Automobile Alley

[Ross MacLochness]

This convo about the Womb ended up being pretty relevant..

From Wayne's Instagram:

"Yay!!!! @wicked_hippie POP-UP Shop coming this Saturday to The Womb "

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbzUx4ijPq7/

[CCOKC]

My family was participating in Questival last Friday evening and had to get a picture outside of The Womb. When they got there, Wayne himself was there scraping the paint off of those glass doors and took a selfie with them.

[sooner88]

This convo about the Womb ended up being pretty relevant..

From Wayne's Instagram:

"Yay!!!! @wicked_hippie POP-UP Shop coming this Saturday to The Womb "

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbzUx4ijPq7/

That's his gf's company for those that don't know.

[Pete]

I'm proud of this one.

[5alive]

[Doug Loudenback]

Great shot, Pete. You're the man!

[catcherinthewry]

^^^Sweet pic!

[bucktalk]

Wow! Wow! I love this! The colors, the angle of the south view direction. Good job Pete!

[Pete]

Here's another:

[OKCisOK4me]

Beautiful shot, Pete!

[soonerguru]

Those are wonderful Pete!

[ChrisHayes]

Imagine if that entire area was lit up like that. It would resemble a miniature version of the strip in Vegas.

[rte66man]

Did you get a shot of the east side of Broadway? Is it also lit up?

[Pete]

[KingOfTheNorth]

I'll be visiting in January and I'm pissed because I'll be visiting right after they take the lights down.

[warreng88]

Not sure where to put this, but thought this was the best place:

Six new homes planned for NE 7th St. in OKC

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record February 16, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Edmond-based homebuilder will soon add six homes to downtown.

Willco Homes builder Sheryl Willingham said she became interested in downtown when her daughter started looking at the area. She’s already sold one home.

She said the homes will measure about 3,000 square feet, with a price of about $300,000.

The homes are being constructed on three lots at 25 and 29 NE Seventh St. Her properties are divided by another 25-foot-wide lot that has a different owner.

SVN Land Run broker Andrew Hwang sold the lots to Willingham. He said the seller once owned all four lots and there were fourplex apartments on the property. But the owner didn’t pay property taxes on the property in the center, so it was sold through a tax sale. It changed hands again, and the current owner didn’t want to sell. Hwang said the owner figured no one would buy the other three lots without buying his as well.

That wasn’t the case for Willingham. She was the second person to have the three lots under contract, Hwang said. The first buyer backed out once it was learned the middle lot wasn’t available.

Willingham’s homes were presented and approved by the Downtown Design Review Committee on Thursday. The site plan shows a rectangle piece of land between her homes. At the meeting, she was asked about the ownership, where she explained she had tried to buy it.

Willingham said her homes will offer plenty of storage space and a traditional-home-type feel. This includes having two-car garages on the bottom floor. There are four stories in total, with a garage, then three stories on top.

DDRC member Deborah Richards said she wasn’t in favor of the garages facing Seventh Street. She said there are creative ways to hide the garages and keep the urban atmosphere.

The city planning department staff recommended approving the design, even with the street-facing garages because the homes will have balconies and large windows, so there will still be a building-to-pedestrian relationship, according to the staff report.

Willingham’s plan includes finishing out the alleyway, where three of the homes will have access to their entrances. That would normally not be allowed by downtown development regulations, but given the density of the project the access is needed, so the staff supported it.

“We haven’t had a product like that in that area in a very long time,” said Laura Griggs with the planning department staff.

Willingham was also asked to install a sidewalk along her development on Seventh Street.

She said she’ll start building the homes in March.

[Urbanized]

Also in Automobile Alley news: Traffic Commission today approved reducing the speed limit in Automobile Alley from 30 to 25.

[catch22]

Also in Automobile Alley news: Traffic Commission today approved reducing the speed limit in Automobile Alley from 30 to 25.

Cool, the paddleboard yield signs will only be cracked at that speed instead of shattered into a dozen pieces.

[LakeEffect]

Cool, the paddleboard yield signs will only be cracked at that speed instead of shattered into a dozen pieces.

