Park Harvery Center sold; 17-story tower may become apartments

[metro]

Anyone know the status on this. I see it everyday out my window, however it still looks like they are gutting it. GT originally announced it would have it's first move in's by September, but I don't see that happening. I think once again, they are not realizing that restoration is harder than new construction. They did this with the Classen and are having move in's over a year later than they first proposed. As someone said, underpromise and over deliver, not vice versa.

[Pete]

Combined with the aborted condo conversion of the Montgomery, Tannenbaum's reputation is really taking a hit of late.

He may even have a hard time renting Park Harvey given how little regard he showed to the Montgomery tenants.

[metro]

Yeah, he was poised to do well but lately he's really slacked on working on his reputation. They need to do an add/campaign or something.

[BricktownGuy]

well, I am a bit biased.

He has lots of projects and property in the area but as a person I do not like his attitude. I spoke to him once, very arrogant in my opinion. Seems only to be worried about himself not others, at all.

[Pete]

Ready for move-in: Park Harvey apartments in downtown OKC welcome first residents today
by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record
3/23/2007


Journal Record Photo
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Park Harvey building in downtown Oklahoma City is in the process of becoming 162 residential rental units with the first tenants set to move in today.

Renovations on the building over the past few months have taken the former office space and converted it to condos with floor plans ranging from studio to two-bedroom apartments.

The 17-story, 170,000-square-foot building was built in 1957. Charles Dodson, vice president for Gardner-Tanenbaum Group’s multifamily division, said the price tag for renovations to the building is $16 million.

Situated between Leadership Square and across the street from the Oklahoma County Courthouse and the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library, the building is targeting young professionals who want to live downtown but maybe can’t afford to buy a residence in the area.

“This is not considered a luxury community like The Montgomery or The Classen,” said Park Harvey leasing director Ashley Reed. “This is more your affordable downtown living.”

The building is owned and operated by Gardner-Tanenbaum, which also developed and owns The Montgomery and The Classen.

Reed said 10 of the units have already been spoken for and new residents will begin moving in sporadically over the coming weeks.

The units range in price from $525 a month for a studio on the second through fourth floors up to $1,330 a month for a two-bedroom unit on the 15th to 17th floors.

Along with plans for retail on the first floor and an athletic club, Reed said the building will have downtown Oklahoma City’s only liveried doorman.

She said the building will be controlled-access 24 hours a day, although the doorman will be on duty daily from early afternoon until about 11 p.m.

A doorman has not been hired yet, Reed said, because the management is searching for just the right person for the job.

Along with the renovations, many areas of the building were carefully restored to their original appearance, in line with historic tax credits the project received.

Reed said crews ripped up old tile in the lobby to reveal the original floor and worked to restore the original look and feel of several common areas in the building.

The structure does not have its own parking, but Reed said the developers have worked out a deal with the city of Oklahoma City for a special negotiated rate for residents to park in a nearby garage.

Brett Hamm, president of Downtown OKC Inc., said the residential market downtown for both sales and rental units is rapidly developing. He cited a 2005 study by DOKC that concluded that over the next 10 years, downtown can support up to 10,000 residential units.

“I think the Park Harvey development fits into a significant niche in that market, which will be that lower rental unit range,” he said. “So we’re talking students, young executives, and I think it will be great and very positive for the core. And the views are unlike anything else in Oklahoma City.”

[ksearls]

Hi!

I have toured the Park Harvey and it is really cool and very reasonalbly priced. Check the place out if you are thinking about living DT but are on a tight budget!

Kim

[metro]

Good news that its finally open. If you drive or walk by it, you wouldn't know it. They still need to clean the exterior up a bit. If I didn't already own, this is where I would be.

[Kerry]

ApartmentFinder.com - Apartments for rent in OKLAHOMA CITY, OK.

[john60]

Unfortunately this remains the ugliest building downtown. The doorman thing should be cool, though.

[jbrown84]

I saw a building last week of a very similar style in New York that looked much better. New glass and dark/black color schemes would greatly benefit the Park Harvey's asthetics.

[HOT ROD]

yeah, I think if they got rid of that stupid orange paneling and changed it to reflective (would be awesome) or even black or grey or blue, it would make a HUGE difference.

probably wouldnt be too expensive??? I cant imagine that orange crap is that costly.

[jbrown84]

I wonder if the historic tax credits prevent them from changing the outside other than polishing it up?

[Pete]

At the corner of ‘Walk’ and ‘Don’t Walk’
Transformation to apartments nearly complete
By Richard Mize Real Estate Editor

Richard Mize: 475-3518, richardmize@oklahoman.com




If it looks like an office building on the outside, and it looks like an office building in the lobby, and at the elevator landings, and in the hallways, then it could be Park Harvey Center in downtown Oklahoma City.

