All Souls Moving Downtown - 6th/7th Frankfort/Kenosa

[Dspike]

The congregation voted in 2011 to move downtown. And on April 9, they will vote to launch a capital campaign for the move.

"CONGREGATIONAL VOTE
APRIL 9 | 11:30 A.M.
FOLLOWING ONE SPECIAL SERVICE FOR ALL AT 10:00 A.M.
On April 9, the congregation will vote on the following motion from the Board of Trustees.

At the conclusion of their research, the Relocation Task Force unanimously agrees there are no obstacles to moving the church downtown, nor any findings that warrant a change in direction. The board affirms, by a vote of 16-1 and one abstention, these finding.

The board believes it is in the best interest of the church to move downtown and therefore calls for the next step in the process to be a vote of the congregation to launch the capital campaign.

The congregational meeting to vote will take place at 11:30 a.m. in the sanctuary following a special service for all at 10:00 a.m. with the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. Peter Morales."

http://allsoulschurch.org/relocation

[Tulsasaurus Rex]

Yes but how many blocks will be dedicated to parking?

[johrasephoenix]

Maybe this is a chance to have a conversation about the churches and Tcc and other institutions pulling together on parking. Build it right next to First Presbyterian and use TCC parking, or anywhere else and use an office building garage. It's not like the office building needs it on Sunday morning.

I hope the Unitarians have an urban planner or two on their board to make these points.

[erfalf]

Bartlesville has it's fair share of surface lots downtown as well, however I do know that situations like you suggesting do exist.

Rogers State has a campus downtown. They own a small 20 car lot across the street and the old Oakley dealership new car lot a few blocks away (which is not enough parking for their needs). However they use the Babtist Church lots during the week. No classes on Sundays, no conflicts.

The Methodist church (that actually just moved to the east side of town) used to use the Credit Union parking garage on Sundays. First Christian utilizes the Price Tower and Community Center lots on the weekend I believe.

Not sure what downtown Tulsa is like Sunday mornings, but there are never conflicts in downtown Bartlesville.

[johrasephoenix]

I imagine the best place for it is sandwiched right between two Art Deco skyscrapers right in the middle of everything. Not only would it look awesome, but there will be a ton of unused garage parking available on a Sunday.  Usually churches can work out a nearly free or free parking deal for parishioners that is less than the cost of buying a lot.

When I was there the Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches in downtown Austin had a similar deal.  

[swake]

I imagine the best place for it is sandwiched right between two Art Deco skyscrapers right in the middle of everything. Not only would it look awesome, but there will be a ton of unused garage parking available on a Sunday.  Usually churches can work out a nearly free or free parking deal for parishioners that is less than the cost of buying a lot.

When I was there the Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches in downtown Austin had a similar deal.  

It's going in at 7th and Frankfort and the church has a deal already with the existing pay lot across the street for parking.

[Dspike]

Put it in the title, but the location has been set since 2011. Here is a graphic showing where it is and I assume the blue P is the parking lot they intend to use, although the description says "covered parking" so perhaps they intend to use the lot directly west of the church. Both seem very underutilized currently.

Also, the slideshow on their website describes the downtown option as including "195 designated covered parking spots with additional street parking on Sundays."

[heironymouspasparagus]

m

[swake]

Put it in the title, but the location has been set since 2011. Here is a graphic showing where it is and I assume the blue P is the parking lot they intend to use, although the description says "covered parking" so perhaps they intend to use the lot directly west of the church. Both seem very underutilized currently.

Also, the slideshow on their website describes the downtown option as including "195 designated covered parking spots with additional street parking on Sundays."

Unless something has changed, it's the covered parking, the graphic is wrong.

[Dspike]

The FAQ on the Church's relocation site discusses parking too:

"Q: Will there be sufficient parking downtown?

A: Yes. Additionally, the parking commitment from the donor family was just renewed.
The donors continue to stand by their original gift to ensure approximately 275 spots across the
street from the church for All Souls exclusive use on Sundays, Saturdays and weekday evenings.
We also plan to have approximately 30 parking spots, on-site, mostly handicapped. For
comparison, we currently have a 165-spot parking lot. The donors will also reserve a portion of
the parking lot for use during the week days to handle smaller events and employee parking.
They may choose to lease out a portion of the remaining parking to help offset the cost of
purchasing and maintaining the parking facility. The weekday needs of the church would need to
be surveyed to determine adequate coverage. For large weekday memorial services and special
events, it may be necessary to enter into an agreement with other facilities/churches in the area
to provide the needed parking and make use of our shuttle buses to accommodate the
need. There are also approximately 70 free, on-street parking spots directly surrounding the
church block."

http://allsoulschurch.org/media/1988/taskforcefaqrevised331.pdf

[sgrizzle]

The covered lot due west is already under contract, at least for weekdays.

[johrasephoenix]

Seems like a good spot - sorry I missed the title.  Hopefully it looks awesome and provides a little juice to the area.  Do they have any renderings or other glimpses of what kind of architecture to expect?

Glad to see their not tearing down any buildings a la most downtown Tulsa institutions. 

The part you posted about parking is the model way to do it - putting the lot under contract for Sundays, with much reduced need the rest of the week so the spots can support a different downtown entity.  Most of the other churches have enough dedicated parking for Easter Sunday sitting vacant 95% of the year. 

[SXSW]

Nice, I had wondered what had happened with this.  That will be a nice bookend on the south end of the Blue Dome and hopefully re-energize that lonely stretch of 6th Street especially if the Brickhugger development gets going across the street at the Nordam site. 

As an aside, I like that aerial perspective of downtown with the Osage Hills in the background.  You don't really notice the elevation change on the street.

[Townsend]

If there is new development in the area after the church is built:

How far would a bar need to be from the church? 

Is it just bars or do all establishments serving alcohol have to watch for distance from a church?

[BKDotCom]

If there is new development in the area after the church is built:

How far would a bar need to be from the church? 

Is it just bars or do all establishments serving alcohol have to watch for distance from a church?

That requirement should be inversely proportional to some sort of density metric.
Unfortunately our downtown is the least densely populated part of the city... *sigh*