CVS at 15th and Utica

[SXSW]

I'd like to see the large lot across the street, the big one that's been empty for years, developed with a smart urban parking structure (businesses on street level) and share that parking with Cherry Street and a mixed us office building on this corner.  

Unless he's sold it (possible) that is owned by John Bumgarner.  If he could develop something there like Utica Plaza/Utica Place (his previous projects) with some kind of ground floor retail on 15th that would be a nice infill project for that site.  I'm surprised it has sat there empty for so long.  

[Bamboo World]

What's good about this?...
...The narrow parking lot on the side is a pretty good compromise...

Update @ 12:11 pm: Holy crap! The drive thru goes along Cherry Street?? OK, this is stupid! I take it all back!

Excellent edit on your update, PonderInc!

I'm so glad you take it all back, because the narrow parking along the side is awful.  There's a historic house on that portion of the site now, used as an office.  I'd rather have the existing house than a CVS parking strip for a couple of reasons:
1. The house with its own parking area is more beautiful and interesting than a strip parking lot alongside a very, very, very ugly building.
2. The house is office space, which means the site is currently mixed use.  That's better than a single use (retail) for this PUD in a mixed use corridor.

And, yes, the drive thru is incredibly stupid.

[Bamboo World]

It sucks alll the way around.......

Yep.  One of the worst proposals I've seen.
It's awful.

[Breadburner]

Extremely disappointing.....A very whorish development....

[swake]

Is it Bumgarner? It has to be.

It's like the developer is just trying to be an a$$hole.

[DowntownDan]

Hearing is tomorrow at 1:30 before TMAPC.  It'll be the first test of the Utica Midtown Corridor Small Area Plan and if it really means anything.

[DowntownDan]

Is it Bumgarner? It has to be.

It's like the developer is just trying to be an a$$hole.

Not directly, but I think one of his companies owns the cool old brick house/office building next door that is part of the PUD and set for demolition.  He doesn't own the gas station or the medical office.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1405811,-95.9665515,3a,75y,2h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAK4d-Vy3xFzkzF1mIkmWWQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DAK4d-Vy3xFzkzF1mIkmWWQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D392%26h%3D106%26yaw%3D2.6934493%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656

[DowntownDan]

Several commissioners were unhappy with the design, it's lack of mixed use to conform to the Utica Midtown Corridor Small Area Plan, and that the drive thru is on the corner which is envisioned to be pedestrian friendly.  They want a better design and for CVS to shut down the 14th Place entrance, which CVS claims is essential to the project.  They have until December 16 to submit a better proposal.  We'll see if they come up with a better, smarter design or if they abandon the project.  The proposal was just their regular box design flipped around and with fake brick exterior.  Coming up with a more creative urban design to fit the small area plan will require actual work and they may not be up to the task.

[cannon_fodder]

Kudos!

Actually asking a retailer/developer to submit a design that fits with the plan - woohoo!

[Townsend]

Kudos!

Actually asking a retailer/developer to submit a design that fits with the plan - woohoo!

Whoa whoa whoa...That's not the Tulsa way.

They'll submit a new design, get it approved, and file numerous variances.

The Tulsa way

[patric]

Kudos!

Actually asking a retailer/developer to submit a design that fits with the plan - woohoo!

With our Form-Based Codes that would be a snap.... oh, wait...

[PonderInc]

Tulsa is so slow to understand basic economics.  A mixed-use building generates 2X, 3X, 4X or more tax dollars for the same SF of land as a single-story building.

Great cities understand this.  They like getting a good return on the cost of their public infrastructure.  They like doing cool stuff with all those extra tax dollars.

Minneapolis understands this:


(Why wouldn't Tulsa want this?)

Mixed-use would be ideal (and the smartest decision for the city of Tulsa... which shouldn't throw away tax dollars in prime real estate areas). 

However, even car-centric Phoenix can do better job of creating walkable places than the stupid design that was submitted here in Tulsa.


For cities like Tulsa that can't understand the simple math of mixed-use, this is a baby step called "first, do no harm."  Because walkability adds value, even if you're not maximizing tax revenues.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

However, even car-centric Phoenix can do better job of creating walkable places than the stupid design that was submitted here in Tulsa.

That's actually Mill & University in Tempe right next to ASU, and one of the most heavily foot traffic areas in the valley. There are ~40,000 undergrad students there, and most every weekend it's easier to walk or bike that area.

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/asu-1081

http://www.downtowntempe.com/

https://www.google.com/maps/place/CVS+Pharmacy+-+Photo/@33.4205198,-111.9365863,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x872b08d75813ec7f:0xb4775241fddcc041?hl=en

[PonderInc]

Thanks for the correction on location.

However, this is a good example of a "walkable" design in a car environment.  The intersection in Tempe has 2 lanes of traffic in either direction, some with 3 protected turn lanes, and one with 3 travel lanes.  You have to walk over 90' to cross the street in any direction. (Compare that to cherry street where the pedestrian crossings are 75' or so, and where the maximum is two lanes each way with a single turn lane on Utica only).

Similar to 15th and Utica, however, this example appears to be at the edge of a walkable environment.  Just down the street on Mill, it narrows down to one lane each way with on-street parking and a bike lane.  In the other direction, it opens up to 3 auto-lanes each way.

Based on the building design, however, it looks like Tempe wants future growth to be walkable, not car-centric.  We can learn from this.

[SXSW]

Anything on Utica from 21st to I-244 absolutely should be built with pedestrians in mind.  It has rightfully been planned as a mixed-use corridor and has two of the city's biggest employers (the hospitals) and one of its main retail centers as anchors, as well as being adjacent to Cherry Street and 11th which will be a pedestrian-focused corridor in the future (not there yet).  

Buildings are a big part of it but making the streetscape more inviting should be a future city project.  Outside of Peoria (244 to Brookside) and 11th St (Peoria to Yale) I can't think of a more important corridor for future mixed-use development outside of downtown Tulsa.