Firehouse Townhome

[Buffalo Bill]

I hope they do three more (not exactly alike, but the same basic concept, up not out) directly west of this, then two to the north. Hell, replace the Springhill Suites being built on that corner with five of these. There are breaks between the DD apartments halfway between Russell M Perry and Central Avenue. I am curious if there is a particular reason for this. Can it be built on? Are they easements?

I, too am not a fan of the garage doors facing the street. The irony is that the one car garage eliminates a like amount of on-street parking. My guess is the owner(s) of such a structure will often park in the drive, blocking the sidewalk.

Regarding the gap in the DD fabric between RMP and Central, I looked at these on the County Assessor site a while back. They are owned by ODOT. I imagine, though I may be wrong, that there is a drainage structure that runs through there that drains I-235.

[Tier2City]

I, too am not a fan of the garage doors facing the street. The irony is that the one car garage eliminates a like amount of on-street parking. My guess is the owner(s) of such a structure will often park in the drive, blocking the sidewalk.

Regarding the gap in the DD fabric between RMP and Central, I looked at these on the County Assessor site a while back. They are owned by ODOT. I imagine, though I may be wrong, that there is a drainage structure that runs through there that drains I-235.

Correct.

[Urban Pioneer]

Yes, there is a drainage aqueduct underground running through there. When I lived in Deep Deuce we looked at doing a pocket park or dog park. You can landscape it but they reserve the wight to come dig it up if they need access to the the drainage.

Regarding the garage, the neighborhood historically apparently had alleys. I am not sure whether the original developer was required to make these permanently accessible to adjacent property owners, but a great example where access had to be maintained is the deep Deuce Grill. If I'm not mistaken, they had their own remote and/or a keypad to the gain access through the Deep Deuce apartment parking lot to the back of the kitchen for some time. Such a similar access requirement may be available to the developer buried in writing somewhere that he may not be aware of.

That might help make rear entry to the property feasible.

[Spartan]

You have to admit though that many of those have a pretty good vertical separation. It is interesting to see how different cities deal with narrow lots and parking. I just don't want this kind of streetscape.

My neighborhood in Cleveland does it better:




This firehouse home instantly reminded me of about a dozen new homes going up on lots that are about 15 feet wide and go waaay back.

[Just the facts]

Parking in back and elevated first floor for privacy - I like those a lot better.

[betts]

When you're building a "skinny house" you have to have an alley to put the garage in the back of the house.

[Just the facts]

When you're building a "skinny house" you have to have an alley to put the garage in the back of the house.

or just leave off the garage and use on-street parking.

[betts]

I might agree with you if we didn't have such a problem with heat and hail in OKC. But there have been times this year when I was very glad I could put my car in a garage and avoid potential hail damage. When it's 110 degrees here, it's nicer to get into a garaged car. Also, there is a lot of competition for parking on 1st St. At night, that's where a lot of people park who are avoiding pay parking downtown, people going to The Wedge park there and there will be a hotel across the street. Then there's resale to consider. I've had a couple of people tell me they would never consider buying one of the brownstones because "where would you park"? They're quite surprised to hear we have an alley and garages in the rear.

[Buffalo Bill]

I don't mind the garage door really if it is built like it is, up to the ROW. Where the whole garage door/driveway issue starts to have a real impact is when people use their driveway as a parking lot and you get a whole street of what is essentially mini surface parking lots.

In a dense residential area, you are going to have some garages like that. It doesn't bother me. On my street in Seattle there are a few of them and these apartments are even built above the 'carriage' doors of this old accessory building: https://www.google.com/maps?ll=47.62...g=opt&t=m&z=11

I think what helps at this location in Seattle is that the garages aren't taking up any on street parking since parking on that side of the street is not allowed. This is not the case on 1st. Like I said before, I'll bet that there will be ass ends of cars that are parked in the drive to negotiate around if you're walking down that sidewalk.

You are right in that this is not a black and white issue.

[betts]

I walk that street every day, and while I will be annoyed if there's a car blocking the sidewalk, I think these people deserve the right to have a garage.

