TW: Stadium Trust Eyes Property

[DowntownNow]

JCnOwasso..I can say that the $2.3 million acquisition figure (not including the 307 E. Brady site - Bed Check Building) is accurate based on what I know the other 3 parcels sold for.  

The question here really is this...did the owners of the properties know before entering into contracts or options that the ballpark was being located in the vicinity?  I'd be willing to bet that the majority did not but that's my supposition.  

Beyond that, and to answer Grizzles statement...is there money to be squeezed out of this deal by anyone?  Well lets look at it this way.  You have the George Kaiser Family Foundation purchasing the properties to sell at cost to the Trust.  BOK's President Lybarger (BOK is owned by Kaiser) sits on the Trust.  BOK is providing the financial capital for the Tulsa Community Foundation to purchase the construciton bonds at an interest rate of 6%...6% on a $25 million note, for let's say 25 years, amounts to $23.3 million in interest being paid to BOK.

Now you move forward to the redevelopment of this area.  BOK could stand to step in if unopposed (a distinct conflict of interest if not present already in the bond) and offer the construction financing to a group that is hand picked by the Trust to develop the area.

Look at the way the bonds were put out.  Out of 16+ entities that the bond package was supposedly submitted to, only 2 replied.  JP Morgan Chase replied that they were not interested given the terms under which the bond package was written (by the Trust).  Same thing was stated by an investment firm out of Oklahoma City.  Weeks before, the Trust had asked the Council permission to look at a third party foundation for financing "if" no one responded given the market conditions...please, it wasnt the market conditions..it was the language of the offering.  The Trust knew this ahead of time, why else ask for the Council's permission ahead of time?  Why also have the Tulsa Community Foundation already in line with Manhattan Construction since July?  

This entire scenario was already planned, the pieces put in place...there's no other way to account for the Manhattan/TCF link in July'08, the double submittal for construction bids that Manhattan was the only one to respond after the other two were told already that they wouldn receive after the first bid, and the construction bond package terms.  The timing of these things when you look at it leaves no other room.

[perspicuity85]

quote:Originally posted by DowntownNow

The BOK Center was also supposed to encourage and spur new and continued economic growth and re-development but where is that?  Those restaurants that are within proximity are struggling, residential mixed use is just getting off the ground after struggles, there is no connectivity between the areas of public investment.



Some will argue "what about the Mayo Hotel, the Mayo Building, Philtower, First Street Lofts, Atlas?"  The Mayo buildings were already in the development process and simply struggled for years to find the foothold they needed for financing.  The Philtower is located in the Core and took advantage of, not the BOK Center for its business plan, but the Core Business district.  The Atlas is also relying on the Core business district and not the BOK Center or Ballpark for its bulk of business.  The First Street Lofts are simply struggling to be completed with no definitive date in sight and after receiving Vision2025 public funding.  Kanbar's large portfolio of properties remain lil more occupied or re-developed than when the bought them.  

You're missing the whole point.  These type of public investments (BOk Center specifically) are self-fulfilling prophecies.  The BOk Center was largely responsible for investors' assumptions that Downtown Tulsa is in the midst of a renaissance.  Then, in turn, the assumptions elicit actions on the part of investors.  In fact, expected returns are mathematically quantifiable factors that affect the price of almost any investment, including real estate.  Vision 2025, although flawed in some instances, certainly shifted demand for downtown property investment positive.

Yes, some of the restaurants and retail stores are struggling, but have you not noticed that we are in a huge recession here?  The retail sector in general is struggling.  Hell, Wal-Mart just laid off 800 corporate-level workers a couple of weeks ago!  Technically, restaurants are also retail businesses because they deliver finished goods to the final consumer.

Lastly, I don't think you can argue that properties such as the Atlas Life are relying on the core business district for business and not the BOk Center.  The place doesn't have to have to be connected by skybridge, human cannon, or zip line to be in the same trading area.  Every downtown hotel relies on both business activities in the core business district as well as entertainment activities in the BOk Center, PAC, Civic Ctr, Cain's, and Brady Theatre.  The BOk Center compliments the existing core business district, and vice versa.

That being said, don't miss-quote me.  I'll take private investment over public investment any day.  However, I do think large-scale targeted public investment is sometimes necessary to facilitate private investment.  Streetscaping and light fixtures are important too, but they alone will not revive a dying area, which Downtown Tulsa most certainly was just a few years ago.  The key to enabling private investment in a specific area is to shift demand for the area to the positive.  Once that's done, you can tidy up with your complimentaries-- streetscaping, transit, etc.

[Rico]

Pasteurized....



And Homogenized................

"We all need a family friendly formula for the Arts District." You know a place for a Library, a Museum, a place we can call exciting. A little piece of "Downtown life," living on the edge.

Thanks to the Ballpark Trust we will have just that... and good press spin coverage to boot.

So grab your paint concealer and let's get to work on cleaning up every square inch!

[TheArtist]

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