OKC Urban Renewal Authority, The Hill, The Triangle
I know there has been some discussion and after yesterday's Journal Record article and today's Daily Oklahoman article in regards to the article, I'm sure there will be much more discussion. Today I attended what was thought to be the final Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority (OCURA) meeting in regards to choosing the developer of "The Hill".
Three finalists were chosen months in advance for their final proposals today. The first firm was led by Anthony McDermid of TAP architecture and his partners (Walnut Hill Redeveloper Partners) in the project. The presentation was quite professional and they did their homework. Their financing was more than sufficient and was already backed. The proposed project would be named "Ellison Park on the Hill" after the historic Ralph Ellison of the original Deep Deuce area. This project perfectly incorporated the "town center" theme common in larger cities. It perfectly blended retail, ownership, rental uses as well as covered parking. It also included parklike common areas, picnic and outdoor ampitheatre areas which I think are essential to downtown. One thing TAP failed was to keep the presentation under the requested time frame of 30 minutes.
The second firm, The Hill at Bricktown, LLC I personally strongly did not like in the least bit. It was a collection of different partners. The presentation was week and constantly encountered problems. Another thing they lacked was the use of rental units and retail (2 of the 3 requested components asked for by OCURA in the project). The proposed development would be all ownership. Additionally, I did not like the layout they had proposed. They definetely did not do their homework and kept dodging questions by steering off course. There is a possiblity that this could end up a gated, private community with no public areas. A Very influential boardmember and person in the OKC Business community strongly denounced the other proposals and publicly interrupted the 3rd presentation trying to persuade the board to vote for this proposal despite public concerns. Another concern of mine regarding this project is no financing was guaranteed, they were asking for public or government assistance, and they wanted to name the project Hill at Bricktown. In my opinion this area is not Bricktown and I think this project must realize the "Deep Deuce" historical value.
The 3rd and final proposal , Wood Partners, a Bricktown architectural partnership for over 20 years in Bricktown. They also had an excellent presentation, had solid financial backing with no request for government funds or assistance, and had done their homework in all aspects. The design was okay however they proposed 300 apartment units with no retail or ownership. A rebuttal mentioned is that a similar project in downtown Atlanta was converted from rental to ownership as the market generated interest and could also be done in OKC. I didnt care for the siding on apartments, it was something you would expect for the Quail Springs area. The layout was okay and like the first firm, considered road noise from I235 into their plans. Additionally, Bob Minders (owner and developer of the Steel Yard) was in a symbiotic relationship with this group. Mr. Minders has no ownership interest in this project however the two projects would flow together the area of "The Hill" into the Steel Yard area creating a central theme. The Steel Yard would incorporate a similar design but offer mixed use such as condos, retail, rental units, ownership, lofts, entertainment venue, etc.
I strongly encourage each of you to contact OCURA and voice your concern as they seemed to dismiss the young, twentysomething professional voice, as well as the empty nester and our interests and opinions, yet throughout the presentations expressed how our demographics would be pivotal in the success of building something like this. This decision will have a huge, Economic Development impact on the area. The second proposal would generate no additional income to the city other than property taxes. Additionally, I personally think creating what could become a potential private, gated community with no public access would be detrimental. Fortunately, OCURA decided not to make the decision today and to recess for a week or two. If you can, you also may want to show up at the Special Meeting when the decision will be made. I will try to keep you all posted. One thing I might add, this project will be the first, of many in the Triangle district. This will be a fractional piece over a portion of time. I do not think this area will be fully developed for probably a decade just to elaborate more on a previous thread. Below is an excerpt from the "Triangle" thread.
QUOTE: The 3rd Oklahoma City's largest inner-urban residential project in decades is planned and waiting for city approval.
A team of local developers, real estate experts and architects plans to develop an area known as The Triangle in downtown Oklahoma City. The group filed a request to establish a planned unit development Monday, just 48 hours shy of interviewing for the rights to develop a city-owned, 11-acre tract known as The Hill, which borders The Triangle.
Their plan is threefold.
The Triangle, which consists of approximately 30 acres - owned by about 10 proprietors - and borders Interstate 235 to the east, Bricktown to the south, Broadway to the west and 10th Street to the north, is set to be developed into a residential, commercial and retail district with land and street scaping.
The team - Anthony McDermid, principal at TAParchitecture; Ronald Bradshaw, of Colony Partners, a real estate development and investment company, who represents Kerr-McGee's holdings in the area; William Garrett, manager of real estate firm Garrett and Co.; and Bert Belanger, president of ORB, a development firm and manager of OKC Town Center - will attend an Oklahoma City Planning Commission meeting in mid-April to talk about rezoning the area to allow development of the three land uses in the same corridor. The information will be reviewed in May and if all goes well, construction of the first phase - brownstone-style townhouses on NE Third Street - will begin later this year.
"The vision for The Triangle is to create a city within a city where the neighborhood has been thoughtfully planned; from having a pharmacy and grocery store within walking distance of the homes to designing retail spaces that complement the look and feel of the neighborhood," McDermid said.
While specific construction plans remain undetermined, the team envisions hundreds of owner-occupied townhouses, condominium units and high-rise condominiums. The buildings will primarily be three and four stories tall with access to Bricktown and the medical center.
"It's not only about the opportunity to create a legacy but an awesome responsibility of what Oklahoma City is about in 2005," McDermid said. "We're ready to raise the bar against other communities we compete with."
The project would be in Ward 7, represented on the City Council by Willa Johnson.
"I think the time has come for us to make the property on The Hill productive and The Triangle project looks very promising to me," she said. "I'm glad (they're) putting a denser population close to downtown that can take advantage of our cultural amenities."
Currently, the property is vacant.
"In the next five years, you'll see the area change a great deal in appearance," Bradshaw said. "We want to complement what we already have, not pull away from it."
When finished, the entire project will have cost hundreds of millions of dollars and will be paid for by private investors, the team said.
Whether or not the Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) is responsible for The Triangle project, is debatable.
"It's fair to say that development on some basis, sped up the process," Bradshaw said.
McDermid agreed.
"There's speculation that MAPS enhanced this," he said.
In November 2004, the team was one of about a dozen that applied to the Urban Renewal Authority for the rights to develop The Hill, which is bordered by I-235 and Stiles Avenue on the west and east and NE Second Street and a railroad right of way to the north and south. A decision granting the right to develop that area will be made after Wednesday.
Originally Posted by HOT ROD
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