Western Supply warehouses at 424 North Boulder

[TulsaBeMore]

I have not been down there in a good while.  Anything going up in that block?  Looking at property records, George Kaiser Family Foundation bought the old cool, dilapidated warehouse complex in 2016 and leveled it.  The records show its was sold/turned over to Western Supply, LLC a couple years back.  Last time I looked, the land was leveled and being trenched by large equipment.  Maybe I've just missed coverage of what's being built there? 

[shavethewhales]

It's supposed to be an 11 story affordable housing project. I can't find the details right now. I think it's been in limbo since before covid.

[SXSW]

Rendering below - I know this project will be built in phases that will include retail/office space and apartments

[tulsabug]

Don't know about anyone else here but these buildings from the Lego School of Architecture just seem like a wasted opportunity to really create a presence. I understand code and cost to a large degree force this sort of building block design but still ugh. No real point of anyone going to architecture school if all they do is put the Autocad program on autopilot. Heck, even the Autocad couple in the forefront can't help but laugh at that design.

[TulsaBeMore]

Rendering below - I know this project will be built in phases that will include retail/office space and apartments

Thank you.  Looks promising.  Wonder the connection with the DC architecture firm.

[TulsaBeMore]

Don't know about anyone else here but these buildings from the Lego School of Architecture just seem like a wasted opportunity to really create a presence. I understand code and cost to a large degree force this sort of building block design but still ugh. No real point of anyone going to architecture school if all they do is put the Autocad program on autopilot. Heck, even the Autocad couple in the forefront can't help but laugh at that design.

This one doesn't bother me a ton, but I agree there is a lot of cookie cutter looking design including many of the new structures in the Arts District --- all nice buildings, just not distinctive.  I think an opportunity was lost on the Children's Museum on Riverside.  The firm is outstanding and no doubt the interior will be engaging, but the outside is fairly bland and could be the headquarters for a credit union.  There was an opportunity to make the building iconic and the first visual part of a child's "Discovery" as he/she approached the building.  

Another example is the three ideas for the vacant lot adjacent to the PAC.  One was iconic with the Theater Across Cincinnati --- the TAC (clever, eh?), but the one they originally settled on was similar to the Western Supply and most of the others downtown.  I'm not in support of crazy design, but several should employ more imagination, in my opinion.

It was similar back in the 80s, 90s, and 2000-2010 when I traveled more.  All across Tulsa, the designs were more "me too" than original or unique.  You'd go to Raleigh, Nashville, Dallas, San Diego, Florida or wherever and say, I wish we had something that looked like that at home.  Somewhere in the 70s, 80s, we lost our previous trailblazer selves.  Most everything we do is a "me too" that is usually 5-8 years behind other communities. That 31s & Peoria mixed-use thing is dead, isn't it?  Hardly groundbreaking, but it would have been cool.   If I had a buck for every study the city or local leaders have commissioned and let rot on a shelf, I'd....   What happened to that extensive work Mayor Taylor had commissioned by the guy who was a planning rock star with a university in Georgia?  It was fun.  
   

   

[SXSW]

Personally I think this project looks great and will fit in well with the other brick buildings in the Arts District.  Great to see the western part of the district start to redevelop along Boulder with this project and Holbertson expanding on Cheyenne.

[LandArchPoke]

This one doesn't bother me a ton, but I agree there is a lot of cookie cutter looking design including many of the new structures in the Arts District --- all nice buildings, just not distinctive.  I think an opportunity was lost on the Children's Museum on Riverside.  The firm is outstanding and no doubt the interior will be engaging, but the outside is fairly bland and could be the headquarters for a credit union.  There was an opportunity to make the building iconic and the first visual part of a child's "Discovery" as he/she approached the building.  

Another example is the three ideas for the vacant lot adjacent to the PAC.  One was iconic with the Theater Across Cincinnati --- the TAC (clever, eh?), but the one they originally settled on was similar to the Western Supply and most of the others downtown.  I'm not in support of crazy design, but several should employ more imagination, in my opinion.

