Downtown Development Overview

[LandArchPoke]

Is that Residence Inn at 5th & Boulder by Anish Hotels still happening?  It looks like they've laid the foundation but I walk by there all the time and never see anyone on the site...  The construction fence has literally fallen over and nobody has even set it back up.

There has been people walking around on this site the last several days again finally. I'm assuming it's probably a timing issue of when they can start going vertical/bringing in materials for staging until the YMCA project wraps up - which that date has been pushed back, and pushed back, and pushed back. That's my best guess.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Fifth Street extension opens downtown at Civic Center plaza
The long-planned and long-awaited Fifth Street extension into the Civic Center plaza will open to traffic Friday afternoon.
The project has been looked at for years to give better access to the plaza's Tulsa County Courthouse, Aloft Tulsa Downtown Hotel and Tulsa Central Library, which also has a long-awaited grand re-opening that is still pending.
The West Fifth Street extension is a two-way, two-lane concrete street with a roundabout at Elwood Avenue, according to a press release.
The roadway is built above the existing parking garage and has five-minute parking drop-off areas in front of the courthouse and library, according to the release.
Driveways connected to the road also lead to a new parking garage for the library and the Aloft hotel.
As part of the $5.9 million project, the supporting columns underneath the plaza have been strengthened to support traffic including fire trucks.
The project was funded through multiple sources including the city, the 2008 Fix Our Streets tax package, Tulsa County, Tulsa City-County Library and the Aloft Hotel.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/fifth-street-extension-opens-downtown-at-civic-center-plaza/article_133f0a3a-ed7c-54eb-b957-b57b60e15adc.html

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Open records claim complicates OKPOP, office building developments

An 8-year-old dispute between a Tulsa builder and the Tulsa Development Authority could put the skids to plans for the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture and a competing proposal for city-owned land near ONEOK Field.
Will Wilkins, his mother Cecilia Wilkins and their companies Novus Homes and W3 Development, have asked a Tulsa County District Court judge to void actions stemming from an April 7 request for proposal issued by TDA.
The suit could delay a decision on about a half-block on North Elgin Avenue, between Archer and Brady streets, and could put a proposal by the Wilkinses back into play.
The April 7 action resulted in two proposals, both of which were heard at TDA's July meeting. The Oklahoma Historical Society wants to build the so-called OKPOP museum on the site, while Houston developer Michael Smith envisions a nine-story commercial building.
The Wilkinses are challenging the process by which those proposals were solicited, and ultimately want their own plans for the property reconsidered.
The city and the Wilkinses have wrangled over the site since 2008, when efforts to build a downtown ballpark shifted abruptly from an area several blocks south to the current location.
At that time, the TDA canceled a contract with the Wilkinses to develop the property, and said it and other real estate surrounding the ballpark would be bought up by a trust formed for that purpose.
The Wilkinses sued the city and then-mayor Kathy Taylor, charging that Taylor improperly intervened in TDA decisions related to the property. The Wilkinses' lawsuit prevented the ballpark trust from acquiring the surrounding land as planned, and a 2013 settlement included a stipulation that the Wilkinses' be granted another development contract for the site.
In late 2015, according to court documents, the TDA notified the Wilkinses they were in default of that agreement, and in March voted to terminate it.
The Wilkinses disputed the default finding, and were granted a hearing on April 7 to present financing arrangements for a $25 million mixed-use development.
The TDA rejected the proposal, and voted to issue a new request for proposals for the property.
The Wilkinses' suit alleges that vote violated the state Open Records Act because it was not listed as a potential action item on that day's agenda.
The agenda did include an item for possible action authorizing TDA staff to prepare a request for proposal on the property.
"Our ultimate goal is to hold the TDA accountable," Will Wilkins said Thursday. "We want the earlier actions invalidated, and we want to make them do it the right way."
By voting to issue requests for proposals instead of authorizing staff to prepare RFPs, Wilkins said, the TDA effectively shortened the process by at least a month and caught potential developers off-guard.
Wilkins declined to say whether he thought the move was intended to aid the OKPOP project, but in 2008 he had strong words for the George Kaiser Family Foundation and other nonprofit organizations that essentially ramrodded the ballpark project.
The same coalition is supportive of OKPOP, although its precise participation is unclear.
Some $25 million in state revenue bonds have been pledged to the museum.
Representatives of the TDA did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/open-records-claim-complicates-okpop-office-building-developments/article_02a3b43d-6cc5-5eda-a8e5-c37bc97a3c0c.html

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Opening of Tulsa's renovated Central Library within sight as preparations begin
Preparations begin for main facility downtown to reopen after update.

