The Presley (formerly Lincoln Plaza)

[SSEiYah]

What is with all the grassy lots on Lincoln? Are these for sale, owned by the city or what? 4 block stretch on the eastbound side from NE 29th to Hill Ave, NE 36th to NE 38th on both sides of the road, etc.

[sethsrott]

SSEiYah
Re: Lincoln Plaza update

What is with all the grassy lots on Lincoln? Are these for sale, owned by the city or what? 4 block stretch on the eastbound side from NE 29th to Hill Ave, NE 36th to NE 38th on both sides of the road, etc.

Actually most of them are owned by the State of Oklahoma, there are threads about them. For example, the site across lincoln from the new Office of State Finance Building (30th & Lincoln) will eventually be the site of a new $40M Veteran's Affairs Building and home to a couple of smaller agencies currently not on lincoln. The Current building is in sever disrepair. The Lincoln Renaissance has died down some because of lack of state funding but they are defiantly wanting to renew interest. There are even talks of building a large office building to temporarily house the legislature and other offices in the Capitol while they restore the Capitol building then move the healthcare authority into the building when done. The healthcare authority is currently located in Shepherd's Mall.

[Spartan]

Apparently the Capitol bldg itself is in dire need of a massive restoration...

[sethsrott]

Apparently the Capitol bldg itself is in dire need of a massive restoration...

Indeed. There are a lot of issues with the Capitol Building. A portion of the SW facade fell off last week. There is original wiring from the 1910s still in use. Exposed IT infrastructure. The proposed renovation I saw was $90M. And included evacuating the building for 4 years. Major problems.

[kevinpate]

We have often renovated cosmetically, outside and in, and sheeesh, we even put a big arse hat on it, despite knowing there were issues. It's about time we decide to get around to getting semi-serious about fixing it.

[Spartan]

Yeah, it's a really weird deal.

[Pete]

Earlier in this thread there was mention of a new 3-story office building under construction on the west side of Lincoln and just north of NE 50th for Old Surety Life Insurance.

Found this site plan and also saw they will be leasing space to a restaurant with an outdoor patio, shown in yellow:

[Spartan]

Is this connected to the Lincoln Plaza project somehow?

[Bellaboo]

It's several blocks to the North, so physically no.

[Pete]

No, not connected to Lincoln Plaza other than it is on Lincoln and we had been discussing the Lincoln corridor in general.

The Old Surety building is a $6 million, 3-story project.

[Pete]

Looks like Tannenbaum has some ideas for Lincoln Plaza:



Bringing back Lincoln Plaza
Preliminary plans for the long-vacant Lincoln Plaza complex recently submitted to the city show the old hotel repurposed as a student housing development, but the renderings are only one of several possibilities for the property, developer Dick Tanenbaum said.

[Pete]

[metro]

Ugly renderings, but this property sure has tons of potential and some cool, mid-century modern architecture. Would love to see this restored somehow.

[warreng88]

Bringing back Lincoln Plaza
Developer plots use for long-vacant landmark
By Brianna Bailey
Journal Reocrd
Oklahoma City reporter - Contact 405-278-2847
Posted: 09:44 PM Monday, December 5, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY – Preliminary plans for the long-vacant Lincoln Plaza complex recently submitted to the city show the old hotel repurposed as a student housing development, but the renderings are only one of several possibilities for the property, developer Dick Tanenbaum said.

“This is just showing what can be done – there are maybe seven or eight different directions we could go,” Tanenbaum said.

Documents filed with the Oklahoma City Planning Department show the distinctive crescent-shaped hotel transformed into student housing units. The plans also include some type of food service in what was once the hotel restaurant, a lake, at least two pools and several outdoor tennis and basketball courts. It was unclear from the submitted documents how many units of housing were part of the proposal.

Developer Gardner Tanenbaum Group filed the plans as part of an effort to clean up the outdated zoning for the 24-acre property near the Oklahoma Capitol, and they don’t represent the final vision for the old hotel, Tanenbaum said.

“When we go before the Planning Commission, we have to show them something,” he said.

Tanenbaum said he planned to put the Lincoln Plaza project on the back burner until sometime next year.

The Oklahoma City Planning Commission was slated to consider the plans at its next meeting on Thursday, but asked for a continuance until February on Monday afternoon, said J.J. Chambless, a planner for Oklahoma City.

Gardner Tanenbaum had submitted plans to use the old hotel rooms for student housing for the nearby University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and convert some of the convention center rooms into additional housing units, Chambless said.

“I expect them to make a lot of changes before coming back in February,” he said.

