Page Woodson School

[Pete]

The OCURA board encouraged Miller Valentine to apply for other projects.

Hopefully they will.

Good sign we are getting interest from more out of state developers.

[traxx]

SIAP

Page Woodson REVISITED | Abandoned Oklahoma

Lots of pictures of the inside on that site.

What a great building.

[Pete]

^

Thanks for posting that, I was just about to go looking for it.

That auditorium is very, very cool -- with a balcony no less.


I'm fascinated to see what the plans may be. I hope they keep as many as the original hallways, doors and staircases as possible. So flipping cool!

[boitoirich]

I liked both proposals and didn't think there was really any way to go wrong here. One thing that definitely needs to be addressed is the sidewalk issue. I chose to run from Douglas HS to Deep Deuce via NE 4th St, and after you reach Washington Park, the sidewalk mysteriously vanishes. That means there will be no sidewalk access from these blocks to Washington Park right across the street. Secondly, the sidewalks are intermittent heading west into Deep Deuce. Crossing Lincoln requires intestinal fortitude or Usain Bolt speed. Fortunately, people were willing to yield for me although they had to the right to pass.

Other than the park and the the proximity to downtown, this area offers a community center for kids to recreate in, a post office mere blocks away, the Medical Community within a stone's throw, and the possibility for a streetcar stop if the Katy Trail right-of-way is ever used to connect downtown with the Adventure District. Tons of potential here.

[ljbab728]

So, Ron Bradshaw's group -- which owns the school itself -- also won the right to develop the land around it.

Really glad to hear they plan to restore the old auditorium. There is a big indoor pool as well but it doesn't sound like that will be saved:

I didn't see the pool mentioned but I wouldn't be surprised if it is deleted. Do you have other information about that?
It would also be great if the gym area with the basketball court could be incorporated.

[Spartan]

The OCURA board encouraged Miller Valentine to apply for other projects.

Hopefully they will.

Good sign we are getting interest from more out of state developers.

I would be curious if either of the developers had a LIHTC allocation. They may have just been establishing site control in order to apply to get funded. OHFA seems to disproportionately award projects in rural cities.

[ljbab728]

I would be curious if either of the developers had a LIHTC allocation. They may have just been establishing site control in order to apply to get funded. OHFA seems to disproportionately award projects in rural cities.

Spartan, since most poster here wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about , would you care to go into a little more detail about what all of those letters mean?

[boitoirich]

Spartan, since most poster here wouldn't have a clue what you're talking about , would you care to go into a little more detail about what all of those letters mean?

OHFA is the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. They award housing tax credits to developers for a variety of reasons. Hence, a LIHTC is a low-income housing tax credit. It would be highly unlikely that OHFA would award a housing tax credit to any developer for this project without first knowing who had development rights. Sparty's probably just tired.

[ljbab728]

OHFA is the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. They award housing tax credits to developers for a variety of reasons. Hence, a LIHTC is a low-income housing tax credit. It would be highly unlikely that OHFA would award a housing tax credit to any developer for this project without first knowing who had development rights. Sparty's probably just tired.

Thanks for that. I think sometimes Spartan just posts things that he knows others won't understand just so he appears to be smarter than others.

[Spartan]

OHFA is the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. They award housing tax credits to developers for a variety of reasons. Hence, a LIHTC is a low-income housing tax credit. It would be highly unlikely that OHFA would award a housing tax credit to any developer for this project without first knowing who had development rights. Sparty's probably just tired.

The problem is that we had two competing developers who were both proposing LIHTC, which is competitively awarded each year, and it takes a year to go through that application process. What I'm getting at is how that could possibly match up with any kind of construction timeline promised to OCURA?

The only thing that they could possibly promise is that they would then have site control, a procedural necessity to move forward...I am sure that they won't be breaking ground on the market rate before they get the tax credit funding.

[boitoirich]

The problem is that we had two competing developers who were both proposing LIHTC, which is competitively awarded each year, and it takes a year to go through that application process. What I'm getting at is how that could possibly match up with any kind of construction timeline promised to OCURA?

