The Rise

[cagoklahoma]

Can't we all just get along... I mean fight to the death?

[Mr. Cotter]

Pete and I are both pretty agreeable. Maybe that's why we both fit in in OKC?

Pete, I know your perspective is different, having actually talked to the owners. I hope they do well in whatever location they decide to go with.

[soonerguru]

One thing I wanted to mention is that Jose Rodriguez was Director of Sales & Marketing for Aloft in Deep Deuce all throughout the long delays that project encountered.

So, it's fair to say he understands development setbacks and what happens when you are on the other side of the table as the property owner/manager; taking deposits and making promises and then communicating when bad news has to be delivered.


Frankly, one of the things that I feel is unhealthy and even constraining in the OKC business community is the idea that no matter the outrageous/unethical behavior of another party, everyone urges you to "get along" and stay on the high road. The overwhelming sentiment you should be outwardly nice and polite even if it's not deserved or sincere.

But there are times when people need to be called out, even if that causes some rancor and uncomfortable shuffling of feet.

So, in this case, perhaps FlashBack should be commended rather than condemned for sticking their necks out. At least they have provided a different perspective than the "old buildings are complicated" mantra, when it's been clear for quite a while there is more to all this.

A million times this. And this phony baloney is promoted by some media people as well -- as well as some posters on this board.

I got ripped to high heaven for very explicitly criticizing my dining experience at Vast. I was told I knew nothing about food. I was accused of being a sourpuss. I was told I just had some axe to grind.

Well guess what? Vast has now fired their whole genius staff.

It's one thing to be bchris and make ridiculously negative comments but it's something else to make honest critiques.

[Chadanth]

A million times this. And this phony baloney is promoted by some media people as well -- as well as some posters on this board.

I got ripped to high heaven for very explicitly criticizing my dining experience at Vast. I was told I knew nothing about food. I was accused of being a sourpuss. I was told I just had some axe to grind.

Well guess what? Vast has now fired their whole genius staff.

It's one thing to be bchris and make ridiculously negative comments but it's something else to make honest critiques.

This. And, in reference to the Flashback v Rise issue, social media is a great way to warn others of potentially poor business partners and contractors. It's also one outlet for frustration, but probably not the best one. It's fine to vocal about perceived shortcomings of a land Run.

[Bullbear]

Btw flashback published an apology for their earlier outburst and explained their frustration more eloquently

[Urbanized]

Decorum prevails. Say what you want; the high road is usually the right road.

[Teo9969]

Decorum prevails. Say what you want; the high road is usually the right road.

Right, but I think the argument being made is that the high-road isn't always shrouded. Sometimes the high road involves calling people out…But there's always more than 2 roads to take, and you can be both right and wrong in how you deal with something, as it seems that Flashback may have been today.

[Teo9969]

A million times this. And this phony baloney is promoted by some media people as well -- as well as some posters on this board.

I got ripped to high heaven for very explicitly criticizing my dining experience at Vast. I was told I knew nothing about food. I was accused of being a sourpuss. I was told I just had some axe to grind.

Well guess what? Vast has now fired their whole genius staff.

It's one thing to be bchris and make ridiculously negative comments but it's something else to make honest critiques.

Ha…I still definitely maintain that critique was over the top…I know that because I can still faintly remember it, and after working in restaurants for a long time, I assure you I rarely read/hear a memorable critique

[Urbanized]

Right, but I think the argument being made is that the high-road isn't always shrouded. Sometimes the high road involves calling people out…But there's always more than 2 roads to take, and you can be both right and wrong in how you deal with something, as it seems that Flashback may have been today.

In my own business endeavors I have more than once been dealt a bad hand by folks who deserved to be called out for it. A few times it has involved people who deserved to be sued, and/or to be put on blast in the media. In a couple of cases it involved people who rightly deserved a good ass whipping, up close and personal. I'm sure this happens to just about everybody who is engaged in business at some point, actually.