Winning Tweet!

On a serious note though, the speed limits will only be helpful if coupled with added design controls that create an environment that makes people feel like they have to drive more slowly.

[Anonymous.]

Not sure where to put this, but thought this was the best place:

Six new homes planned for NE 7th St. in OKC

By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record February 16, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – An Edmond-based homebuilder will soon add six homes to downtown.

Willco Homes builder Sheryl Willingham said she became interested in downtown when her daughter started looking at the area. She’s already sold one home.

She said the homes will measure about 3,000 square feet, with a price of about $300,000.

The homes are being constructed on three lots at 25 and 29 NE Seventh St. Her properties are divided by another 25-foot-wide lot that has a different owner.

SVN Land Run broker Andrew Hwang sold the lots to Willingham. He said the seller once owned all four lots and there were fourplex apartments on the property. But the owner didn’t pay property taxes on the property in the center, so it was sold through a tax sale. It changed hands again, and the current owner didn’t want to sell. Hwang said the owner figured no one would buy the other three lots without buying his as well.

That wasn’t the case for Willingham. She was the second person to have the three lots under contract, Hwang said. The first buyer backed out once it was learned the middle lot wasn’t available.

Willingham’s homes were presented and approved by the Downtown Design Review Committee on Thursday. The site plan shows a rectangle piece of land between her homes. At the meeting, she was asked about the ownership, where she explained she had tried to buy it.

Willingham said her homes will offer plenty of storage space and a traditional-home-type feel. This includes having two-car garages on the bottom floor. There are four stories in total, with a garage, then three stories on top.

DDRC member Deborah Richards said she wasn’t in favor of the garages facing Seventh Street. She said there are creative ways to hide the garages and keep the urban atmosphere.

The city planning department staff recommended approving the design, even with the street-facing garages because the homes will have balconies and large windows, so there will still be a building-to-pedestrian relationship, according to the staff report.

Willingham’s plan includes finishing out the alleyway, where three of the homes will have access to their entrances. That would normally not be allowed by downtown development regulations, but given the density of the project the access is needed, so the staff supported it.

“We haven’t had a product like that in that area in a very long time,” said Laura Griggs with the planning department staff.

Willingham was also asked to install a sidewalk along her development on Seventh Street.

She said she’ll start building the homes in March.

While I am glad to see infill in this area, I feel like getting that 4th lot from the other owner and building a multi-family structure would be a better fit for this. IMO, this is an area that needs density, not individual homes. That "The Spy" radio house thing is already a low density unit on an oversized lot. Getting three more next to it is disappointing.



EDIT: Seems this is for 6 total dwellings.

[onthestrip]

Good for them for moving forward even without that middle lot. I bet the owner thought it was worth way more than it is and held out for more. Now hes landlocked and his lot becomes a lot less valuable because its a narrow deep lot with few options for development.

[Pete]

Regarding the lower speed limit on Broadway (reducing from 30 to 25) it was brought before the Traffic Commission by the AA Board.

The city did their usual in-depth analysis and concluded it was not necessary.

However, just like the Heritage Hills stop signs which the staff also deemed unnecessary, the Traffic Commission approved anyway.

[onthestrip]

Good for them for moving forward even without that middle lot. I bet the owner thought it was worth way more than it is and held out for more. Now hes landlocked and his lot becomes a lot less valuable because its a narrow deep lot with few options for development.

[DoctorTaco]

Regarding the lower speed limit on Broadway (reducing from 30 to 25) it was brought before the Traffic Commission by the AA Board.

The city did their usual in-depth analysis and concluded it was not necessary.

However, just like the Heritage Hills stop signs which the staff also deemed unnecessary, the Traffic Commission approved anyway.

I wouldn't trust the City's traffic engineers, so this worries me not at all. These are the same people who hold up all possible bicycle infrastructure and press to widen roads at NW 197th & Council

[Teo9969]

Did I read that right: $300,000 for 3,000 square feet?

Does she get a tax write-off for her charity????