Kendall-Whittier

[carltonplace]

From the Tulsa World:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/tulsa-public-schools-forum-to-gather-input-on-sale-of/article_a4f3e812-dbf4-5623-806e-abae00bb30a9.html

Tulsa Public Schools forum to gather input on sale of Whittier school site

Two potential buyers are expected to share their plans.

The school district has received offers for the site at 68 N. Lewis Ave. from two prospective buyers — QuikTrip Corp., which would like to build a store on the property, and Vintage Housing Inc., with plans to construct an apartment building for senior citizens.

The forum is set for 5:30 p.m. Monday in the auditorium of Sequoyah Elementary School, 724 N. Birmingham Ave. Representatives of both potential buyers are expected to share details about their plans with interested community members.

It seems like QT is just looking for main streets that they can insert car oriented stores into.

[carltonplace]

And QT back out after the neighbors put their support behind the housing development.

[BuiltRight]

And QT back out after the neighbors put their support behind the housing development.

I'm glad to hear that QT has backed out, I live south of TU and the last thing we need is another QT around here. Dont get me wrong, I love QT but we currently have four with in a mile and a half of my house. I would much rather a housing development  go in and hopefully  they will tie in some of the architectural features from Whittier Square.

[carltonplace]

There is much to like about QT: they are good to their employees and they are local and they give to Tulsa

But there are things they can do better: 1. Stop leaving discarded husks behind when they move locations 2. Work with neighborhoods rather than against them 3. Develop an urban design to blend into the streetscape (Brookside, Pearl District, if they build downtown) rather than detract from it.

[dsjeffries]

But there are things they can do better: 1. Stop leaving discarded husks behind when they move locations 2. Work with neighborhoods rather than against them 3. Develop an urban design to blend into the streetscape (Brookside, Pearl District, if they build downtown) rather than detract from it.

They do all of those things when required to by other cities (see Phoenix) where they're not perceived as a darling corporate citizen. They build nice things in other cities because they're not entrenched in other cities' politics. Here, because of their political ($) pull, they do as they wish, unchecked. The money they donate to causes in Tulsa DOES NOT outweigh the way they deal with neighborhoods, the BOA, TMAPC and City Council. Kum & Go (an Iowa corporation, by the way) is a much better corporate citizen than QuikTrip because it is respectful of local ordinances, neighborhoods and design requirements, and they are generally more thoughtful in designing their stores to begin with.

[carltonplace]

Thanks for saying that. I just didn't want to be perceived as dumping on the local darling.

[dsjeffries]

Thanks for saying that. I just didn't want to be perceived as dumping on the local darling.

Someone needs to, so I'll gladly do it. I don't spend money at companies who demonstrate the kinds of bullying tactics and qualities QT exhibits. I get told often I'm not a real Oklahoman because I don't support QT, but I believe as much as QT does that money talks, and I'd rather support a company who treats my community and neighbors with respect.


Now let's look at the plans for senior housing. Has anyone seen renderings or maps? I hope what Vintage Housing (LIFE Senior Services) is proposing is better than what they've built in Skiatook, Jenks, Coweta, West Tulsa, East Tulsa, North Tulsa, Collinsville, Sapulpa, Bixby, Owasso, and Broken Arrow.

They're all the same cookie-cutter suburban-style apartment complexes.
Same floorplan, same number of units, same number of parking spaces.
Nearly identical down to the windows.
Not walkable.
Not exactly the type of homes where a person can age in place.

Senior apartments we're likely to get (Kenosha Landing in Broken Arrow):



Senior apartments we should ask for (Geneva Place in Geneva, Illinois):

[rdj]

An official with GKFF told me months ago they had an interest in housing on this block...no idea if this was the housing he intended.  That said, if GKFF is involved I would think it'll be quality and could be similar to what they built a few blocks south.

Is Ed Sharrer involved in this planning at all as ED of the KW Association?

[AquaMan]

Looks like a good decision for all involved. I only regret that the label "Kendall-Whittier" has stuck with this area. I grew up at 4th and Lewis in a housing addition built in the 1920's and named Hillcrest after the nearby hospital. We spent much time around Whittier Square (Tulsa's first suburban shopping center!). It was Whittier grade school for nearly 90 years and Kendall was a separate school associated with Kendall College a few years later.

Only about a decade ago did TPS combine the two and build a newer school. I still think of it as Whittier Square not Kendall/Whittier Square.

[Hoss]

Looks like a good decision for all involved. I only regret that the label "Kendall-Whittier" has stuck with this area. I grew up at 4th and Lewis in a housing addition built in the 1920's and named Hillcrest after the nearby hospital. We spent much time around Whittier Square (Tulsa's first suburban shopping center!). It was Whittier grade school for nearly 90 years and Kendall was a separate school associated with Kendall College a few years later.

Only about a decade ago did TPS combine the two and build a newer school. I still think of it as Whittier Square not Kendall/Whittier Square.

I have a cousin who grew up in that area (well, partly in that area) at the 700 block of South Yorktown.  Just a stone's throw from Marshall Brewing.

See what I did there?

[AquaMan]

He lived on my paper route. Tulsa Tribune. There was a neat little drugstore nearby that still had a fountain and snake oil package drugs from the 20's. 6th street was the main drag to downtown from the new TU neighborhoods.

[Hoss]

He lived on my paper route. Tulsa Tribune. There was a neat little drugstore nearby that still had a fountain and snake oil package drugs from the 20's. 6th street was the main drag to downtown from the new TU neighborhoods.

Yeah, his house was built exactly like the home I lived in up until I was about six at 1430 S Elgin (no longer there because of the IDL).  Only home I ever lived in with a basement.  Floor plan on their house was exactly the same.  Guessing they were built in similar eras.

[Townsend]

Hmmm, awnings, sidewalks, obvious crosswalks with no cars parked on them, no Walmart parking or place for a QT in front of it.  This can't be built legally in Tulsa.

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

In March, Hoot Owl Coffee opened on the northeast corner of Lewis Avenue and Admiral Boulevard in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood.

Since opening six months ago, Calaveras Mexican Restaurant is already planning to expand its restaurant, which sits on the southwest corner of Lewis Avenue and Admiral Boulevard, into the adjoining storefront to its south. The expansion will allow for additional seating and a larger kitchen.

"We're taking meetings with prospective tenants every day," says Ed Sharrer, executive director of Kendall Whittier Main Street, "sometimes several meetings a day," due to the growing popularity of the area.

Sharrer attributes the renewed interest in the district to the resurgence of downtown Tulsa.

In particular, the area has seen a recent influx of creative businesses, including artists, photographers, filmmakers and architects. "Generally speaking, if you make or create something, the emerging creative corridor between downtown and the University of Tulsa is where you want to locate," he says.

Sharrer promises a number of soon-to-come development announcements (up to 12 projects are currently under discussion). Some of those businesses are expected to occupy the storefronts south of Circle Cinema, including the southernmost storefront at the corner of Lewis Avenue and 1st Street, which was the longtime home of Swinney Hardware.

"In another year, this area is going to look entirely different," he says.


http://gtrnews.com/greater-tulsa-reporter/13447/area-districts-see-development

[carltonplace]

wow, a real life example of a revitalized urban core becoming the engine for growth in surrounding neighborhoods. I've heard somewhere on the interwebs that this could happen.




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