Lackmeyer Interview With Randy Hogan 10-22-06

[writerranger]

The Oklahoman's Q&A this Sunday is with Randy Hogan....

http://www.newsok.com/article/2959460

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[Midtowner]

(softball)

[BDP]

Q: You've pioneered two of Oklahoma City's high profile entertainment districts: East Wharf and Lower Bricktown. What was your inspiration?

A: I wanted this to be a more fun place to live. It was personal. I had seen projects across the country, traveling, that got my attention and thought, ‘Wouldn't it be great to do something like this in Oklahoma City?' It's about getting a kick in the city.

Q: What is your favorite entertainment district outside of Oklahoma?

A: The Grove in California, between Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It's got a great feel to it. We took a part of our Lower Bricktown plaza design from the Grove. It's real closed-in — I like it.

OMG, this guy is clueless. Please find me any similarity between the Grove and lower bricktown:











I don't think anyone would be critical if he'd even attempted to do anything as nice as that. I don't think many people realize how common nice shopping and entertainment areas like this are these days. People really should be wondering why the city didn't at least want something like that.

[metro]

Midtowner, I'm confused, is the softball picture what Hogan was thinking about when he designed Lower Bricktown? BDP, you are correct, Hogan is clueless and what is worse is he ruined what the East Wharf could of been as well as created serious implications for Lower Bricktown. I wish someone would do an interview with him and ask tough, dirt digging questions.

[Midtowner]

I was referring to the interview.

But your explanation works as well.

-- and I couldn't find a picture of someone playing underhand soft pitch softball.

[metro]

Midtowner, I'm confused, is the softball picture what Hogan was thinking about when he designed Lower Bricktown? BDP, you are correct, Hogan is clueless and what is worse is he ruined what the East Wharf could of been as well as created serious implications for Lower Bricktown. I wish someone would do an interview with him and ask tough, dirt digging questions and really, truly educate the majority of the general public on what we're capable of doing.

[TStheThird]

This crap just pisses me off. You see all these developments across the country and then you look at Lower Bricktown and it makes you scream.

I guess I will have to buy Hogan’s properties and tear them down and start over. What a clown... shame on the men that awarded this project to Hogan. They should be held accountable.

[jbrown84]

I just don't understand how he can sit there and say he's seen all these great developments and tried to do the same thing here. Not even close. He's either a total cheapskate or doesn't think that OKC can support something that nice. Either way I don't like him.

[BDP]

None of this would be as upsetting if what he's done wasn't on publicly enhanced land. He was GIFTED that property and somehow he feels no responsibility for that.

Can you imagine something like The Grove above with a canal running through it?? Or even behind it with similar storefronts on Reno?? OKC isn't big enough or rich enough to support a lot of these of that scale like LA, obviously, but let's face it, Lower Bricktown isn't that big. Done right, he could have created a destination shopping experience in downtown OKC half as big, but just as nice as the Grove. He basically looked at everything the Grove has and all he could come up with is that Lower Bricktown needed a fountain and let's not forget that he didn't even pay for that.

Again, if he'd done it all from scratch, it would just be another lazy developer amongst many in OKC. However, he got prime real estate improved by tax payer money dropped in his lap. Opportunities like that only happen in cities once a generation at best and we blew it.

We can all sit around and think how much nicer downtown Oklahoma City is now than 10 years ago, but the truth is that most major cities have a development like the grove now or at least one major shopping district that isn't a de jure mall. Lower Bricktown was the opportunity for Oklahoma City to build a major league shopping district in the heart of Oklahoma City. While we were improving the city with Bass Pros, Toby Keith's, suburban movie theaters, and surface parking, the rest of the country was once again lapping us with their own comprehensive and coherently planned developments.

I'm just hoping that the triangle/automobile alley can do what Hogan couldn't even dream of and actually pull off a healthy retail district for downtown on their own.

[ChristianConservative]

This shows how spineless Steve Lackmeyer is. If it was a Q & A with Randy Hogan, why didn't Steve ask the real questions? Like, where are all of the retail shops you promised? Why couldn't you finance Bass Pro Shops yourself? Why have you turned a nice urban area into suburbia? Why couldn't you keep your original promises, building a boardwalk and skate shop at East Wharf? Where's the big name businesses you claimed you had letters of intent with?

