old city hall... sell sell sell!

[cannon_fodder]

http://krmg.com/liveweb/mobile/feeds/display.html?cat_id=322&guid=http://krmg.com/localnews/2010/03/snyder-family-offering-the-cit.html

Snyder family wants to turn it into a 200 hotel and the old counsel chambers into a restaurant.  $30mil renovation with no public money or stupid requests (move the bus station).

Sell sell sell!

/hope tda doesn't get involved and I hope they didn't screw us on the other development by moving too slow

[sgrizzle]

I'm surprised they're keeping it. Hope the renovations mean a looks upgrade to the buildings and the plaza.

I believe maintenance and upkeep is close to a million a year, so sell this and the city budget will miraculously look better.

[sgrizzle]

/hope tda doesn't get involved and I hope they didn't screw us on the other development by moving too slow

Keep hoping:

Bunney said the city could make the sale through two processes — a direct sale, which would require sealed bids, or by deeding the property to a city authority, such as the Tulsa Industrial Authority or the Tulsa Development Authority, to negotiate the sale.

He said he would push for using an authority because it could put together a contract to ensure that the developer completes the plan.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20100311_11_A1_Thecit704743

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[RecycleMichael]

I like these TulsaWorld comment section postings...

"How can the city do this? I would think the city does not actually own these buildings.
Reeks of Kathy Taylor, et al. Remember she was going to sell off Paige Belcher golf course."

"There goes all the courthouse parking. . . Where do they expect people who have business at the courthouse to park?"

"a million bucks....wow. what was it assessed at? That sounds pretty low. At least families of criminals will have a place to stay close to their family in jail. and with the city library as a nearby major attraction, out of town visitors will get a real taste of tulsa firsthand when the first panhandler approaches them."

[Conan71]

Keep TDA as far from this as possible.  As far as the offer, I think it's appropriate considering the amount of re-hab/re-purposing required and what it would mean to have 200 more hotel rooms in downtown.  Unload the damn thing.

[SXSW]

I'll be interested to see their plans but I like that they are renovating instead of tearing down.  Maybe the plaza and its fountains can be restored as well.  The Civic Center is a good example of mid-century modern that I would hate to see demolished.  

One argument against redeveloping the City Hall property has been where will the convention center expand when it needs more space one of these days?  Well with a potential hotel at City Hall maybe the current library can be used for more convention center space and a new library built somewhere else downtown.  That way you don't have to demolish anything just fix what we already have.

Pic from moderntulsa.net, big advocates for preserving the Civic Center

[sgrizzle]

Library plans to move anyway, but it is on the opposite side of the convention center from the city hall building. The convention center can expand west if it needs to. Tearing down the post office would give some possible additional space, although I'm hope for more of a promenade that a building once it goes. Another option would be to expand the plaza over 4th with skybridges over 3rd to the BOK Center and over frisco to the convention center parkade.

[we vs us]

This was exciting news around the watercooler here today.  The big question:  why are people piddling around with small hotels?  More rooms are more rooms, granted, but putting together a larger convention solution piecemeal makes selling to groups that want a one-stop shop very difficult.  ie.  if the AMA wants to house all 4000 of their attendees in the hotel where they're holding their convention, it ain't happening downtown.  It'd still take as many as three hotels to do the job.

[JeffM]

Well, Tulsa has about as much shot at hosting the AMA as we do the Summer Olympics.... c'mon guys, think more about local, state, and regional... not national...

[SXSW]

Library plans to move anyway, but it is on the opposite side of the convention center from the city hall building. The convention center can expand west if it needs to. Tearing down the post office would give some possible additional space, although I'm hope for more of a promenade that a building once it goes. Another option would be to expand the plaza over 4th with skybridges over 3rd to the BOK Center and over frisco to the convention center parkade.

The convention center parkade could always move if it had to and another garage built in a different location.  

[Hoss]

The convention center parkade could always move if it had to and another garage built in a different location.  

That's just not gonna happen after the renovation it just went through.  Not without a fight I'm pretty sure.

[Conan71]

Well, Tulsa has about as much shot at hosting the AMA as we do the Summer Olympics.... c'mon guys, think more about local, state, and regional... not national...

Well said...

Along the lines of the MCM nature of City Hall, I'm a huge MCM afficionado, but I've always thought old city hall looked like it was built with a "Girder & Panel" building set.  I had one of these when I was a kid:

[Hoss]

Well said...

Along the lines of the MCM nature of City Hall, I'm a huge MCM afficionado, but I've always thought old city hall looked like it was built with a "Girder & Panel" building set.  I had one of these when I was a kid:

OMG.  I had one too, with the blue plastic girders and cheesy snap-on exterior panels.  I used to make these monstrosities and my parents were convinced I'd be an architect.

Back to the topic...

[SXSW]

This was exciting news around the watercooler here today.  The big question:  why are people piddling around with small hotels?  More rooms are more rooms, granted, but putting together a larger convention solution piecemeal makes selling to groups that want a one-stop shop very difficult.  ie.  if the AMA wants to house all 4000 of their attendees in the hotel where they're holding their convention, it ain't happening downtown.  It'd still take as many as three hotels to do the job.

This 200 room hotel and the 120 room hotel proposed as part of the One Place development at 3rd & Cheyenne, along with the recently opened Mayo and the Courtyard opening in June, will make a significant dent in available rooms downtown.  I'd like to see more vacant historic buildings converted to hotels.  The old motel where Coney Island is would make an interesting smaller, boutique hotel and from what I've heard there is a group looking to do just that.

[Conan71]

This 200 room hotel and the 120 room hotel proposed as part of the One Place development at 3rd & Cheyenne, along with the recently opened Mayo and the Courtyard opening in June, will make a significant dent in available rooms downtown.  I'd like to see more vacant historic buildings converted to hotels.  The old motel where Coney Island is would make an interesting smaller, boutique hotel and from what I've heard there is a group looking to do just that.

I want to see the May Rooms restored to their original purpose.  That ought to "stimulate" tourism downtown.