It was similar back in the 80s, 90s, and 2000-2010 when I traveled more.  All across Tulsa, the designs were more "me too" than original or unique.  You'd go to Raleigh, Nashville, Dallas, San Diego, Florida or wherever and say, I wish we had something that looked like that at home.  Somewhere in the 70s, 80s, we lost our previous trailblazer selves.  Most everything we do is a "me too" that is usually 5-8 years behind other communities. That 31s & Peoria mixed-use thing is dead, isn't it?  Hardly groundbreaking, but it would have been cool.   If I had a buck for every study the city or local leaders have commissioned and let rot on a shelf, I'd....   What happened to that extensive work Mayor Taylor had commissioned by the guy who was a planning rock star with a university in Georgia?  It was fun.  
   

   

Lily does some quality stuff, he's usually the main design for most of GKFF projects. It all kind of has the 'museum' look to it, where it is very clean but yet not very exciting. I will say, it could always be A LOT worse lol.

I'd take this more generic-ish design all day over Cimarex type crap. As long as attention is paid to the streetlevel and pedestrian experience is what is the most important. That's what makes a city livable and a neighborhood to be great, not necessarily what it looks like from 244 or from level 3 up.

I'm surprised this one is taking GKFF so long to get started, maybe they just have their hands full with other projects. I believe this was awarded workforce housing funds from the state last year so I think they'll have to start on vertical construction sooner than later. I've looked everywhere for renderings and surprised nothing more has leaked out.

Also, with renderings like the PAC project proposals there's a difference between realistic renderings and something that is a bait and switch. A lot of the times developers like to throw out really creative conceptual designs knowing full well that it would never be realistic/cost feasible to build that design.

The 31st & Peoria project isn't dead, I believe they are meeting with neighbors still in trying to find the right density. The renderings were also completed by a landscape architect/planner not an architect so that's why it looked so bland - those renderings would not be anything close to what the project would really look like. It was more of a massing model to convey the size, possible shape, and density of the project.

[SXSW]

A couple renderings Lilly Architects posted on their social media pages.  This is a great looking project!

[LandArchPoke]

Hopefully if he's posting those maybe that means it's starting to move again. That site has just been a massive hole in the ground for a while now

[tulsabug]

Hopefully if he's posting those maybe that means it's starting to move again. That site has just been a massive hole in the ground for a while now

While I still am no fan of the style, or lack thereof, of the building I will agree it's much better than that massive hole in the ground currently there so I too hope this is a sign that we'll some actual progress soon. 

[shavethewhales]

Wow, they actually added to it. It's going to be hard to see the Tulsa skyline from 244 after all these 11 story buildings are built, lol

I like that it has a lot of brick on the lower levels and how open and pedestrian oriented it is. It will be interesting to see the interactions with the homeless encampments under the adjacent 244 bridge, but I'm sure Kaiser is continually working on more options for them as well and projects like this one are important steps to building resilient housing options rather than letting everything be gentrified.

[SXSW]

The next frontier will be the empty lots along Cheyenne, Boulder, Main and Boston north of 244.  Literally a blank slate primed for new housing of all types.  Excited to see the master plan that is being created for this area and for TDA's approach which is to do individual RFP's for development on each block. 

[Jacobei]

It's not surprising at all to me that they greatly expanded capacity. Remember that it's housing for GKFF folks. Those programs are expanding all the time, including those of at Holberton. I think this has just been waiting for the OKPop museum to get closer to completion. It has access to the east choked off.

[Tulsan]

Wow, they actually added to it. It's going to be hard to see the Tulsa skyline from 244 after all these 11 story buildings are built, lol

It definitely looks like they added a second tower that's not in the previous permitting plans. However that could just be an earlier concept that the architect shared for fun. No way to check u til the ransomware attack is resolved and the permitting portal is back up and running.