Does the OKC Metro Have Any Housing Developments Like This?

[Questor]

HGTV's House Hunters was on just a bit ago, and the episode revolved around a guy in North Carolina who was looking to buy his first home, with his Mom as his realtor.

The second house of the episode was a townhome (not wild about that aspect) that was nicely finished. It wasn't so much the house that impressed me, what I really liked was the community. This new development was to eventually include: retail/shopping on the outer edge, restaurants within walking distance on the outer edge, a jogging trail that rings the entire place, a swimming pool, a train station that would take passengers into Charlotte, an amphitheater, and some other amenities. The price was a reasonable $175k. Monthly HOA fees provided phone, internet, cable, and lawn care.

Does the OKC metro have any developments like that?

I know that we have communities that have some of the above, what I am trying to stress is how planned-out the community was, and the fact that it included built-in shopping and retail. I found the concept very attractive. If we have something like this in the metro I would love to hear about it. (I know that the core downtown is starting to get some condos built out like this, but another feature of this community that I liked was that you still got a yard). If we have nothing like this then I hope some home builders read this and consider building a community like it.



The episode (house #2 starts at the 8 minute mark... you'll have to set through forced commercials):

http://www.hgtv.com/video/busy-son-h...deo/index.html

Did some Google'ing and found the community (check out the "Site Plan" tab):

http://www.corneliusncrealestateandh...antiquity.html

[Just the facts]

That subdivision is a good start but is only half way there. If you like that concept you should check-out the New Urbanism. Prior to WWII every neighborhood in America had all those features. I like the fact they are trying to rebuilt the traditional neighborhood concept but they are trying to do it in the middle of suburbia. A family still can't live there without every person in the house over the age 18 having to own a car. The fact they emphasize a covered bridge to drive your car through means it is still a car-dominated environment.

So where is there a place like this in OKC? Deep Deuce, SOSA, and Midtown come to mind. You still need to own a car but if you get a job downtown you only need to drive it one or two times a week. The rest of the time you can walk, ride a bike, and coming soon - take the streetcar.

[Questor]

The yard thing I mentioned though is a deal breaker in my case. To my knowledge the only one of those four that have living spaces that include yards is SOSA, and I drove through the area last weekend and thought the area looked like it would be years before it would be built out... so it wouldn't really meet my nearby businesses desire and there was nothing in the way of available living space. Deep Deuce is also lacking in the business department... the last time I was down there if I remember correctly there were two places in the immediate walking area, but of course Bricktown is there a bit further away. Midtown is probably OKC's best option right now but as far as I know the only living spaces there are apartments and apartment-condos.

A friend of mine lives in Chicago, and in some of the neighborhoods there it's common to have an older house that resembles something like what you might see in Heritage Hills or Mesta Park, surrounded by a small yard with a rod iron fence, with many people walking up and down the streets because at the end of the blocks are lots of retail and dining. They are houses but there is still a sort of planned urbanness to them. Would love to hear about it if we have anything like that here.

[Just the facts]

You would be surprised how far you can walk with very little effort after you get used to walking, especially if the streetscape has things worth walking by. I did 7 miles of walking here in Philly on Sunday. 5 months ago I couldn't walk 7 miles in a week. given a few weeks of doing it you could walk from Deep Deuce to AA and not think twice about it. You just have to start doing it. Hop on a bike and you can be anywhere througout downtown OKC in less than 7 minutes.

Moving to downtown now still makes you a pioneer though. We need more pioneers.