Brady District

[Red Arrow]

And thats perfectly fine.  Downtown and urban environments can't be for everyone any more than suburban sprawl can be for everyone (some, most, however you want to put it).  The only thing Tulsa is trying to do is balance things out a teeentsy bit more so that instead of us having 99% plus suburbia, that your gonna have to take whether you like it or not, and about 1% urban.  We might instead have "gasp" 95% suburbia and 5% urban.

And I hope you get your 5% or even more.  I freely admit there are advantages to living near a city.  Who knows, if the urban areas in Tulsa develop into something I want to visit, I might even be willing to pay for parking.  That won't happen without enough people living downtown or close by to keep those businesses alive.  Downtown cannot survive on suburbanites alone.  The BOK Center and the ballpark cannot (presently) survive without suburban visitors.  I just hope that the attitude does not deveolp that downtown does not want suburban visitors.  Just to keep things clear, I consider most of the residential areas within the Tulsa City limits to be suburban in nature.  I am not just talking about Bixby, Jenks, Owasso, Broken Arrow, Sapulpa, Glenpool when I say suburbia.

[Jeff P]

That garage that's being expanded on First by the Jazz Depot, I'm not sure that place is even open on weekends. It's not used for off-hours parking. Open that on weekends and you've just added a ridiculous amount of parking to an area with no shortage of parking. That garage is three-four blocks from any downtown attraction.

FYI - I'm fairly certain the North Garage is typically opened up after hours on big event nights.

And I think I heard that the plan will be for it to be opened up regularly after hours once the expansion is done.

[TheTed]

Free parking and a good downtown are mutually exclusive concepts, aren't they? I travel a lot. I always spend lots of time in a city's downtown. I can't think of one city with a lively downtown where you don't have to pay a few bucks for parking to go out for dinner/drinks.

Even the places that validate parking in other cities are usually the kind of boring suburban chain places that I'd avoid.

And I spend quite a bit of time in the Brady District. The biggest annoyance for me is 75% of sidewalks in the area are non-existent right now. There are a couple places where the sidewalks on both sides of the street are closed. I don't think that should be legal. When you see construction in a major city like New York, they always courdon off an area for pedestrians with scaffolding. Here, you either walk in the street or take a different route.

[Red Arrow]

Free parking and a good downtown are mutually exclusive concepts, aren't they?

I found a free spot on the street in (near?) the Gas Light District of San Diego a few years ago.  I was just about to leave and go back to Mission Valley and have dinner in some suburban chain.  I was only in the area for a week so I only went downtown once.  I did go to the Mission Beach area twice for dinner.  Not urban downtown but I actually liked it more.  Oh, and parking was free.

Edit:
I almost forgot.  I went to Memphis, TN a few years ago with some friends to a convention.  We were staying in the hotel next to the convention center.  One night we went for ribs at one of the famous places you enter from an alley.  My friend with the car wanted to drive. I think those who did drive found some free street parking.  I talked my friends into taking the trolley. 

[DowntownDan]

I think it would be a good idea for the Brady business owners to find a way to work with the Williams north garage to stay open 24/7 with some security.  Work something out so that parking is free or very cheap ($2-3 max).  The "center of the universe" bridge is a perfect gateway to the Brady.  Everything is within a few blocks walking distance from the garage.  If surface parking is going to vanish from the Brady, they need to be prepared to cater to cars.  It's the reality of Tulsa and it will not change.  Need to accept it and find a way to best cater to cars without destroying the dense downtown neighborhood they are trying to create.

[TheArtist]

  No, I am not buying it.  People will walk and or begin to take transit if you have a really great pedestrian friendly experience.

People will treck all the way to Eureka Springs Arkansas to walk along those streets, up and down steep hills, looking at pretty lame shops for the most part really,,, but what a neat street it is.  They will fly all the way to Florida, then pay good money to walk around Disneys Main Street and other "mythical" streets.  I had more fun walking along NYCs streets last time I was there, which again shows someone, aka me, spending a lot of effort and time, and some bucks to walk along some great streets.  

You can create average, or you can create superb.  And if we create superb, people will get here one way or the other.  I don't want Tulsa to be average. Average can kiss my arse.  NOT gonna have it if I can help it.   

[Townsend]

 No, I am not buying it.  People will walk and or begin to take transit if you have a really great pedestrian friendly experience.

People will treck all the way to Eureka Springs Arkansas to walk along those streets, up and down steep hills, looking at pretty lame shops for the most part really,,, but what a neat street it is.  They will fly all the way to Florida, then pay good money to walk around Disneys Main Street and other "mythical" streets.  I had more fun walking along NYCs streets last time I was there, which again shows someone, aka me, spending a lot of effort and time, and some bucks to walk along some great streets.  

You can create average, or you can create superb.  And if we create superb, people will get here one way or the other.  I don't want Tulsa to be average. Average can kiss my arse.  NOT gonna have it if I can help it.   

Harumph Harumph Harumph

[TheArtist]

Harumph Harumph Harumph

Eeeexactly lol.

Have a feeling we might not get a harumph from Arrow though lol

[Red Arrow]

Eeeexactly lol.

Have a feeling we might not get a harumph from Arrow though lol

Harumph..

My largest complaint about pay parking is there is no other way to get downtown.  I have acknowledged that there is presently adequate free on street parking after 5 PM or whatever the magic time is.  Pay for parking makes me feel like my business is not wanted.  Give me a viable alternative like a park and ride, or better yet a trolley running up Memorial from Bixby (I can walk a half mile), and I might be a more frequent visitor to downtown.  I could have 2 or 3 beers, not be ripped but also not worry about blowing a .081 for Tulsa's or Bixby's finest.  I am not going to hold my breath waiting.