The only thing that they could possibly promise is that they would then have site control, a procedural necessity to move forward...I am sure that they won't be breaking ground on the market rate before they get the tax credit funding.

I wouldn't get too attached to any timelines, even one pushed by OCURA. If OCURA understands that both projects need to apply for LIHTC and that will take a year, there clearly will be some room to renegotiate the timeline. The market-rate units on Block 1 are likely to undergo development first, while the group seeks tax credits for Block 2. As of yet, neither potential developer has even filed an application for with OHFA:

http://www.novoco.com/low_income_hou...ing_100814.pdf

[Spartan]

Yup. Not a single OKC or Tulsa deal.

I really don't think they'd proceed with market rate first without the larger component moving forward (I wouldn't). I really think the whole development timeline is pushed back, which comes at a time that OCURA has pressure to hold developers to timelines.

[boitoirich]

In the first round of applications for 2014, the Classen Commons (northwest portion of the Villa Teresa block) was awarded a LIHTC. Not sure what your implication is here, to be honest. Most of the applicants are rural; it stands to reason that most of the awards will be given to rural developers then.

[Spartan]

Most states commit 2/3 of the deals to urban areas. Granted, I have very little familiarity with Oklahoma's development agencies, but I can't imagine it being too different from OH PA MI WV KY..

Sorry if I'm being really clueless right now, but I appreciate that you seem familiar with how this is done in OK. I know that the historic tax credit awards are specifically biased toward rural areas because that is where its political opposition comes from.. so I assumed a similar situation.

The allocation plans for these kinds of programs tell you everything you need to know about a state's urban/rural power split.

[traxx]

Does anyone know of a site or someplace we might see pics of the inside of Page Woodson when it was still open and fucntioning as a school? Any vintage pics?

[Stickman]

Anything going on here?
Did oil kill this deal?

[ljbab728]

Anything going on here?
Did oil kill this deal?

While anything is possible, I've seen nothing to indicate the deal is off. The original article in the Oklahoma just said it would start this year and we still have 8 months left in the year.

[Spartan]

They are probably waiting to get a housing tax credit allocation.

[Pete]

Big update in the article at the top of the page and in our News section.

They will be starting work very soon.

[Pete]

I learned something very interesting from Ron Bradshaw while discussing this project with him, something Urbanized probably knows but was new to me.

He said when applying for historic tax credits. that when it comes to windows in particular they require a complete mock-up and installation at the building site before approval is provided.

Which completely explains why there has been one new window installed at The Plow and 21c for a long time.

I'm sure it was to get the needed approval, then the larger order was placed. Interesting stuff.

[Stickman]

Good to know. Will have some great views to the West and North sitting on higher ground.

[David]

There's an article from Steve in the Oklahoman about this that is accessible through this tweet by Ben Felder (for the sake of politeness to Ben in providing these free links to an otherwise unavailable article I'm just posting the tweet).

[Anonymous.]

Why does it seem when someone brings up an old project/site/thread asking about what is going on, announcement of redevelopment/renovation takes place almost immediately. Maybe I am imagining that this happens more often than it actually does...

Just seems odd that Stickman asks about this after half a year of crickets, then suddenly days later there is information.

[Teo9969]

I don't think these are so much "announcements" as they are stories. I don't feel like developers are lining up at Daily Oklahoman, Journal Record and OKC Talk's doors to update us on what's going on. I imagine Pete, Steve, Brianna, and Molly all have to go pull permits, initiate conversations with developers, inquire from other sources what's going on and then they relay that information to us.

Truth be told, I think OKC has enough going on that any given source of information is capable of completely missing a story, or letting a story slip through the cracks after an initial announcement.

[Pete]

Yes, it's true that when someone asks about a project and I haven't check on it in a while, I'll go looking.

And usually with renovation / redevelopment projects, there is a specific process so there are usually steps along the way that can be checked on.