Patrons of the Tulsa City-County Library will see some changes in the next month as preparations begin for the reopening of the Central Library on Oct. 1.
Since the Central Library closed in the fall of 2013 for renovation, the Librarium at 11th Street and Denver Avenue has served as temporary housing for a downtown branch. Collection materials will be moved from the Librarium on Aug. 22, but it will remain open for computer access and pickup of hold items.
The Librarium will officially close at 5 p.m. Sept. 2.
The $55 million Central Library is set to be the jewel of the city-county library system, with improvements ranging from energy-saving utility systems to expanded learning centers and a Starbucks coffee shop. The funding came from $25 million in property taxes and other public funding, and the rest from private donors.
Other changes during the transition of moving into the new library are:
Genealogy Center will be located at Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
The Research Center is not available. Library officials suggest patrons with research needs call the AskUs Hotline at 918-549-7323 for information or check with the McFarlin Library at the University of Tulsa.
Unrelated to the Central Library move is the temporary closing of the Peggy Helmerich Library, 5131 E. 91st St., for renovation. The facility is expected to be shut down for several weeks. Items placed on hold to that location will be moved to the Hardesty Regional Library.
The Oct. 1 grand opening of the Central Library will feature family activities such as musical performances, interactive learning centers for children and demonstrations of the digital learning lab and the maker-space area.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/opening-of-tulsa-s-renovated-central-library-within-sight-as/article_0ce2141b-5e38-55be-80c1-d491bdd1c793.html

Finally! Another Tulsa construction project that took far longer than it should have. 3 years is just ridiculous. Is that just how Tulsa construction companies do business? Is it the developers? Or maybe all of them work together to make each and every construction project take far longer than it should.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Finally! Another Tulsa construction project that took far longer than it should have. 3 years is just ridiculous. Is that just how Tulsa construction companies do business? Is it the developers? Or maybe all of them work together to make each and every construction project take far longer than it should.

It's a means to level employment - keep from peaks and valleys.  ODOT and OTA use it for road construction - if you have a little bit of mediocre road work, just slopping some asphalt down over a few miles at a time, then you have to keep doing it forever.  If the job was completed in a timely fashion and done to last, ya might not get another one for quite a while.


Aerospace doesn't use that - there are some big contracts going on at Tinker AFB and every company associated with the base, as well as AF, is trying to hire engineers.  And at the end of the contracts, thousands will face layoff.  Probably a 3 to 5 year cycle....based on past experience.

[TheArtist]

Anyone know anything about the rumor a chain movie theater is coming to downtown Tulsa?

[swake]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/opening-of-tulsa-s-renovated-central-library-within-sight-as/article_0ce2141b-5e38-55be-80c1-d491bdd1c793.html

Finally! Another Tulsa construction project that took far longer than it should have. 3 years is just ridiculous. Is that just how Tulsa construction companies do business? Is it the developers? Or maybe all of them work together to make each and every construction project take far longer than it should.

Flintco may be based in Tulsa, but they are far from just a local construction company. They are a large regional builder with offices across this part of the US. They aren't as large as Manhattan, but they are a large company.

[davideinstein]

Anyone know anything about the rumor a chain movie theater is coming to downtown Tulsa?

From 2-3 years ago. What did you hear?

[cynical]

There is possibly a deal in place to relax the pace in return for a lower price. Around 1970, TU tore down old Kendall Hall and began construction on its replacement. After excavation of the basement, it sat in limbo for so long we began calling it "Kendall Hole." The explanation I heard was that TU had a deal with the contractor that in return for a reduced rate, surplus crew would be used to build the building. If there weren't any surplus crew, there would be no building going on. It was eventually finished.

Perhaps something like this is going on with the library.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/opening-of-tulsa-s-renovated-central-library-within-sight-as/article_0ce2141b-5e38-55be-80c1-d491bdd1c793.html

Finally! Another Tulsa construction project that took far longer than it should have. 3 years is just ridiculous. Is that just how Tulsa construction companies do business? Is it the developers? Or maybe all of them work together to make each and every construction project take far longer than it should.

[TheArtist]

From 2-3 years ago. What did you hear?

A friend was commenting on a Facebook post made by someone associated with Circle Cinema who was ranting a bit saying something like "Hear some "chain theater" is moving into downtown, people should support the local theaters, good luck with that and finding parking," etc.  

I will see if I can ask the person who was recounting it to me to find the post and who it was.  I didn't ask for specifics or anything for I figured that kind of rumor would quickly be all over the internet if true.

[Conan71]

A friend was commenting on a Facebook post made by someone associated with Circle Cinema who was ranting a bit saying something like "Hear some "chain theater" is moving into downtown, people should support the local theaters, good luck with that and finding parking," etc.  

I will see if I can ask the person who was recounting it to me to find the post and who it was.  I didn't ask for specifics or anything for I figured that kind of rumor would quickly be all over the internet if true.

The Circle offers something much different than chain theaters.  They screen films that the major theaters would never screen and hold all sorts of neat events there. 

Absolutely no competition.  It's like saying Coca-Cola is competition for Coors.

[Breadburner]

Alamo Draft House...

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Alamo Draft House...

That's been tossed around for seven years. After that much time I have a hard time believing it will ever be built.

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/index.php?topic=13508.0

[davideinstein]

The Circle offers something much different than chain theaters.  They screen films that the major theaters would never screen and hold all sorts of neat events there. 

Absolutely no competition.  It's like saying Coca-Cola is competition for Coors.

Yep! Sometimes they overlap, but Circle plays the stuff I enjoy.

[davideinstein]

A friend was commenting on a Facebook post made by someone associated with Circle Cinema who was ranting a bit saying something like "Hear some "chain theater" is moving into downtown, people should support the local theaters, good luck with that and finding parking," etc.  

I will see if I can ask the person who was recounting it to me to find the post and who it was.  I didn't ask for specifics or anything for I figured that kind of rumor would quickly be all over the internet if true.

Tons of parking! Ha.