Randy Hogan is clueless, and it's a shame that Lackmeyer buys into all of this.

[Midtowner]

Lackameyer isn't so clueless. He's just a mouthpiece for this group of developers who have their 'ins' with city government.

What I'd like to see happen is some folks with real money, say Aubrey McClendon, and the CEO of SandRidge start a development venture, hire TAP Architecture, and make a lot of money by building really first-rate developments. The energy business is a cyclical thing. Every time it's been on top (as it is now), people have said "This time, it'll be different." They then proceed to overextend themselves, dump all of their eggs into one basket, and lose their tail-ends.

Development, particularly developing blighted urban property into upscale real estate is extremely profitable. The insiders (Hogan and the Humphries) need some competition. I don't see anyone else really capable of going forward and really making a difference.

[ChristianConservative]

Lackameyer isn't so clueless. He's just a mouthpiece for this group of developers who have their 'ins' with city government.

If he had a spine, he'd state the truth, and not paint a rosey picture of a developer that's an absolute idiot.

What I'd like to see happen is some folks with real money, say Aubrey McClendon, and the CEO of SandRidge start a development venture, hire TAP Architecture, and make a lot of money by building really first-rate developments. The energy business is a cyclical thing. Every time it's been on top (as it is now), people have said "This time, it'll be different." They then proceed to overextend themselves, dump all of their eggs into one basket, and lose their tail-ends.

I'm not in the development business but I think I could do a better job than Mr. Hogan has with Lower Bricktown. But, the problem is, I will never get that opportunity. I'm not part of the in-crowd here.

Development, particularly developing blighted urban property into upscale real estate is extremely profitable. The insiders (Hogan and the Humphries) need some competition. I don't see anyone else really capable of going forward and really making a difference.

I would attempt to join them, but I'm not inside the pockets of the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority.

[Midtowner]

If he had a spine, he'd state the truth, and not paint a rosey picture of a developer that's an absolute idiot.

Trouble is -- Gaylord Entertainment has their fingers in just about every cookie jar. He couldn't go after these guys without going after his bosses. Lackameyer is an extremely unattractive guy who is a mediocre writer. He'd have a very difficult job even getting an interview at most papers. My guess is that he knows this, and therefore will not take on his boss' friends. Just off the top of my head, when Bass Pro came to town, Gaylord Entertainment had a 1/3 stake in Bass Pro. The list goes on and on.

I'm not in the development business but I think I could do a better job than Mr. Hogan has with Lower Bricktown. But, the problem is, I will never get that opportunity. I'm not part of the in-crowd here.

All it takes to get into the game is political connection and money. The nice thing about money is that it can compensate for the former. Another nice thing about the development business is that there are some good people out there who you can contract with.

Just imagine what could have been if Moshe Tal had paid attention to the political end of things?

I would attempt to join them, but I'm not inside the pockets of the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority.

From what I hear, it just takes an open checkbook
You're on the state fair board -- that's definitely a step in the right direction. This city is basically controlled by such groups. It appears you do have your foot in the door if nothing else. Hook a few people up with state fair favors, and who knows what's next?

-- with that in mind, imagine what the people who are there right now must have done to get there! Imagine how many people they 'owe.' It's really kind of scarey if you're just a taxpayer.

That's life in the big city though.

[BDP]

I don't know for sure, because I don't know him, but I'm guessing that Lackmeyer is as frustrated as we are, but he's not allowed to criticize anything considered progress by the old guard or anything associated with insider deals with the city. He writes for the Oklahoman and the paper just isn't that aggressive on anything, but maybe local sports.

The funny thing is that Hogan hasn't really planned or developed much of that land himself. He pretty much just took the gift, chopped it up, and farmed it out as pad sites. I just wonder if he thinks that's how places like the Grove were developed. If he likes places like that, why didn't he do it. That's what Lackmeyer should have asked and, if allowed, I bet he would have.

