
bricktown puddle paddle battle.

brent and brett,
our game is done, sirs.
thank you for
a lot of fun, sirs.

-M

/yes, i'm a dork.

[neverontime]

Well at least they're not trying to tear down another building. I think that's the most important thing... From what I read, they will have some ugly monstor on top of the building for a month or so... Did I miss something?

[Steve]

MMM, to quote the show "Chuck," there's a big difference between dork and nerd. Considering how intelligent you are, and your expertise with computers, you are clearly a nerd, not a dork.

[BDP]

Did I miss something?

I don't know. Did you miss the deception for, contempt of, and disregarding of the oversight organization that help ensure their properties maintain value and helps bricktown remain relevant? The funny thing is that they could probably get exceptions, but they just want to give the community the finger instead.

[bombermwc]

What I think is pathetic is that after how many years now, this building is only serving as a haunted house instead of something much more useful. We've got all these buildings that only have something on canal or street level. It's such a waste...i mean seriously folks. If they can build the centennial 10 feet away, why can't we put in some effing lofts or even something better down there? Who wouldn't think it would be cool to live on the canal....and in UPPER Bricktown no les...what a view!!!!!!!!

So what's stupid then is that they're making enough money running a once a year haunted house to make it worth it. Now that's sad.

[betts]

I agree, bomber. There are some buildings that would make great housing, and I think it would be amazing to live on the canal. Heck, look at Bourban Street in New Orleans. Every building that can has apartments on top of it. That might be another opportunity for rental units in the city that are affordable as well. Parking is probably the biggest issue, but we've got a lot of surface parking north of Bricktown that could be utilized. The Candy Factory seemed to prove that whole building renovation can be affordable.

[MikeOKC]

I'm sure they'll get a free pass with the City unfortunately. This definitely sets a precedent and I'm not happy that City Manager Jim Couch has STILL not got this problem fixed. How many more historic buildings are you going to issue permits for demolition before you finally lite the fire with city employees wrongly issuing permits Jim?

That's right Metro! How long before peoploe here catch on that it's the City Manager who has the real power in this city? We have a form of government that allows basically a ceremonial role for our mayor. But everybody knows our mayor, how many people know Jim Couch? This goes for the police/fire thread as well. Put the pressure on the City Manager! That's where the power lies. That's the man behind the curtain.

[soonerguru]

What I think is pathetic is that after how many years now, this building is only serving as a haunted house instead of something much more useful. We've got all these buildings that only have something on canal or street level. It's such a waste...i mean seriously folks. If they can build the centennial 10 feet away, why can't we put in some effing lofts or even something better down there? Who wouldn't think it would be cool to live on the canal....and in UPPER Bricktown no les...what a view!!!!!!!!

So what's stupid then is that they're making enough money running a once a year haunted house to make it worth it. Now that's sad.

This. It is so hokey looking and cheesy. I don't go to the canal often, but I was there the other day and noticed this monstrosity. I'm so tired of the Brewers.

[metro]

I agree, bomber. There are some buildings that would make great housing, and I think it would be amazing to live on the canal. Heck, look at Bourban Street in New Orleans. Every building that can has apartments on top of it. That might be another opportunity for rental units in the city that are affordable as well. Parking is probably the biggest issue, but we've got a lot of surface parking north of Bricktown that could be utilized. The Candy Factory seemed to prove that whole building renovation can be affordable.

#1 parking in Bricktown is NOT an issue in general
#2 Considering the Brewer Bros own this building, AND most of the paid parking lots, parking for residential units shouldn't be a problem.

[gmwise]

i vote dork. lol

[okcboy]

There are 3 properties within a rocks throw that need more attention than this building is getting.

[betts]

#1 parking in Bricktown is NOT an issue in general
#2 Considering the Brewer Bros own this building, AND most of the paid parking lots, parking for residential units shouldn't be a problem.

I know parking in Bricktown isn't an issue. All I meant was that if you lived in one of the buildings on the canal, you wouldn't have parking in your building. But, I agree, there are a lot of parking options for potential residents.

[okcboy]

Did the "monstrosity" idea come from the car sales industry.