Built in 1967, the Lincoln Plaza complex at 4345 N. Lincoln Blvd. includes a three-story hotel, seven-story convention center and a single-story restaurant.

Once a glamorous meeting place for politicos and executives, the complex has changed hands several times over the past 20 years and has been closed for more than a decade.

Oklahoma City developers Tom Parrish and David Aduddell purchased the property for $2.025 million in 2006, with plans to bring the closed hotel back to its former glory, but the project never moved forward. The developers handed the property back to the bank in June 2010, according to property records.

[Spartan]

It looks like Lincoln is really starting to shape up all the way from downtown up to I-44. With the OIPIA headquarters, Medical District projects, potentially two new OUHSC hotels, several State government building projects, the Plaza Hotel restoration, the Old Surety office building, and Chesapeake moving in at the north end of the road--there is certainly more going on up and down Lincoln than I can remember in a long time. I wouldn't hesitate to say the most going on since the 1960s (and the heyday of that funky mid-century architecture) when Lincoln was fairly glamorous. And streetcar coming!

[knightrider]

Could this really be a successfully run hotel? In this location? I could maybe see it as a conference hotel.

http://newsok.com/hotel-groups-look-...rticle/3654201

[ljbab728]

I see no reason it can't be successful if properly marketed. It's near the Capitol, the medical center, and I44. Not a bad location at all.

[Spartan]

What new cancer clinic is he talking about? I think it's in the city's interest to get hotels to develop closer to the OUHSC, not this far north of it. This structure almost reinforces the notion that you head north (on your way to Edmond) to sleep after spending anytime at the Capitol or OUHSC.

I think this property is a lot more successful as student housing. I like that idea in part because of its potential synergy with Tanenbaum's nearby "Central Park" apartments.

[Oil Capital]

What new cancer clinic is he talking about? I think it's in the city's interest to get hotels to develop closer to the OUHSC, not this far north of it. This structure almost reinforces the notion that you head north (on your way to Edmond) to sleep after spending anytime at the Capitol or OUHSC.

I think this property is a lot more successful as student housing. I like that idea in part because of its potential synergy with Tanenbaum's nearby "Central Park" apartments.

Probably referring to the Stephenson Cancer Center.

[ljbab728]

There has been a proposal for some time for an Embassy Suites in the medical center area which hasn't happened yet. This development as a hotel should have no bearing though on that proposal. I don't know why you would want student housing further from the medical complex instead of a hotel.

[jbrown84]

It seems a bit far away from OUHSC for student housing.

The Lincoln Plaza reminds me a lot of the Hyatt Century Plaza in Los Angeles. It's also a curved, mid-century style hotel that's hosted many political events and dignitaries and is still considered pretty swanky.

http://centuryplaza.hyatt.com/hyatt/...index.jsp?null





So I'd say it's certainly possible to revive it as a hotel.

[metro]

I agree. Century Center in L.A. IS a pretty hip place to be seen.

[Rover]

Are you guys really comparing Century Center in LA with north Lincoln?

[Pete]

Interestingly, the Lincoln Corridor seems to be an example of a large urban renewal project that has worked well.

The state basically bought and tore down dozens of seedy little hotels and other blighted buildings in the area and at least the area looked cleaned up almost immediately.

Then, slowly but surely several government-related agencies have built new structures where old ones stood, and there is some private development as well. Tanenbaum's Lincoln at Central Park apartments have been very successful, Old Surety Insurance is building a nice new HQ, etc.

Now, finally this big white elephant looks viable again which was almost unthinkable 10 years ago.

[Spartan]

I disagree there. Nobody wants to walk along Lincoln, and there is that reputation of "you'll get shot if you walk down Lincoln!" A lot of those seedy hotels, which definitely DID need to go in my opinion, have still yet to be replaced by buildings as most of that land along Lincoln north of the Capitol is still greenfield. Tanenbaum's apartment complex is a suburban development, doesn't even have any actual frontage facing Lincoln. If Lincoln Plaza does come back, and I'm confident that it will now with Tanenbaum behind it, it will be due to the proximity to the capitol and OUHSC and that it's about time some stuff finally happens on Lincoln.

I just don't think that this is an example of good urban renewal. Lincoln is under the management of the state unfortunately, and I'm just not ready to give them praise for competent execution of urban renewal, considering that they nixed the Lincoln Renaissance program two years ago and the grounds crew has to beg for funding each year that a new building is needed. And they have let the beautiful new Capitol dome get to the point of near collapse, which is the height of irresponsibility and bad management.

In my opinion, and I definitely agree with the general assessment that things appear to be going quite well along Lincoln, this is one of many areas that are now developing IN SPITE of government actions taken along here.