The office building at 200 N Harvey was built in 1957 next door to the Oklahoma County Courthouse. For almost half a century, it provided a warren of work places for lawyers, bankers and oil, insurance and other executives.

But it’s an apartment building now, no longer an office building, with 162 apartment homes — and they look like new apartments inside, not old offices.

Conversion completion

Despite a couple of stubborn office tenants who balked at moving, concern over parking — Park Harvey Center has none of its own — and questions, now dormant, surrounding the interpretation of a 99-year ground lease attached to the building, Gardner-Tanenbaum Group is close to completing the conversion.

Obstinate tenants were bought out, parking hasn’t been an issue after all, and the owners of the ground under the building are not pushing their claims that the lease requires offices, not residences, a complaint they once sought to soothe by demanding money, said Richard Tanenbaum, chief executive of the development company.

So, 18 months after he acquired the 17-story Park Harvey Center, “We’ve ended up with a 162-apartment, extremely well-located, downtown residential community,” he said. “The location is No. 1. The affordability is No. 2, as far as the tenants.”

Rents range $595 per month for a lower-level studio apartment to $1,330 for a two-bedroom apartment in an upper floor. A 16,000-square-foot athletic club, under way on the basement level, is the biggest amenity.

Center of convenience

Park Harvey Center’s location in the heart of downtown, with its entertainment venues, is what lured 23-year-old Zachary Pyron, a Seminole native who works at the state Capitol in the office of Rep. Lee Denney, R-Cushing.

“For me, it was the convenience. I was living in Norman — I’d gone to OU — and was commuting every day to the Capitol,” Pyron said, noting that he now drives 2 ½ miles to work.

But downtown — Tanenbaum calls it “living at ‘Walk’ and ‘Don’t Walk’ ” — he’s even closer to play.

“I went to the Hornets game the other night and walked home from it. It was awesome,” Pyron said.

Downtown connections

Pyron is the type of renter who is perfect for Park Harvey Center, said Charles Dodson, vice president of Gardner-Tanenbaum’s multifamily division.

“They come in knowing they want to live here because of the location,” he said, noting that the downtown trolley stops at the building, which is connected to The Underground — formerly the Conncourse — via Leadership Square, to which Park Harvey is attached.

A dozen apartments are occupied and another 10 or so are rented, Dodson said this week as crews continued renovations with the aim of completing them in time for a grand opening in early May.

Historic appointments

“Renovation” did not mean tearing out every vestige of the building’s past as an office tower. In fact, Gardner-Tanenbaum used historic tax credits, which required it to maintain certain historic aspects of the property.

Outside, it meant not changing the exterior, which is in the International style of urban commercial architecture. The boxy steel-and-glass facade is being cleaned, and that’s all.

Inside, it meant keeping the granite wainscoting in the hallways, period tile patterns on the landings and some wooden doors to nowhere with side windows with no view — the original office entries.

Signs of the ’50s

Plaques will be installed to recognize the building’s first tenants, which included Fidelity National Bank on the first floor, Arthur Anderson & Co. on the second, Sinclair Oil & Gas on the third, Continental Oil Co. on the fourth and sixth, Pan Am Petroleum Corp. on the ninth through 17th and more than 20 smaller companies.

Maintaining the historic exterior and keeping the office-like appointments in some common areas adds to the personality of such a distinctive downtown living environment, Tanenbaum said.

“I think it’s the charm of the building, the history of the building, that we’ve preserved because of the historic tax credits. The original flooring, the original hallway elements and finish, all are from 1957,” he said.

Housing boom

The downtown housing situation has changed considerably since Gardner-Tanenbaum revealed plans for Park Harvey Center. The Montgomery, also by Gardner-Tanenbaum, was about the only new housing available.

Now, housing options under way include Block 42, Central Avenue Villas, Brownstones at Maywood Park, Legacy at Arts Quarter and The Hill.

Tanenbaum sees no negatives from the competition.

“I’m glad to see it,” he said. “The appreciation of the housing we’ve invested in will increase because of the mass that’s being created.”

[metro]

I guess the historic tax credits explain why he didn't do anything to dress up the exterior of the building. Too bad. New windows and a nice entrance and perhaps a sign at the top of the building would really dress it up and make it stand out.

[writerranger]

I'm glad to see this. Certain renovations would have been nice, but it sounds like he's keeping within the standards for the historic tax credits. And really, if you think about it, residential buildings in most downtowns don't have much more than a plaque outside the front door and a lot of people think that's cool and very urban.

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[CuatrodeMayo]

It's simple, low-key, and functional. It aint' pretty but it does the job.

It's not perfect...it's perfectly urban.