River West Festival Park

[Conan71]

Thanks Conan.  I would love to be on a citizens committee for INCOG, if such a committee existed.  I am on the Tulsa Parks master plan committee..  I'm just worried that "Arkansas River Development" to some means turning the Mid-Con plant into apartments and retail.  I really don't want to see that happen because I think it holds more value to Tulsa as a park/festival space.  Redevelop Westport into higher density apartments/condos first.  River development does not mean creating Riverwalk Crossing in Tulsa, it's building on our existing assets like River Parks and specifically Festival Park which could be a fantastic riverfront park rivaling anything in other cities.  I'm serious, with the view and the right mix of amenities like a new amphitheatre and boathouse and a better overall park design Festival Park could be up there with riverfront parks in Austin, Pittsburgh, Washington, NYC..

**Standing ovation**

Just say "NO" to crappy commercial dryvit dreck on the river banks!

[SXSW]

I would like to see a design competition for the redesign of Festival Park (including the Mid-Con plant) and a redevelopment of Westport.  Something similar to what they have done in Minneapolis:

http://minneapolisriverfrontdesigncompetition.com/

I found an article from Urban Tulsa that is an interesting read.  It is from November 2006 and related to The Channels, but found this nugget regarding the Mid-Con plant and Westport apartments:

On Wed., Nov. 1, the William K. Warren Medical Research Center announced it had signed (more than one year ago) $65 million worth of purchase options for the sites of the Westport on the River Apartments and the Mid-Continent Concrete Co to secure land for the project.

If voters were to approve the $600 million dollars in public funding for the project, the options will be transferred to a public trust to oversee development and revenue for the project.

The agreement to acquire the apartment complex property was signed a year ago but included a confidentiality clause to prevent adverse financial impact on the rental returns of the property.

http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A15254

I wonder if this arrangement could be renewed, and would the Warren's still be interested without The Channels?

[Conan71]

I would like to see a design competition for the redesign of Festival Park (including the Mid-Con plant) and a redevelopment of Westport.  Something similar to what they have done in Minneapolis:

http://minneapolisriverfrontdesigncompetition.com/

I found an article from Urban Tulsa that is an interesting read.  It is from November 2006 and related to The Channels, but found this nugget regarding the Mid-Con plant and Westport apartments:

On Wed., Nov. 1, the William K. Warren Medical Research Center announced it had signed (more than one year ago) $65 million worth of purchase options for the sites of the Westport on the River Apartments and the Mid-Continent Concrete Co to secure land for the project.

If voters were to approve the $600 million dollars in public funding for the project, the options will be transferred to a public trust to oversee development and revenue for the project.

The agreement to acquire the apartment complex property was signed a year ago but included a confidentiality clause to prevent adverse financial impact on the rental returns of the property.

http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A15254

I wonder if this arrangement could be renewed, and would the Warren's still be interested without The Channels?

Something the area has going for it is a teaching hospital and medical school within walking and biking distance, plus the hip factor of living on the river with a fantastic view of downtown.  I have no idea what it would take to get the Warrens or someone else interested again who would be willing to do it without another big tax package. There simply isn't support for it.  Maybe when V-2025 runs out in 2017 (I think that's right) there could be a Vision 2035 package or something like that and put Tulsa's focus on the river while giving other communities what they want at the top of their priority lists.  That's why V-2025 passed as a county-wide tax and the '07 river tax died.

[Townsend]

  That's why the '07 river tax died.

And no explanation that it wasn't "the channels".

That and ultra-donkey ad campaign.  "do it for the children"...

[SXSW]

Something the area has going for it is a teaching hospital and medical school within walking and biking distance, plus the hip factor of living on the river with a fantastic view of downtown.  I have no idea what it would take to get the Warrens or someone else interested again who would be willing to do it without another big tax package. There simply isn't support for it.  Maybe when V-2025 runs out in 2017 (I think that's right) there could be a Vision 2035 package or something like that and put Tulsa's focus on the river while giving other communities what they want at the top of their priority lists.  That's why V-2025 passed as a county-wide tax and the '07 river tax died.

2016 is the year the tax is up for an extension.  Such proposals would hopefully be included.  Now is the time to start the discussion and planning.  If we can't get world-reknown master planners like Minneapolis to get involved in a design competition maybe OU/OSU would be interested?  I would think the Kaiser Foundation also would want to be involved in some capacity..

[SXSW]

If there is indeed a redevelopment of Westport I would hope any new buildings would be taller and closer to the river.  Something modern like this proposal in Milwaukee but on a smaller-scale:



Speaking of Milwaukee, I'm so impressed by all the contemporary design going up there I'm planning a trip this summer to check it out and take pictures.  Really great stuff.

[TheArtist]

 Geesh, I wish we had more modern stuff going in here, but Tulsa's economy is so stagnant and the urban living thing still seems to be slooooow moving here.  Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the new development across from the BOK will be modern.  Architecturally its like Tulsa lost the last decade.  Thank goodness for the BOK Center thats pretty much the only contemporary structure of note in the city that I can think of.  So yes, would love to see something very modern along the river, or anywhere for that matter lol.

