What's ahead for Downtown?

[metro]

What’s ahead for downtown Oklahoma City?
April 22, 2010

NewsOK

Project 180
Cost: $140 million
Estimated completion: 2014
Project 180 is a makeover of downtown streets, sidewalks and parks. The project is funded through a tax increment financing district established with construction of a new $750 million Devon Energy headquarters. Plans call for the addition of public art, marked bike lanes, decorative street lighting, outdoor furniture and hundreds of new parking spaces.

[CaseyCornett]

(giddy)

[FritterGirl]

(correction)

Myriad Gardens

Budget: $38 million (part 2007 GO Bond, part Project180 TIF funds)

Estimated completion: 2012

Changes include the addition of a grand performance lawn and amphitheater, a children’s discovery garden and play area, water features, an ice skating rink, a restaurant and café, a dog release area and a new grand entrance to the Crystal Bridge.

But as Casey noted - also VERY Giddy.

[Steve]

Thanks for taking all my hard work on this and copying and pasting it here at OKC Talk. Not cool. I don't understand why work from NewsOk can't be treated with the same respect given to blogs. Do a quote or a snippet or description of the article, and provide a link where people can see the entire deal (I commonly do this on my blog, as does Charles Hill with Dustbury, and Doug with DougDawg).

As for the price tag, Fritter, yeah, I only listed the Myriad Gardens 180 project, and didn't list the bond project of $8 million for reglazing of the Crystal Bridge. That's unfortunate. That show's just how complicated all this was.

[Pete]

I edited the original post to provide just a snippet.


If you add all that up, it's $2.3 BILLION in improvements coming in the next few years, and that's not even including three new boathouses and the finish line tower, Film Row, Ford Center improvements, and lots of other things that are under construction or firm projects.

I doubt there is a city anywhere near OKC's size with this much downtown investment happening at the present.

[Steve]

Pete, those are excellent points to make. By no means does this represent EVERYTHING. Due to space limitations and other matters, we had to cap this off at the BIG stuff.
Not listed:
Devon Boathouse
Chesapeake Finish-line tower
Native American Cultural Center
Howard and Clagg MidTown projects

When you add in all the "smaller" items, we're at $2.5 BILLION being invested downtown.

[okclee]

What’s ahead for downtown Oklahoma City?

NewsOK

Okc Thunder - NBA Championships
Cost: Priceless
Estimated Completion: 2010 and beyond


Steve, no excuse for leaving the Thunder off your list.

[okcpulse]

I'd love to buy Frontier City and White Water Bay from PARC, relocate both parks to the riverbanks near downtown, create one giant combo theme/water park and call it Delmar Gardens.

[metro]

Thanks for taking all my hard work on this and copying and pasting it here at OKC Talk. Not cool. I don't understand why work from NewsOk can't be treated with the same respect given to blogs. Do a quote or a snippet or description of the article, and provide a link where people can see the entire deal (I commonly do this on my blog, as does Charles Hill with Dustbury, and Doug with DougDawg).

As for the price tag, Fritter, yeah, I only listed the Myriad Gardens 180 project, and didn't list the bond project of $8 million for reglazing of the Crystal Bridge. That's unfortunate. That show's just how complicated all this was.

Steve, my apologies, but hear me out. First off, I did nothing illegal or against TOS (unless Pete or Oklahoman changed them) and no disrespect was intended. Secondly, there was no author on OKCTalk, there are people who post full articles from other journalists at the Oklahoman, and I don't see anyone fussing about it. I also posted the link above the article.

Secondly, no offense, but it wasn't any new news or updates, just a summary. In fact, I thought it was a good enough summary worth posting in full on OKCTalk, since some Oklahoman links die after a few months or years, and this is a thread that will probably be revived in a few years, instead of reviving a thread on each of the respected topics. Thanks for doing the article and it looks like Pete honored your request.

[MikeOKC]

I'd love to buy Frontier City and White Water Bay from PARC, relocate both parks to the riverbanks near downtown, create one giant combo theme/water park and call it Delmar Gardens.

I like that idea, pulse. Change it up to a riverside, boardwalk-like theme with all the retro strung lights all over and that would look incredible. The developers, of course, will say the land is too valuable to use it for such a purpose. But, I would respond that you make it a destination attraction, include a hotel and retail and you have much of what makes similar attractions work. We're not talking just picking the rides from FC/WW and plopping them down someplace else.

[Spartan]

Metro, you brought up the word TOS..which no one has done in like 3 years. Hope you realize that.

[Steve]

I understand the concern about expiring links - and if someone wants to see something in my beat preserved for future readership, just let me know and I'll copy and paste it on my blog with no expiration.
My basic challenge remains the same: if you wouldn't do a wholesale copy and paste from the blog, why would journalists who write for a living be treated with less respect?

[metro]

Metro, you brought up the word TOS..which no one has done in like 3 years. Hope you realize that.

I highly doubt that, but leave it to you to bring up the inane.

[Steve]

Hey, keep the daggers at me guys ... no need to restart the Metro/Spartan wars... I'll just whine but be cool with both of you at the end of the day.

[okcpulse]

Steve,

Where did you grab that landsat image? It looks more recent than Google, Mapquest, Bing Maps OR Oklahoma County GIS.

[Steve]

Yep. That was just a part of the work that was involved with this. While this looks like a simple summary of projects, it was a bit more complicated than that. I wanted an image that would show downtown at a key moment: After all the recent work was done, but before this latest wave began (summer 2009). We go

[BDP]

if you wouldn't do a wholesale copy and paste from the blog, why would journalists who write for a living be treated with less respect?

Hey, keep the daggers at me guys

Um, I know some bloggers who make a better living writing than a lot of journalists. And really a lot of what passes for journalism today is no more informative, credible, or substantive than a lot of blogs.

That being said, I completely agree with your point. There is really is no respect for creative rights anymore.

[Steve]

BDP, point taken. I can only imagine what sort of money the Pioneer Woman is making these days with book and movie deals (for the record if I get portrayed in a movie, I'd like to be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman)

[BDP]

for the record if I get portrayed in a movie, I'd like to be played by Philip Seymour Hoffman

Wow. You must be a much more complex character than you've led us to believe. ; )

[ronronnie1]

Cite your sources. People get thrown out of college for doing what whatshisname did. Definately not cool.

And since we're talking about downtown development. I don't care what anyone says. There should be a casino (or two) in bricktown.

[dmoor82]

Cite your sources. People get thrown out of college for doing what whatshisname did. Definately not cool.

And since we're talking about downtown development. I don't care what anyone says. There should be a casino (or two) in bricktown.

I too would like a casino! A riverboat casino!

[Celebrator]

PLEASE no casinos downtown. Stay classy Oklahoma City.

[wsucougz]

Steve doesn't work for free, and considering the precarious state of the newspaper industry, among other reasons, deserves to generate at least some traffic for his work.

Not even a citation? Lame.

[SkyWestOKC]

I wouldn't be opposed to a casino on the American Indian Culture Center land. But not on the north side of the river next to the Devon Tower, Ford Center, or Bricktown.

[dismayed]

PLEASE no casinos downtown. Stay classy Oklahoma City.

So then "The Wormy Dog" -- classy.

Vegas style casino that brings in well-known artists and has gourmet restaurants -- not classy?