I mean, how hard would it be to track down the firms that did some of these developments and have them design it?? You'd also get the added benefit of name recognition when soliciting tenants. I can't imagine that the name "Randy Hogan" means anything to any national retailer. But if he had an established firm come in and design it, he could have used that to sell the concept to tenants that already have successful operations in other similar developments. Honestly, I just assumed that was what would happen down there in the beginning as I’d seen it so many other places. That’s why it just struck a nerve to hear Hogan admit he’s seen it done and then turn around and do something completely half-assed.

Anyway, it's just hard to drive by or go to a movie and not realize what a lost opportunity that place is...

[ChristianConservative]

Trouble is -- Gaylord Entertainment has their fingers in just about every cookie jar. He couldn't go after these guys without going after his bosses. Lackameyer is an extremely unattractive guy who is a mediocre writer. He'd have a very difficult job even getting an interview at most papers. My guess is that he knows this, and therefore will not take on his boss' friends. Just off the top of my head, when Bass Pro came to town, Gaylord Entertainment had a 1/3 stake in Bass Pro. The list goes on and on.

Can anyone say good ole boy network? If Lackmeyer had any gutts, he'd do to the Gazette and try to bring his readers with him.

All it takes to get into the game is political connection and money. The nice thing about money is that it can compensate for the former. Another nice thing about the development business is that there are some good people out there who you can contract with.

But, that's not the way it should be, and that's not the way I operate financially.

Just imagine what could have been if Moshe Tal had paid attention to the political end of things?

He may have appeared to stick out like a sore thumb, but someday someone will understand where he was coming from.

From what I hear, it just takes an open checkbook
You're on the state fair board -- that's definitely a step in the right direction. This city is basically controlled by such groups. It appears you do have your foot in the door if nothing else. Hook a few people up with state fair favors, and who knows what's next?

I have my foot in the door, but I'm the odd one of the bunch. An outsider, if you will.

-- with that in mind, imagine what the people who are there right now must have done to get there! Imagine how many people they 'owe.' It's really kind of scarey if you're just a taxpayer.

That's life in the big city though.

Exactly why I haven't gotten involved in that.

[johnnyboyokc]

lackmeyer, he has taken every side of bricktown there is to take. He has beat down the founder to the new developer. However he seems to makes his statement clear...........Bricktown - Downtown is back again.........and he is the only one who has critisized and fought it but ended up right.....it is the rennissance. Steve fought jim, karchmer, tolbert, scaramucci, however he has realized this has become a national attraction which has made him a great histoian.. and there are many more districts to come because of it..............to the founders

[writerranger]

It would be nice to see a Gazette profile of Hogan - complete with pointed questions.

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[Midtowner]

lackmeyer, he has taken every side of bricktown there is to take. He has beat down the founder to the new developer. However he seems to makes his statement clear...........Bricktown - Downtown is back again.........and he is the only one who has critisized and fought it but ended up right.....it is the rennissance. Steve fought jim, karchmer, tolbert, scaramucci, however he has realized this has become a national attraction which has made him a great histoian.. and there are many more districts to come because of it..............to the founders

Bullcrap.

If by fighting, you mean glowing articles as to how Bass Pro will be a raving success despite the concerns of "a few" buried somewhere towards the end of the story -- no interviews of "the few," and little mention of the fact that at the time, the deal was illegal. MAPS money used to build Bass Pro was a vote to raise taxes for a specific purpose. If that purpose changes, a new vote must be held.

Moshe Tal filed a lawsuit on that, but our Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals basically wrote "The law is not the law" in an unpublished opinion(which means they don't want it to set precedent [presumably because it would be really bad precedent]). The Supreme Court denied certiori, the rest is history. How much of that did Steve write about?

[johnnyboyokc]

the only thing i can say is steve has tackled both sides of every story in bricktown trust me..............

[Midtowner]

I agree. Both sides are represented. However, when the story's headline is "City to Go Ahead in Building Bass Pro," the story continues for 3 paragraphs or so about the greatness of Bass Pro quoting Hogan, the CEO of Bass Pro, etc., then there is an insert at the bottom that "some people think this is a bad idea," both sides are 'covered' per se.

