The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Back on topic, please, clown.

Can someone post the whole TW article?  I'm too chintzy to subscribe.

The 1st St. Lofts really tarnish his reputation, IMO.  The project is a physical reminder of failure, and the drawn out nature of it -- especially as business has been improving so dramatically around it compounds the sense that he's fumbled the project. 

That's certainly not to say that he hasn't encouraged development in other ways/venues, but you wonder why he just hasn't made a deal, finished the thing and moved on. 

Typical Sager.  His mother's finances have always been binary.

Fixed it for you.   ;)

I think everyone agrees that it needs to be finished and I hope he finds a way to do that.
He should not have any problem renting these units as long as they are priced to attract younger downtowners. We need these units, we need the v2025 loan paid back so it can be re-allocated to another housing project in downtown...downtown and the BD will benefit from these lofts.

Its hard to buy into Sager's assertion that the economy is to blame when we all know that he went back to V2025 for a second disbursement, we know the amount of the salary that he paid to himself at 1st St Lofts and we know that he recently bought another building on Elgin that will soon (we think) be a restaurant.

And I expect if he is kicked off the project through foreclosure, that someone else would step in and finish it off in a reasonable amount of time.

How much was he paying himself as a salary does anyone know?

Just as long as it's not Jerry Gordon.

How much was he paying himself as a salary does anyone know?

Typical Sager.  His finances have always been binary.

Eliot has attempted to buy the project many times.   Over/Under on how many months until he does?

He has?  Evidence?

Look, I am not defending the obvious absurdity of the situation.  The project should have been able to be completed within the budget, and there is no one to blame but the developer.  But anyone who says the economy hasn't affected real estate development in Tulsa isn't in the development business.  It has ground to a halt.  The stuff that has happened in downtown, or anywhere, is from pure willpower, from private investor capital, or is a self financed pet project, because the banks aren't having it.  I know established developers who have lost their donkey in this economic debacle, and you won't find a single developer who says that it's been good since late 2008.

Based on the construction bid news services, I'd dispute that.

Sure grandiose projects like the big river development south of the Creek are on hold, but did anyone really see that coming to fruition any time soon?  Tulsa was nearing a saturation point prior to the collapse in 2008.

Ahem....you waited four 3 years to make that assertion?

Ahem....you waited four 3 years to make that assertion?

I've never seen Conan endorse a grandiose type of development. Not sure what you meant.

Suburban developments have not slowed in my opinion...Tulsa Hills and the Memorial/Bixby corridor have tons of activity. Urban core development is just now starting to ramp up.

We have seen a slow down in the bungalow/Mcmansion swaps that were popular a few years ago.

Based on the construction bid news services, I'd dispute that.

Sure grandiose projects like the big river development south of the Creek are on hold, but did anyone really see that coming to fruition any time soon?  Tulsa was nearing a saturation point prior to the collapse in 2008.

Dispute what?  Construction news services will tell you housing is down 30% over 2010, mainly because of expired tax credits, and 2010 was still significantly off from 2007.

Commercial isn't better.

The key is multi-family income property not for sale apartments/condos.

Conan, I would agree that Tulsa is doing okay with the granular development.  However, from the architects I talk to they are living on government work, not private sector.  For those firms unable to compete in those arenas its been tough.

I've heard a new development may be sprouting on the east bank of the river near the Creek Turnpike.  Anyone else heard anything along these lines?

Bump.

Just curious if there's been anything new about the property.

How's it coming if at all?

Odds are even Sager gets it finished before the rapture.

The BOk Center was planned, constructed, occupied, lost a tenant, gained a tenant, and became a fixture.  A company will have grown to need, announced, planned, purchased land for,  constructed, and moved into a new sky scrapper before this 6 story building is renovated. Odds are even Sager gets it finished before the rapture.

$30, 975 was budgeted for construction management and administration. Michael and Patricia Sager are listed as construction manager and administrator, but more that double was paid out to them, according to the draw reports: $83,000. Plus, $46,065 was paid out to others listed as construction managers.

Read more: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/2news-takes-a-closer-look-at-an-unfinished-vision-2025-housing-project#ixzz1hIYWeB1i

I'm trying to figure out why, if he is funding a large part of this himself, why he needs to write in a salary for himself and his wife from the seed money.

New year will bring big changes to downtown Tulsa
It will be easier than ever to live, work and play downtown

 
TULSA, Okla. — The year 2012 promises to be a very busy one in downtown Tulsa, with any number of development projects ongoing simultaneously and more on the way.

KRMG sat down with downtown developer Michael Sager, the driving force behind the Blue Dome district.
He spoke enthusiastically about all the projects underway in his part of downtown.

"First Street Lofts have been kind of stuck for a while and we've got it back on track, we're moving forward," he said -- in spite of recent media reports to the contrary.