[Townsend]

Brady TIF Article in TW:

In 1993, when the city introduced "tax increment financing" in the Brady District, officials described it as the spark that would ignite downtown revitalization.

And now, 18 years later, redevelopment is raging through the Brady District, where more than $80 million in construction is either under way or planned for the near future.

Of course, downtown Tulsa has seen a few other sparks, too - most spectacularly the BOK Center and ONEOK Field.

Should Vision 2025 and the new Drillers stadium take credit for the Brady District's recent success? Or did the TIF really work after all?

"It's a short question," said Tulsa city planner Dennis Whitaker, "but a long answer."

Private investment feeds off itself, with one successful development encouraging the next, until it builds into a wave of revitalization.

The revitalization, in turn, will pour tax receipts into the TIF that will help fund more improvements.

"The chicken-and-egg question never seems to get resolved," Whitaker said. "Private investment is being drawn by the buzz and the energy in that part of downtown.

"And the TIF was part of creating and sustaining that buzz."

The first such district in Tulsa, the Brady TIF was originally set to expire in 2008. But the city extended it to 2018 because it wasn't generating as much revenue as expected.

"It has taken this long to accumulate a useful amount of money," said Tom Wallace, a property owner in the Brady District.

TIFs are designed to be revenue-neutral. The city continues to collect the same amount of sales tax from the area, and the school district reaps the same property taxes.

The TIF siphons off any increase in tax revenues, setting aside the additional funds for use within the district itself.

It collects money only as fast as the tax receipts grow, so a district needs to see some revitalization before the TIF can begin generating money to help sustain that revitalization.

Until then, a TIF remains mostly symbolic, a token of a city's commitment to revitalization, Wallace said. But sometimes, a token is enough.

"The TIF was certainly a motivator in my decision to invest in downtown," said Wallace, who renovated a derelict warehouse into a corporate headquarters for Wallace Engineering.

"I knew, sooner or later, the neighborhood would get a little help from this pool of money."

To date, the TIF has collected $2.53 million, averaging just over $140,500 a year.

The district has spent $1.1 million, including $687,000 for sidewalk improvements near Cain's Ballroom.

More than $200,000 paid for a series of computer-controlled searchlights that were supposed to attract attention to the area.

"I'm not sure that was the best use of the money," Wallace said. "We need to be more pragmatic."

A few years ago, Brady District business owners began discussing better ways to invest the money. And they recently settled on a new approach.

Starting last month, the TIF now provides matching grants for property owners who agree to upgrade sidewalks and landscaping in front of their businesses.

To receive the money, property owners must foot 60 percent of the bill themselves and agree to follow guidelines that will give the sidewalks a cohesive look from block to block.

"Give us 12 months, and you'll see what a difference the TIF is making," Wallace said. "It will do more in the next 12 months than in the last 12 years."

The Tribune Lofts, the renovated Matthews Warehouse and the forthcoming KOTV studios, along with several smaller businesses, will take advantage of the streetscaping grants, he said.

Without the TIF, "would people continue to invest down here?" Wallace asked.

"I think they would. But would they do it at the same level of quality? I'm almost certain they wouldn't."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20111117_11_A1_CUTLIN887658

[DTowner]

The T World article raises an interesting question – how big a role has the TIF played?  I t hink the TIF's impact has been minimal up to now, but could really help going forward.  I find it hard to believe the Brady District would be so filled with construction projects right now but for the BOK Center and Oneok Field.  I'm not even sure Oneok Field would exist downtown but for the BOK Center.

I moved to Tulsa in 1997 and the Brady District was being touted as Tulsa's answer to OKC's Bricktown.  Unfortunately, at that time it pretty much consisted of the Cain's (pre a/c), the Brady, Caz's, Snooty Fox, Spaghetti Warehouse and Mexicali.  Not exactly a bustling entertainment district.  In 1997 Mayor Savage's first of two arena + projects was about to be defeated by voters and Tulsa was barely treading water with respect to downtown development.  71st & Memorial was being highlighted by the "in the know" crowd as Tulsa's real hub of commerce and entertainment.

I'm sure the Brady would have plugged along with some new development, but how many were really going to take a big chance in a part of town in which the citizens weren't willing to make a public investment?  It's worth pondering why Elliot Nelson did not open McNellies in the Brady District.  The TIF wasn't raising much money and, as such, wasn't having much impact (search lights!).  Vision 2025 changed all that, in my opinion.  Whether out of foresight or desperation, Tulsans finally decided to make a large public investment in downtown.  That investment changed everything and started the ball really rolling and it's still gaining speed.

[HeyMambo]

The city started re striping Archer this weekend. Should add some more parallel parking on Archer. We are working with the BOK about the use of their east and west lots on Archer for use during events and the weekends. Should know more in a week or so.

Thanks

Scott Moore

[TheTed]

The city started re striping Archer this weekend. Should add some more parallel parking on Archer. We are working with the BOK about the use of their east and west lots on Archer for use during events and the weekends. Should know more in a week or so.

Thanks

Scott Moore

Not sure how I feel about this. Archer was a designated bike route, wasn't it? The fact that it was four lanes made it more comfortable for cycling without feeling like you were impeding traffic. And even with four lanes, I still got my share of angry, honking, gesturing drivers who were highly offended by having to change lanes to pass me.

Shouldn't there be some kind of review process to change a bike route to a street that's not so bike friendly?

[dbacks fan]

You could check the agenda for the next meetings of the COT, and if there is something you see that you don't like, contact the council and voice your opinion, find out if there will be a public discussion session before a ruling and bring it up.

[carltonplace]

Three walls are up at the KOTV site, tribune lofts expansion is all but complete, ground work is happening at the fairview and the Brady park and the pad at Brady Park is being poured for the restaurant.