[adaniel]

I think what helps at this location in Seattle is that the garages aren't taking up any on street parking since parking on that side of the street is not allowed. This is not the case on 1st. Like I said before, I'll bet that there will be ass ends of cars that are parked in the drive to negotiate around if you're walking down that sidewalk.

You are right in that this is not a black and white issue.

There are some newer infill areas that I saw on a recent trip to Philadelphia that are built with garages on both sides. It surprisingly doesn't inhibit street parking as much as you would think.

EDIT: Can't somehow get link to work, but search 1070 Christian St. Philadelphia PA to see what I'm talking about.

If someone is throwing down the cash necessary to buy a unit like these, they are probably not driving a jalopy and its reasonable to expect to store it in some sort of garage, especially in a crazy climate like ours. With that being said, there is a proper way to design it.

[Pete]

I walk that street every day, and while I will be annoyed if there's a car blocking the sidewalk, I think these people deserve the right to have a garage.

I'm sure blocking a sidewalk is against the municipal code but it also looks like the drive is plenty long for this not to be a problem.

[Spartan]

I might agree with you if we didn't have such a problem with heat and hail in OKC. But there have been times this year when I was very glad I could put my car in a garage and avoid potential hail damage. When it's 110 degrees here, it's nicer to get into a garaged car. Also, there is a lot of competition for parking on 1st St. At night, that's where a lot of people park who are avoiding pay parking downtown, people going to The Wedge park there and there will be a hotel across the street. Then there's resale to consider. I've had a couple of people tell me they would never consider buying one of the brownstones because "where would you park"? They're quite surprised to hear we have an alley and garages in the rear.

Many of the rowhouses in Cleveland have garages, but most of the older, more authentic ones do not unless they added it later - and street parking is at a premium anywhere in the city or the inner suburbs. People just deal with it. Granted, it's 75 degrees during the summer, but there is the winter including frequent blizzards..

I'm not arguing against the garage for this beautiful proposed residence, I'm just mentioning that in case anyone assumes there always must be parking. In most Northeastern cities you can get parking, but it will run you another $50/mo. I used to mess with it (back in Lakewood, before I moved closer in) but I never even used it because I could park closer on the street and get in/out faster.

[betts]

Chicago has alleys and most row houses either have a garage on the alley or at least a parking area on the alley. Same goes for my son's 100+ year old house in Jacksonville. Alleys are underrated. But there's no alley option for this house. As I said, I understand wanting a garage, and in Oklahoma City I think it would be difficult to resell an almost million-dollar house without one. Since I always at least consider resale, I would not build a house here without one.

[Buffalo Bill]

But there's no alley option for this house.

Why not? Doesn't the city still have the easement behind this property? I know it's gated and provides access to the parking for properties to the east, but it seems to me that you should be able to access this property through this easement.

Maybe I'm way off here.

[betts]

It would be tricky. You'd have to access a rear garage through a Deep Deuce Apartments gated and fenced parking lot with a fairly big change in grade. I think we need to accept that the simplest thing is a garage in the front of the house. And, if there aren't prohibitive covenants, the choice is probably up to the owner.

[kevinpate]

noticed the article for this thread still lists the place as 8 mil. rather than 800G

[Dustin]

There is no way in hell it is going to cost 8 mil. Just no.

Maybe if walls and ceiling were pure gold.

[dankrutka]

There is no way in hell it is going to cost 8 mil. Just no.

Maybe if walls and ceiling were pure gold.

Yes. It has already been established that it was a mistake.

[AP]

Is there a date for when this is going to kick off that I'm missing somewhere?

[Anonymous.]

I guess this flopped?

[Pete]

Don't know why this hasn't started construction.

Has all the necessary permits and approvals.

[bombermwc]

It would require an alteration to the plate of the lot, but what you often see in places like NOLA's Garden District is a similar front to the home, but the front also includes a small yard with a iron fence. One thing that tends to do is frame the "parkable" space. So the garage is set back enough that one vehicle fits inside the fence line far enough to not block the sidewalk. It then leaves insufficient space behind the vehicle to park another without it being half in the road. It also adds some greenery to an otherwise concrete crapfest.

[Plutonic Panda]

Is this still happening?

[Pete]

No movement in quite some time, so perhaps it's dead.