There are people and issues talked about regularly on this very board that I could add context to and put in a very unfavorable light if I chose to. But I choose not to; I bite my tongue and I move to the next thread.

Personally I have found that the more time/effort/energy I've spent trying to right those wrongs, extract justice, or ruin the reputation of the other party, the more it has robbed me of energy, momentum, and my own reputation, despite ME being the one wronged in the first place. Even prevailing in lawsuits often rings pretty hollow; the lawyers usually get most of it (or even all of it), and you've spent valuable money, time, energy and personal capital in the pursuit of revenge when you could have used those things to build something instead.

Negativity breeds negativity, and nobody wants to hear me bitch about being wronged. I have personally learned to take those experiences as instructive incidents. They teach me who not to do business with in the future, what types of situations to avoid, and how to protect myself better going forward.

And at the end of the day, people who are bad or unethical or just plain wrong are almost always exposed. It's not my job to dispense justice, or to spend energy on petty revenge, likely harming my own reputation in the bargain. Is there an obligation to turn in a lawbreaker? Of course. Are lawsuits sometimes required? Unfortunately, yes. But is it my obligation to publicly call out everyone who sucks at business, or at being a human, or who has wronged me? Nope. They'll get theirs, with or without me. That's just the way I see it. And it has nothing to do with some stifling cultural requirement to "just get along."

[CuatrodeMayo]

What Urbanized said

Like

[IanMcDermid]

Here's some pictures of the work going on at the rise. The sewer is the main delay through avenues like public works, planning, committees that meet once a month, extensions, etc. It's smack in the middle of the parking lot. These are unknowns that were not on any of the city's maps or surveys.



All this discussion aside, I think it's a super special development. The proof will be in the pudding. And I'm really looking forward to making the big push to turn uptown into a modern main street style consumer district.

Here's a link to The Pump's progress.

[Bullbear]

Thanks for these pics.. thats the best look we have had so far at the progress.. looks further than most suspected but of course a good ways to go.. I am really hoping it is a special development when finished. I am still optimistic

[John Knight]

New central AC units have arrived!

[DammitDan]

I sure hope someone keeps those things bolted down and guarded from thieves. Just ask the folks at Grandad's about their AC units that were stolen from the ROOF of the building!

[IanMcDermid]

The roofers are up there daily as well. I can smell em torch down flashing what must be the curbs for these beasts. Also check out my 3,000ft and counting amateur low line install.

[Urbanized]

[shawnw]

Nothing could possibly go wrong there.

[OKCisOK4me]

I'd still pay to have a professional verify that wiring.

[HangryHippo]

The roofers are up there daily as well. I can smell em torch down flashing what must be the curbs for these beasts. Also check out my 3,000ft and counting amateur low line install.

What in the world is going on there? You should certainly have a professional look that over.

[Pete]

^

Electrical and plumbing have to be inspected before walls are closed up and an occupancy permit is issued.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Most of that is low-voltage speaker/data wiring. It's not that dangerous.

However, if that was my building, I'd be absolutely throwing a fit about the sloppiness. That is unacceptable.

[Mr. Cotter]

Heaven help the technician that shows up for a service call in five years.

[Urban Pioneer]

Yeah, that's all low voltage speaker wiring and CAT 6. DYI. Ian is putting signal cable nearly everywhere himself. If I had time and wasn't tied up with a crew in Norman, I'd go over with a bucket of wire ties and help out today.

[IanMcDermid]

My fathers reaction: "sheetrock hides many sins."

It's all low voltage. For such a small space it's: 10x pairs of hdmi over cat6. 10x rg6 for slave set boxes(genies and hoppers). A dozen pairs of speaker cable for 6 zones of stereophonic sound. 15x cat6 ip camera lines. Security singnal wires. Thermostat wires. The list goes on.

The reality is: once sheetrock is on no one will ever know. Except you chosen few. Why waste the zip ties? Especially when the foam contractor says "we can do it tomorrow morning, or two weeks from tomorrow morning". And you pull an all nighter to the tune of 28hours.

[Urbanized]

Rock on Ian.