"We're building a liquor store called "Whisky Business" in the Blue Dome,  and S & J Oyster out of Brookside's coming down, and we've got an artisan bakery going in, we've got a grocery store around the corner," he added. And there was more.

"You know, OU-TU med school's coming," he continued, "Albert G's Barbeque is under construction. Rib Crib says they're coming and they've got a lease in the neighborhood."

That doesn't even take into account all the activity in the Brady Arts District, to the west of Blue Dome.

"American Residential's just about to finish this tremendous project in Brady," Sager said, which is comprised of about 80 lofts.

Another lofts project at Greenwood and Archer has recently overcome some hurdles and will soon break ground. He also mentioned the hotel currently under construction in the Brady District.

Sager also hopes to find a tenant for a unique building located at 2nd and Frankfort. Built in 1931 or '32 to house large truck sales for International Harvester, the building has never been modified, and with 38,000 square feet of room -- all on one floor -- it's unlike any other building in Tulsa.

KRMG asked Sager what kind of business he thinks will go in there. "It is absolutely unique, there's no reason to cut it up into small buildings," he said. "I see design companies. We've had inquiries for major national marketing companies to be placed in the midwest. We're rich with telecom here and all kinds of other things, we're in a Mid-America time zone, you can work either coast and not pay overtime to your employees."

He seemed optimistic for the building's future, and for the downtown area as a whole. "We're all part of the same city here, and it's just terrific."

Would you guys describe Sager as, "the driving force behind Blue Dome District"? Pretty low key, low effectiveness, driver.

Sager says there is no doubt in his mind the project will be completed in a timely manner.

Would you guys describe Sager as, "the driving force behind Blue Dome District"? Pretty low key, low effectiveness, driver.

Blake?  Got an opinion on that?

Boy... you're not kidding.

I was wondering what Blake or Elliot would think about Michael Sager being described as "the driving force behind the Blue Dome district."

LOL

I wonder if he bought this one...

http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A45501

Do a search on his name...

So it became his district when?

I wonder if he bought this one...

http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A45501

TULSA - The downtown Tulsa building that will house the First Street Lofts has a new tenant.
S&J Oyster Bar opened its doors near 1st and Elgin this week.

The opening comes as construction moves along for the rest of the building in the Blue Dome District.

The restaurant was an institution in Brookside for more than 20 years before the owner decided to retire several years ago.

The bar area is almost a replica of the original bar when S&J was located in the current Leon's location in Brookside.   

The new owners told 2NEWS they chose the Blue Dome District because it's an up and coming area with potential to grow.

Michael Sager is the owner of the building and hopes the restaurant's notoriety will help sell the building.

The lofts have been in the works for years and tax dollars have been used to help with construction.

Sager says the economy slowed the progress, but he expects the building will be ready for residential tenants by the summer of 2013.

"It's going to to be $5.5 million by the time we are done," said Sager.  "It grew from a small number of residential units to 23 residential units and it grew from one retail user to three retail users. Every time you touch it keeps moving on up."

The restaurant has hired about 40 people, six of whom worked at the original location.


Read more: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/news/local_news/iconic-restaurant-reopens-in-blue-dome-district#ixzz29ZxZ2ThH

I started to post this in the S&J thread but it seems to be more about Sager's building.

So next summer this time.

