First National Center

[Bellaboo]

It's a neat architectural style. There is no doubt about that. I just don't get attached to these old historic buildings like a lot of you guys do. I don't think there is anything wrong with either train of thought. We just have a different opinion.

Hopefully we'll see some progress on it soon...

Have you ever been inside and seen the Great Banking Hall room ?

[zookeeper]

Have you ever been inside and seen the Great Banking Hall room ?

That's the key to understanding the greatness of First National. The exterior is magnificent on its own, but once you see the Great Banking Hall - wow. It's actually an eye-opening experience for some who have never been inside to see it. Many people, especially younger people who don't remember it as a fully functioning bank, don't have a clue what a gem it really is.

[Of Sound Mind]

I heard a rumor last evening from some other downtown workers that the sale of FNC was going to close on the 22nd and they expected the building to be locked up around then. However, I thought I previously heard that after the closing, tenants would have 60 days to vacate. Has anyone heard any updates on this?

For the thousands of downtown workers who still enter and pass through that building, locking it up is going to have a significant impact, including one of the skywalks essentially becoming useless for a long time.

[gurantula35]

I have been for the demolition of the preftakes block and was for the demolition of the stage center. But if this building were even discussed about being demolished i would definitely throw a fit.

[Just the facts]

For the thousands of downtown workers who still enter and pass through that building, locking it up is going to have a significant impact, including one of the skywalks essentially becoming useless for a long time.

That will be one of the best things that can happen to downtown. Hopefully that portion of the concourse will never reopen.

[bradh]

That will be one of the best things that can happen to downtown. Hopefully that portion of the concourse will never reopen.

Agreed, it's just too bad that Park isn't finished yet.

[Pete]

I heard a rumor last evening from some other downtown workers that the sale of FNC was going to close on the 22nd and they expected the building to be locked up around then. However, I thought I previously heard that after the closing, tenants would have 60 days to vacate. Has anyone heard any updates on this?

For the thousands of downtown workers who still enter and pass through that building, locking it up is going to have a significant impact, including one of the skywalks essentially becoming useless for a long time.

My understanding is the new owners want everyone out right after they close, which is still scheduled for July 22nd.

There have been conflicting reports about this, stating the tenants will have more time, but I'm not sure that is the case.

If I was a tenant in that building, I'd been planning to be somewhere else by the end of the month.

And certainly, once they start work on this complex the arcade will be closed for several years and currently it serves as a main connection in the Underground system.

[Of Sound Mind]

That will be one of the best things that can happen to downtown.

Says you.

On inclement weather days, be it thunderstorms, insane winds, heavy rains, or icy roads and sidewalks, the skywalks and concourses, with FNC being a major hub, have been welcome relief. On reasonable weather days, the sidewalks are plenty full and busy and there is plentiful sidewalk traffic.

For the non-zealots, the closing of FNC will be very unwelcome, even if it's for "just a few years."

[Of Sound Mind]

My understanding is the new owners want everyone out right after they close, which is still scheduled for July 22nd.

There have been conflicting reports about this, stating the tenants will have more time, but I'm not sure that is the case.

If I was a tenant in that building, I'd been planning to be somewhere else by the end of the month.

And certainly, once they start work on this complex the arcade will be closed for several years and currently it serves as a main connection in the Underground system.

Thanks, Pete.

[gopokes88]

I have been for the demolition of the preftakes block and was for the demolition of the stage center. But if this building were even discussed about being demolished i would definitely throw a fit.

Same.

It sucks stage center got torn down but they really did try to avoid and there was just no way to save it, wasn't commercially viable. I get that a lot of people here favor form over function, but it has to have at least some function. Even one of his buildings in Baltimore couldn't be saved.

I dont mind tearing down preftakes. There is nothing historical or architecturally significant about them. The people that are mad because the new design isn't good urbanism, I can understand that.

But FNC is both historically and architecturally significant to the city and its worth preserving.

[PhiAlpha]

That will be one of the best things that can happen to downtown. Hopefully that portion of the concourse will never reopen.

I understand your reasoning, but I think you overestimate how many people use the concourse outside of inclement weather days.

[bchris02]

JTF has a good point. When I moved back to OKC it really struck me how the CBD has so little street activity and street-fronting businesses compared to other cities. At the time I wasn't super familiar with the Underground and the indoor concourses but now that I am, I know that OKC does have these things. They are simply hidden from public view. Anything that can push these businesses out to the street will be a huge step forward for the CBD.

[Rover]

Some speak dogma instead of practicality. Foot traffic outside is not killed by the concourse, it is killed by lack of offering of things of interest at street level and a less than welcoming street aesthetic. Have a reason to be on the street and people will prefer to go there. Some people think the only way to control the public to obey their dogma is to legislate and eliminate all other possibilities. I prefer to say improve the offering and provide them something better. Just making someone walk past a store on their way to their car doesn't create demand. Having a great store where they want to shop does. The concourse isn't the enemy...bad street interaction and lack of offering is. I would hate to think my philosophy was so weak that the only way it works is to eliminate all other competition and to force people to do what I want them to.

[bchris02]

Some speak dogma instead of practicality. Foot traffic outside is not killed by the concourse, it is killed by lack of offering of things of interest at street level and a less than welcoming street aesthetic. Have a reason to be on the street and people will prefer to go there. Some people think the only way to control the public to obey their dogma is to legislate and eliminate all other possibilities. I prefer to say improve the offering and provide them something better. Just making someone walk past a store on their way to their car doesn't create demand. Having a great store where they want to shop does. The concourse isn't the enemy...bad street interaction and lack of offering is.