Whether they were given fair treatment is another story.

Lackameyer works for the Daily Oklahoman -- he's their go-to guy in development cheerleading.

Here's an example of "fair" coverage:

Development on the map for Bricktown
Steve Lackmeyer
04/28/2001

In the decade since Bricktown emerged as Oklahoma City's entertainment district, the old warehouse area has seen the openings of dozens of new restaurants, clubs and shops.

Projects on the drawing board now include renovating a vacant automotive glass store into a club and transforming a brick warehouse just west of Abuelo's into a Chinese restaurant.

Most developers and merchants in the area are focusing their attention on just one store that they hope will attract thousands of new visitors.

The deal to bring a Bass Pro Shops location to a gravel lot southeast of the SBC Bricktown Ballpark requires a public-private partnership that has been assailed by critics and the chain's competitors as a waste of tax money.

For the past several weeks, city leaders have been negotiating with the Springfield, Mo., company to build a 110,000-square-foot store using city-issued revenue bonds. The city would own the building, and the bonds would be paid through lease payments and an anticipated increase in sales tax revenues generated by the store.

"I think the only way we will see growth is with Bass Pro," said Devery Youngblood, executive director of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. "It gives us the year-around anchor we've needed. I think we've developed Bricktown as far as we can without having that kind of stimulus."

With a Bass Pro, Youngblood said, development along the southern segment of the Bricktown Canal will take off. Mayor Kirk Humphreys agrees, saying a hotel and new corporate headquarters are among the projects awaiting completion of a deal with Bass Pro.

Youngblood also believes that with Bass Pro, developer Randy Hogan will succeed in building a proposed theater, a Sega Gameworks center, restaurants and shops along the canal just south of Reno Avenue.

Youngblood, meanwhile, is promising visitors a more pleasant walk through Bricktown. Crews hired by Downtown Oklahoma City Inc. are now spray-washing sidewalks and picking up trash on a weekly basis.

Signage will also be added throughout all of downtown to help visitors find their way among the various attractions.

"A lot of what we're trying to do is to run Bricktown better," Youngblood said.

Youngblood's organization is also beginning to add street performers to the sights and sounds of Bricktown - especially during special events and holidays.

"We haven't necessarily done the small things well, and we need to center on that," Youngblood said. "We need to take care of our day-to-day customers, and we need to see more life on the

[johnnyboyokc]

hey i never said the lower bricktown was a fair deal however karchmer tolbert brewer in the real bricktown are a real private investment deal.....you are right about public investing in private deals????????however it has brought alot of business to bricktown right and im sure there is a ROI....

[Midtowner]

No doubt there's a huge ROI. The question is -- if the project had been put into competant hands (i.e., not Hogan's), how much more ROI could we have at this point?

As a city, if we had not been the victims (again) of the self-dealing OCURA country club crowd, we'd be in a lot better position than we are now for luring significant convention and tourist business away from other cities.

[johnnyboyokc]

i do agree we as a city have had a ignorant stand on luring conventions to the city....what does the okccvb do....nothing they should promote us as the central hub of the US.....we have failed there.......and they promised us success

[Midtowner]

Unfortunately, just about every time we set up a public trust, it's dominated by self-dealing country-club types who could care less about the public interest and are only there to line their own pocket books.

There should be a lot more transparency and scrutiny placed on bodies such as OCURA, the State Fair Board, etc. Historically, these have been some of the most corrupt organizations in our city, and historically, they have operated very much to the detriment of the citizens of OKC.

To lure serious convention business to OKC, we need to not think of the Cox Convention Center as being central to our convention plan. Other cities have long abandoned such centers in favor of convention hotels.

A chain I'd love to see locate in Bricktown would be the Hyatt Regency. Those facilities are excellent for large conventions. One located in Bricktown could really be huge.

Unfortunately, we're wasting our time with Residence Inns.

[johnnyboyokc]

again you are right....damn i hate that...our price point for hotels at a $189 a night are not luring conventions......i dont mind paying $500 a night at the colcord cause it is a boutique hotel but OKCCVB needs to market a lower hotel rate for conv..