Iconic restaurant reopens in downtown Tulsa's Blue Dome District

At the back of a small parking lot across the alley from the long-gone Jacobs Hotel on First Street, I could make out a patio with a barbecue grill, a 1918 headstone from the old hotel and mannequins with differing numbers of arms and legs lounging on the outdoor furniture.
I made my way through a side door into an office area filled with a lot of this and that — sofa, easy chairs, antique stove, barber chair, neon signs, bigger-than-life mannequins, fireplace, bar, books, maps, photos. It was the kind of office one suspects belongs to a free-wheeling personality. It does.
“This is where we do business,” said Michael Sager, in dark-rimmed glasses and wearing an orange dress shirt and jeans.
For more than three decades Sager has been one of the driving forces behind the resurgence of downtown, especially in the Blue Dome District. That resurgence did not come quickly or easily.
Sager said that after graduating from Cascia Hall in 1964, he lived all over the country and traveled the world after founding an international shipping company in California.
“I’ve had family living in Tulsa since 1918, and on a trip home I came across a development opportunity, a 1,000-acre rural subdivision near Bixby,” Sager said. “I sold the shipping business and my house on Manhattan Beach and moved home.”
He said he and two partners purchased the Jacobs Hotel building in 1979. Today it houses S&J Oyster Bar & Seafood Cafe and Whiskey Business liquor store, and eventually will hold the Sager-developed First Street Lofts and another retail space.
“For years we wondered why we ever bought that building,” Sager said. “It was like the Wild West down here.”
The first breakthrough came when his group bought the Patrick Building on Third Street between Detroit and Elgin avenues and founded Carmichael’s restaurant.
“That got some people looking our way, and it was a very good restaurant,” Sager said. “It wasn’t about me; it was the talent. We had people like Kim Michie (Wild Fork), Tom Farrell (Farrell Family Bread), Lola Palazzo (Lola’s Caravan) and Joe Tierney (Progressive Produce and Farm).
“After that, in 1989, I decided to get out of housing real estate and buy all of downtown I could. A partner, Stanley Synar, and I bought the Blue Dome Building, and one thing led to another.
“I felt there was significant building inventory that was abandoned and derelict. I thought I could make it work.
“There were other people, like David Sharp and Glenn Strobel, who had visions for downtown, too, and they’re still actively trying to make a difference. It takes landlords willing to take a risk. It’s expensive to take on an old building that functionally is obsolete.”
He recalls that his first tenant was the “Barnes family from north Tulsa” who opened Good Fellas nightclub at Second Street and Detroit Avenue.
“Every time one person has a tiny bit of success, it opens opportunities for other people,” Sager said. “It’s always a stair-step process. There’s no magic potion, but I’ve always believed entertainment, arts and food are the initial attractions to a new district. Then other things will follow.”
His mother, Patricia, has joined the business after living for 30 years in California. An earthquake wiped out her beach home.
“She said if I found her a home overlooking the river here she would move back,” Sager said.
They both have desks surrounded with books, maps, aerial photos and architect drawings near the front door.
Sager has sold the Blue Dome Building and said he is concentrating his efforts on the First Street Lofts.
“We’ll have 23 lofts for lease, from 780 to 2,000 square feet,” he said. “I wanted all different sizes because I want this to be a neighborhood, and downtown is the core of the city.”
We also asked Sager his thoughts on some more personal matters.
What are you?

... reading, watching or listening to recently?
Reading “Chapman Piloting & Seamanship” as late this summer I shall pilot a trawler named Inspiration from Seattle to Los Angeles. I’m watching Science Channel’s “Strip This City.” Its subject is deconstructing major cities and seeing “what’s under the obvious.”
And, of course, “Chicago Fire.”
... seeing in restaurant development in downtown Tulsa?
Restaurants are the new area generators, not big-box retail stores in a sea of parking. In the downtown area, the equation of diversity of cuisine plus decor equal success. We all eat daily, so all price points and types of food can flourish.
... like to see happen in future general development of downtown?
Recognition that downtown is the cultural hub of Tulsa, which includes new hotels, PAC, BOK Center, ONEOK Field, Folks Urban Market, churches, restaurants and retail stores. Infilling with other local retail stores, plus the residential explosion, all supplement the office environment in making downtown a 24/7 area.
... most likely to choose for your next special-occasion dinner?
Tallgrass Prairie Table at 313 E. Second St.
... loving about living in Tulsa?
The ease of accessing activities of interest, whether Grand Lake, downtown or shopping areas.
... likely to prepare for your favorite meal at home?
Barbecue of some form, brisket or pork shoulder.
... thinking is a perfect night out in Tulsa?
A perfect evening will be the Tulsa Tough races under the lights in the Blue Dome District on June 6, or gather at my “Batcave” on First Street, go for cocktails at Hodges Bend or something like a Bruce Springsteen concert at BOK.

You want to know how I know the Tulsa World is a terrible newspaper?

This sh!t.

You want to know how I know the Tulsa World is a terrible newspaper?

This sh!t.

Say what you will about Sager but he is willing to work with businesses on his properties.  He actually sells his buildings for actual retail.  The reason why these places aren't being used downtown is that they won't let you in if you aren't going to spend $1 million in improvements on their $300,000 building.  Or they are trying to charge 2x for rent what it would cost if I bought the building and got it 100% financed.  Half of blue dome would be dead if somebody else owned those buildings.

Didn't he kick out a certain popular diner restaurant because they refused to make hundreds of thousands in improvements?

Didn't he kick out a certain popular diner restaurant because they refused to make hundreds of thousands in improvements?

Say what you will about Sager but he is willing to work with businesses on his properties.  He actually sells his buildings for actual retail.  The reason why these places aren't being used downtown is that they won't let you in if you aren't going to spend $1 million in improvements on their $300,000 building.  Or they are trying to charge 2x for rent what it would cost if I bought the building and got it 100% financed.  Half of blue dome would be dead if somebody else owned those buildings.

I thought it was because they weren't using half the building (in the back) and if he could get a bar in there he could make a lot more rent on the space?

Tallgrass isn't using the whole space either.