3 buildings on Main Street to become lofts/offices/retail
Old core area nears transformation into lofts, offices, retail on East Main
By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
The last undeveloped block in the old core of Bricktown is about to be transformed into lofts, offices and retail.
The developers include three newcomers to Bricktown: Rob Roberts and Greg Robertson, owners of Orthopedic Products and Services Inc., and Michael Brewster, an Air Force captain stationed at Tinker Air Force Base.
“I think if somebody had come down here 12 years ago and heard the pipe dreams that were coming up, nobody would have invested,” Roberts said. “But today, looking at where they are, with the improvements, the canal, the ballpark, the hotels, Bass Pro Shops, the Hornets, everybody wants to be a part of it.”
That enthusiasm is shared by Roberts new neighbor, Brewster.
Brewster, formerly a New York resident, didn’t know what to expect when he was stationed at Tinker six years ago.
“The only real experience I had was old western movies or the Oklahoma City bombing,” Brewster said. “I was afraid there wasn’t an area like Bricktown, that it was just a country town.”
Brewster, like Roberts and Robertson, saw Bricktown as the top spot for staking their claim in downtown Oklahoma City’s renaissance. Main Street included the last stretch of original, unimproved warehouses left in the growing entertainment district.
The three agree the timing is right for development of the block. The west border is the rebuilt Walnut Avenue bridge, which when completed will be a new two-way entry into Bricktown from Interstate 235. The city is also renovating and expanding the former Rock Island freight depot on the north side of Main Street, making it the new home of the Bricktown police substation.
Main Street itself has been rebuilt. New sidewalks, vintage-style lamp posts and landscaping replaced crumbling curbs and gravel walkways. All four buildings along Main Street sold last summer.
Roberts first tried to buy a two-story building at 224 E Main built in 2002 at Main Street and Central by veteran Bricktown property owner John Freeman.
Al Sahli, who also owns the Bricktown Marketplace at 401 E California, got a contract for the building first, and closed for $387,500 on June 28. Roberts and Robertson hoped to get the building next door, 222 E Main, but Freeman sold it to Brewster for $325,000 on June 30.
“We thought it might fall through,” Roberts said. “Not only did it close, it closed 10 days early. And that left 214 and 218 E Main. So we put bids on them ($450,000 each), and we were successful.”
All three property owners have renovations about to start. Sahli last week completed a lease with the Hampt, Brooks and Vandruff law firm to occupy all 9,000 square feet of the unfinished building at 224 E Main, with a move-in by July.
The Bricktown Urban Design Committee recently reviewed plans for Roberts renovations, which include new main entries, conference rooms, surveillance cameras, and a basement which he hopes to leave to a restaurant. His two adjoined buildings - renamed Bricktown Plaza on Main - were both built about 100 years ago.
His firm, Orthopedic Products and Services, will occupy part of the property, with the remainder to be leased next year.
Brewster, who got to meet Roberts and Robertson last week, likes the emerging mix of tenants. Brewster is renovating his 98-year-old warehouse into four 1,000-square-foot apartments, one of which will be his new home, and wants to lease the first floor to a coffee shop or wine bar. Improvements will include a roof patio and rear balconies.
“With residential, we won’t have to worry about a huge club keeping people up late,” Brewster said. “And if we get a coffee shop downstairs, well have an instant market for it.” Frank Sims, director of the Bricktown Association, said the only question left for Main Street is what homebuilder Jeff Moore will do with the block at Main Street and Oklahoma Avenue that he bought last month from the McLain family.
“There are some really cool buildings there, with the police substation and new parking north of Main Street, it has some real positive amenities that should help the area develop quickly,” Sims said. “When we see what Jeff Moore does with the former McLain property, we’ll see it all get tied together. It should really finish the core district.”
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