[SXSW]

Geesh, I wish we had more modern stuff going in here, but Tulsa's economy is so stagnant and the urban living thing still seems to be slooooow moving here.  Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the new development across from the BOK will be modern.  Architecturally its like Tulsa lost the last decade.  Thank goodness for the BOK Center thats pretty much the only contemporary structure of note in the city that I can think of.  So yes, would love to see something very modern along the river, or anywhere for that matter lol.

Lots of the infill north of Cherry Street is contemporary; some of it is really good and some of it, well, isn't.  There are also several nice contemporary homes in midtown constructed in the past 5 years, 30th & Utica and 29th & Peoria to name a few.  Some of the new development in Brookside such as Center One (aka the white district) and the townhomes behind Starbucks are pretty good examples of contemporary, urban design.  The area around 3rd & Kenosha downtown also has some nice examples.  But I agree there could be much more and hopefully that is what we will see as development picks up.  The west bank could be a great place to showcase modern design.

[Red Arrow]

Lots of the infill north of Cherry Street is contemporary; some of it is really good and some of it, well, isn't.  There are also several nice contemporary homes in midtown constructed in the past 5 years, 30th & Utica and 29th & Peoria to name a few.  Some of the new development in Brookside such as Center One (aka the white district) and the townhomes behind Starbucks are pretty good examples of contemporary, urban design.  The area around 3rd & Kenosha downtown also has some nice examples.  But I agree there could be much more and hopefully that is what we will see as development picks up.  The west bank could be a great place to showcase modern design.

I wonder if any of the new stuff will be around in about 70 or so years to save like we are trying to do with our Deco buildings.  I kind of doubt it.

[SXSW]

This is what I would like to see done with Festival Park and the Mid-Con property...feel free to add or comment:



Amphitheatre would be earth-terraced like Auditorium Shores in Austin, with the current amphitheatre/stage torn down:


The Great Lawn would be an open space for use by festivals and soccer/frisbee/etc., similar to Commons Park in Denver (love this pic btw, you can't engineer where people walk!):


The boathouse could be something like what they have been building in OKC, on the bluff by the current boathouse next to the river access ramp:

[Renaissance]

We gotta get you a personalized SimCity game...  SimTulsa.

[Conan71]

While that would be lovely, the $50mm or whatever the owners want for the concrete plant won't fly easily.  The City and Riverparks have no stake in the boathouse now other than the ground lease.  All improvements TRC has done are via private donations and if it weren't for a handful of very generous donors over the years, there would be no TRC.  The kind of facilities they built in OKC take a great corporate patron.  Interestingly, one of the more senior members of the boathouse has worked as an executive under the Kaiser umbrella for years, yet none of the Kaiser interests or trusts has ever made a significant donation to TRC that I'm personally aware of.  That would be my best bet for a multi-million dollar donor, but if it's not happened in the past 20 years, I don't foresee it now.

[SXSW]

Interestingly, one of the more senior members of the boathouse has worked as an executive under the Kaiser umbrella for years, yet none of the Kaiser interests or trusts has ever made a significant donation to TRC that I'm personally aware of.  That would be my best bet for a multi-million dollar donor, but if it's not happened in the past 20 years, I don't foresee it now.

The Kaiser-funded RiverParks and Turkey Mtn improvements didn't happen until the past few years.  Now that Turkey Mtn and the new dual trails are almost complete the foundation is looking at redevelopment of the Crow Creek apartments and Blair property, both by the river.  Their main initiatives seem to be the river and Brady District projects (Brady Green, Visual Arts Center, streetscaping).  I'm hoping that their next signature project is the west bank and it's preserved as an urban, waterfront festival park before it's turned into Riverwalk Crossing-Tulsa...

[Hoss]

This is what I would like to see done with Festival Park and the Mid-Con property...feel free to add or comment:



Amphitheatre would be earth-terraced like Auditorium Shores in Austin, with the current amphitheatre/stage torn down:


The Great Lawn would be an open space for use by festivals and soccer/frisbee/etc., similar to Commons Park in Denver (love this pic btw, you can't engineer where people walk!):


The boathouse could be something like what they have been building in OKC, on the bluff by the current boathouse next to the river access ramp:

Have to buy out two properties south of your Playground Area label and South parking lot label.  MidCon doesn't own those.  One of those properties I worked at from 1994-2002 (Bender Direct Mail).  Not sure who owns the other.  At the time I worked for Bender, it was Rodgers Litho.

[Hoss]

Two files attached; one is a straight map copied with property boundaries; the other is the same boundary map more inline with your satellite imagery.  The blue pin indicates the MidCon property, the darker outlined boundary indicates my former employer.  Looks like the Rodgers family still owns the two parcels to the south of that.  Not saying I don't like your idea, just clarifying that Midcon doesn't own that whole parcel from the Riverparks south on Jackson to 23rd.  Plus, there's a RR track that runs N/S on the west boundary of the MidCo property line.