I can guarantee that these businesses in the concourse and in the underground are losing a lot of potential customers because most people who don't work downtown or who aren't downtown enthusiasts don't even realize they are there.

[Of Sound Mind]

I can guarantee...

You can guarantee? You've done the studies, have you?

[jccouger]

Some speak dogma instead of practicality. Foot traffic outside is not killed by the concourse, it is killed by lack of offering of things of interest at street level and a less than welcoming street aesthetic. Have a reason to be on the street and people will prefer to go there. Some people think the only way to control the public to obey their dogma is to legislate and eliminate all other possibilities. I prefer to say improve the offering and provide them something better. Just making someone walk past a store on their way to their car doesn't create demand. Having a great store where they want to shop does. The concourse isn't the enemy...bad street interaction and lack of offering is. I would hate to think my philosophy was so weak that the only way it works is to eliminate all other competition and to force people to do what I want them to.

I think there could be a compromise, as both you & JTF make great points. Covered outdoor walkways, on sidewalks & selected pedestrian crossings over streets, I think would work well. They would protect pedestrians from the elements & would also put foot traffic on ground/retail level. You are right though that more retial needs to be done at ground level regardless though.

[BDP]

Foot traffic outside is not killed by the concourse, it is killed by lack of offering of things of interest at street level

Yeah, but the concourse plays a part in that too. If it wasn't there, all the underground businesses and services would be at street level.

[ksearls]

Rover is right and I dare all of you Underground haters to strap on a pair of high heels and navigate the treacherous, paver-laden sidewalks of the CBD.

[shawnw]

But take pictures, cause we've all got to see that happening...

[BDP]

Rover is right and I dare all of you Underground haters to strap on a pair of high heels and navigate the treacherous, paver-laden sidewalks of the CBD.

Well, I guess it's harder to maintain the sidewalks when you got to maintain the underground too.

And I don't hate it, but there's no question its existence hurts the street life and amount of street level amenities in the CBD.

[ljbab728]

This won't affect the pending sale, but Brianna has the latest on this soap opera.


http://www.oklahoman.com/article/543...f%20skyscraper

A New York man, in a racketeering lawsuit filed this week, has accused would-be First National Center developer Massoud Aaron Yashouafar and several of his relatives of trying to hide ownership of the downtown Oklahoma City skyscraper.

[Pete]

Yashouafar is clearly one of the sleaziest people around.

He's constantly in trouble with the law, both the criminal and civic varieties.

Apart from FNC and the Vegas fraud that sent him to jail, there have been a whole host of other crazy dealings here in the Los Angeles area where he lives. He seems to be a full-on sociopath.

[ShadowStrings]

Cafe 7's patio is gone as of today.

[Just the facts]

You can guarantee? You've done the studies, have you?

The City did, and guess what they said.

[Pete]

Looks like the July 22nd closing has been delayed:


******************************

Closing time? Waiting continues for First National Center tenants
By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record July 20, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY – The waiting game is expected to continue this week for tenants at First National Center.

Building manager Jamie McCammon said the pending sale will not close this week, and she did not give an expected timeline when the transaction would be final. Some tenants said it would be by summer’s end, but then recalled how they had been previously told it was closing in December 2014.

“We’re here until they legally give us notice,” said Linda Castle, co-owner of The Tinder Box with her husband, Wayne.

She said they are not looking for another space downtown. When the store is asked to leave First National, they will head home.

“We’re too old to start all over,” she said. “We’re better off retiring and working part-time somewhere.”

In the meantime, restaurants and businesses down the hall are still uncertain about their futures, with many searching for new locations.

The building’s sale has been held up in court because the rightful ownership group is being debated. U.S. District Court Judge Stephen P. Friot ruled that the sale should move forward and the money from the sale would be held in escrow.

Larry Taylor, owner of LT’s Famous Gourmet Deli on the east side of First National Center, said he expects to secure a new spot by week’s end. He said he will be staying in the same area downtown. His restaurant occupies 2,100 square feet and he has been in the building for 25 years.

“It’s been bittersweet,” he said. “It’s been an up-and-down ride with six or seven different owners.”

Taylor said when the restaurant does move, the menu will change slightly with an expanded smoothie menu.

At the Golden Dragon Restaurant, owner Ken Huor said he doesn’t know where he will go if he’s ever asked to leave. He leases 3,000 square feet and has been at First National for more than 20 years.

Uncertainly still looms at Let’s Do Greek restaurant as well. Owner Mahshid Aguilar opened her restaurant in the building four years ago.
“We’re still desperately looking,” she said.

Medicine Cabinet pharmacist Mack D. Sherler said he has looked at two other spaces in the area, but he has a third he is avidly seeking. He said he’s hoping for some leniency on the third location’s leasing price before he considers the other two spots. All three locations are downtown, he said.

“I’m the only pharmacist downtown,” he said. “Why would I leave?”

He was asked to move next to St. Anthony Hospital’s Saints Metro Medical Associates on the Century Center’s second floor, but he wasn’t enthused about that location.

Longtime women’s clothing boutique owner Nancy Farha said she has heard from many concerned customers about her future.

“I intend to stay downtown,” she said.

Some tenants said the building’s maintenance has decreased in the past few months, with some business owners even taking their own toilet paper to the restrooms.