[Steve]

okcboy, I'm hearing they just might get that attention... I'm assuming you're talking about Hickman's sandbags at the base of the Oklahoma Hardware Building and maybe the Margarita Mama's building.
As a side note, it's rather ironic that the item that acted as a tripwire here was an effort by the Brewers to improve the appearance of the building. I got the impression that if they had simply shown up at the meeting, things might have gone differently. Not showing up certainly didn't help them with the committee.
I took the extra effort of doing the history box because when everything is said and done, Jim Brewer, as abrassive as he was, had more experience stating his stance on this whole thing. I did my best to be fair.

[okcboy]

Very fair. Thank you. How do they notify who's on the agenda? One property is "very" boarded up. It just seems odd that a small business owner that uses the same kind of marketing stragtegy that many car dealers use gets called out in a public forum. Jims reasoning for starting this committee was only for his passion for not wanting anyone to be able to paint over the bricks. Not for it to be a historical preservation commission. Thanks for mentioning him. We miss him.

[LakeEffect]

Steve, thanks for pointing out the irony. Tis a tricky wicket at this point.

[Steve]

The meeting agendas are posted at City of Oklahoma City | News. The Brewers should know that they can also contact the city planning department.
Question on all this is, regardless of whatever Jim's original intent was, Bricktown has become one of the few suriving examples of historic commercial architecture. And whether or not everyoine agrees with this, Jim's thoughts in the end were not in line with that of many others who own properties in the district.

[Steve]

okcboy, meet cafebouf. cafebouf, meet okcboy. Feel free to pm each other. Communication is good.

[Puppet]

That's right Metro! How long before peoploe here catch on that it's the City Manager who has the real power in this city? We have a form of government that allows basically a ceremonial role for our mayor. But everybody knows our mayor, how many people know Jim Couch? This goes for the police/fire thread as well. Put the pressure on the City Manager! That's where the power lies. That's the man behind the curtain.

Are you freaking kidding me??? If you have ever done any business with the city whatsoever, you know JIM Couch is a chump... As always, the city's department managers are the ones that recommend... The mayor, is very outspoken, he will listen to you if something is amiss, but JIM Couch is as powerless as Blake was at OU in the late '90's...

[okcboy]

How do you know to go find the agenda? Is there a letter they send to notify?
Or should you just make it a monthly routine. Also, if the direction if this commitee has changed the it would be helpful if there was a up to date publication or a info site potential tenants can go to?

[LakeEffect]

The agenda is normally updated on the website the Friday before the meeting. Meetings are the 2nd Wednesday of every month.

The standards and guidelines of the Committee are in the City's municipal code, Chapter 59, Section 7150. Go to City of Oklahoma City | Municipal Code and click on the link. You can do a search for Bricktown, or go to 59-7150, Bricktown Core Development District.

Steve, to relate to your question, was Jim's intent an entertainment district, but other's intent was preservation?

[Steve]

Well, it's a bit more complicated, and since I didn't arrive on the scene until '97, I can only relay what was already brewing at that time and the history being told at that point on. To Brewer's credit, he didn't want to see giant advertisements painted on the sides of brick buildings, and it wouldn't surprise me if he saw a competitive advantage in creating such controls. Remember also there were other people, Jim Tolbert, Don Karchmer, who have long shown an interest in maintaining the area's character. The McLain family and John Freeman acted as the other major players back in those early days, though they weren't doing any development (Freeman just had Piggy's restaurant) when the committee was formed and I do not know whether they participated in the committee's creation.
Jim always saw the district as a hybrid, with some controls to preserve the old warehouse vibe of the area, but he was upset over the idea of giving preservation priority over development as an entertainment district.
It's also important to note that Jim wasn't the first guy at this party either. The original developers - Neal Horton, Bill Peterson and John Williams - unquestionably put preservation first and were trying very hard to go with original style glass windows, etc. It would be an interesting exercise, however, to see whether or not their renovation of the Glass/Confectionary buildings would have made the cut with today's Urban Design guidelines. Let's do lunch soon and maybe we can have some fun with this.