600 N Dewey

[Pete]

Here's another project that slipped through the cracks; still can't find any application in design review but shawnw of the crack OKCTalk Street Team sniffed it out.

This is on the NE corner of 5th & Dewey and is owned by Rick Dowell. Looks like he is adding a pitched roof, similar to the property he owns to the east. The land in between has all types of infill and that is the long-rumored site for a mid-rise housing development.

SoSA District Projects
County Assessor Record

[GaryOKC6]

Anything will be an improvement to this property.

[Urbanized]

I've been watching it for a number of weeks. I don't understand the hip roof..? Definitely a Dowell solution. Would not have expected that to pass design review.

[Pete]

For the life of me, I can't find their design application.

Which is why we never had a thread until the construction was well underway.

All very strange.

[shawnw]

He managed design approval for his parking garages (both old and new), so I am no longer surprised by what he can pull off. He must have a killer Jedi mind trick going on with the committee...

[Spartan]

For the life of me, I can't find their design application.

Which is why we never had a thread until the construction was well underway.

All very strange.

It was seen by the alternate universe design review board...

[Pete]

From shawnw. They are using the same type of Spanish roof tile as the Dowell properties to the east:

[catch22]

What is up with Dowell and that Spanish tile? His rumored residential tower will have a pointed tile crown...

[Spartan]

That explains it. Dowell must be flying to Spain and bringing one tile back each time.

[jrod]

Haha! That made me laugh out loud. Well done.

[Nuclear_2525]

He bought a bunch of this Ludowici tile off of a church being demo'd in Texas somewhere. I believe the amount he is using for this project exhausts his supply.

As far as the permit goes, I wonder if some permits can be hidden if you are the right person?

.............

[DoctorTaco]

If he doesn't have a permit, isn't this illegal? If one wanted, couldn't a citizen file an injunction?

Just curious.

[Spartan]

You can file an injunction against anything you want including things that have a record of going through the process, like PresOK does. The question is why? Just bc you don't like Dowell's motifs doesn't mean it's not a drastic improvement. Dowell does good work he just moves epically slow and has strange taste and this applies to EVERYTHING he does. He is still one of the good guys.

I'd also caution against a message board hysteria here; bc of how slowly he moves, he could (probably is) be doing work off of a ten year old bldg permit. OKC Talk has strong credibility so let's not be a typical message board, although any foul play that goes around the permitting process should and must be investigated and face repercussions. Jim Brewer routinely got away with that in Bricktown, just tearing down bldgs overnight.

[Pete]

^

Just to clarify, there is a building permit, I just couldn't find any design permit.

However, in that area you can't get a building permit without design approval so it must have been received at some point; I just can't find it.

Dowell has owned this building for over 10 years and had a new stone front put on it about five years ago, so I suspect he received design approval years ago and it's just too old to be in the system. But they expire after two years so I don't know why a renewal isn't showing up.

[DoctorTaco]

To be clear I don't actually have any problem with this project. I was more concerned about the process.

From what Pete said it sounds more like someone at the city didn't scan the design permit and put online.

[Spartan]

Fair enough! It's important that we defend our processes and not have another renegade Brewer.

[Nuclear_2525]

The permit for this was filed recently, as in the past 3-4 months.

Supposedly he had tenants lined up for this building and that's why it got kicked into high-gear recently.

My biggest objection with the improvement is why do it now? If you are anywhere close to developing your vacant lots into a multi-story structure, why not just bulldoze this, and the hotel-office at the other end, and use the entire block.

[Nuclear_2525]

And let me clarify, I have been inside of this building and it's not worth saving with all of its issues. The most valuable thing is the recently new stone facade and now the tile on the roof.

[Spartan]

The permit for this was filed recently, as in the past 3-4 months.

Supposedly he had tenants lined up for this building and that's why it got kicked into high-gear recently.

My biggest objection with the improvement is why do it now? If you are anywhere close to developing your vacant lots into a multi-story structure, why not just bulldoze this, and the hotel-office at the other end, and use the entire block.

A high rise development doesn't HAVE to take up an entire block. That's a recurring thematic problem...

[catch22]

A high rise development doesn't HAVE to take up an entire block. That's a recurring thematic problem...

Agree, towers themselves are usually fairly small footprint wise.

It's the huge pedestals and plazas that they use in common architecture that take up all of the space.

You can fit 4 Devon Towers on a standard downtown OKC city block. And Devon is actually a pretty girthy tower. Can get 6-7 Sandridge Towers on the same size parcel.

[Nuclear_2525]

I'm not sure where I said that high-rises have to take up an entire block.

Specifically referring to this mid-rise project that everyone thinks Dowell has planned, again, I'm looking at the logistics of redeveloping the two outer parcels of this block down the road. Where the hotel-office sits on the east side of the lot, that's large enough to develop something substantial on down the road. But this stone building is on one lot. So if a 5-6 story mid-rise is built right next to it, cutting it off, it's development potential down the road is limited...and I don't think this current building is the highest use for the lot.

[Spartan]

Agree, towers themselves are usually fairly small footprint wise.

It's the huge pedestals and plazas that they use in common architecture that take up all of the space.

You can fit 4 Devon Towers on a standard downtown OKC city block. And Devon is actually a pretty girthy tower. Can get 6-7 Sandridge Towers on the same size parcel.

It is indeed rather girthy...

[Pete]

This project is moving right along. That's a ton of infill they've dumped on the lot just east.

Thanks to shawnw for the photo:

[shawnw]

Didn't get a chance to take a pic, but the west side first floor windows were in today...

[Nuclear_2525]

Pete,

Is there any way to find out who the Architect of record was for this project?