Proposed West Bank Development

[carltonplace]

Article in the Tulsa World today ( Read the Article) about a developer that wants to build on the west bank between 11th and 21st. Yes, this is the same area that the Channels proposal will eliminate.

[RecycleMichael]

I heard about this about a month ago and wondered when it would be picked up.

These are people who can get things done and they have done a good job in getting the Skiatook lake project up.

I think this is a way better use of the area than a concrete plant, but I want to see how much more land and public dollar subsidy they want before I support it.

[sgrizzle]

And "The Channels" is dead in 3...2..

A project with majority private financing?

Public financing coming from a bond and a TIF rather than raising sales tax 4 cents?


Whodathunkit!?!?

[AngieB]

Would it involve property all the way up to Jackson? Like right up next to the projects?

[Renaissance]

It doesn't look like there's anything on paper yet.  I would hope it would be expansive and go hand in hand with a renovation of the festival area.

[dsjeffries]

I think it's great to finally have someone else seriously considering riverfront development, especially since it's not the outlandish let's-build-islands-in-the-river-and-use-public-money kind of people.  Kudos to them!

Since Tulsa World articles expire soon, here's the article for future reference:

Another river plan studied
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
11/29/2006

Developers of a Branson shoreline project are looking at a similar plan for Tulsa's west bank of the Arkansas River.

A Missouri-based waterfront developer is seriously considering the west bank of Tulsa's Arkansas River for shoreline development that would include commercial, residential, entertainment and hospitality venues.

"We like Tulsa and the demographics of Tulsa," said Rick Huffman, the chief executive officer of HCW Development, which developed Branson Landing, in Branson, Mo.

"We believe we can build riverfront development that would not only create a destination point, but spur economic development and increase, by quite a bit, the tax revenue," Huffman said.

Tulsa County Commissioner Randi Miller, Skiatook Lake developer Ron Howell and attorney Kevin Coutant met with Huffman more than a month ago and toured Branson Landing.

"This is just the type of development I think Tulsa would love to have," said Miller, who has publicly vowed to do what she can to make river development happen.

Howell said Huffman will be meeting with Oklahoma officials this week for further discussion of development possibilities. The officials include local, county and state, along with U.S. Sen. Jim
Tulsa World Sports Extra
Inhofe and a member of the Army Corps of Engineers.

"This doesn't mean anything is being approved," Howell said. "What it means is that our elected officials are ready to be front and center immediately to show this developer that we're interested because he has done some serious development on the water."

Howell said with all the talk about The Channels, a proposed island development on the Arkansas River, that he, Miller and Coutant were encouraged to take a look at Huffman's development.

"Whichever way The Channels goes, it should be tremendously commended for just getting people to dialogue and thinking more seriously about river development," he said.

Miller said she is still supportive of The Channels, but her goal is to get river development that the public can support. Mayor Kathy Taylor has been quiet on her stance with The Channels.

Huffman, who has been in Tulsa scoping out the river, said he was surprised at the lack of river development.

"Tulsa has a great asset other cities wished they had," he said. "People love to be around water, and some of the most popular projects in the world seem to be built around it."

Although everything is preliminary at this point, Huffman said the potential development site he was drawn to is located on the west bank between the 21st Street and 11th Street bridges. That is the same area that would be inundated by water if The Channels project is approved.

"We were looking there because that area obviously needs to be redeveloped," Huffman said. "It has a concrete plant on it now and old festival grounds. But mainly because it has a great skyline view of the downtown and good access from the highways with some additional infrastructure improvements that would be needed."

The Branson Landing project is a 1.5-mile-long waterfront development along Lake Taneycomo. It includes a public space that can accommodate several thousand people for festivals and includes a one-of-a-kind water feature that shoots 120-foot geysers and fire from cannons all choreographed to music and lights.

Along with major retail, restaurant and entertainment venues, the development features 341 condominiums and a 242-room Hilton boutique hotel. Next year, a convention center and 294-room Hilton convention hotel are planned.

Huffman said if he puts together a development proposal for Tulsa, it won't be Branson Landing, "but something unique to Tulsa, not just another one of those."

He said he would ensure a spectacular public space area that has a "wow" factor drawing people on its own.

Huffman said he would propose using the same type of financing as he did in Missouri, which was a private-public partnership. Branson Landing cost about $475 million, of which $175 million was public financing and $300 million in private.

The public financing involved a revenue bond and a Tax Increment Financing District. The bond funded a convention center, infrastructure and a portion of the public space water feature. In Missouri, the local and state revenue generated from the TIF repaid the bond, he said. The financing would be similar to Oklahoma's STAR Bonds, he said.

Huffman said doesn't have a proposal ready, but he wants to talk with the officials so they know he is very interested in developing the river.

"We're an extremely busy company and we have projects going on all over the U.S. I wouldn't be wasting my staff's time flying them to Tulsa if we weren't serious," Huffman said.

[aoxamaxoa]

This seems rational.

I wonder what The Warrenites will do....be obstacles or be cooperatives?

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by aoxamaxoa

This seems rational.

I wonder what The Warrenites will do....be obstacles or be cooperatives?

Neither. They will probably make a little noise in the beginning. Then as Warren's Atlantis sinks into the riverbed, they will fade out and say no more.

[Renaissance]

Don't forget they hold that buyout option on Westport.  They could sell it cheap to a future investor if Westport holds out.

[aoxamaxoa]

I predict Westport will remain as is with the current ownership.

Did anyone read the letter from the head of real estate at Quick Trip in todaze World?

http://www.tulsaworld.com/OpinionStory.asp?ID=061129_Op_a14_let2
A novel idea!
By Staff Reports
11/29/2006

View in Print (PDF) Format



The Channels -- what a novel idea? I'm surprised nobody thought of building in the middle of a river before. Could it be because no one had guts enough to ask everyone else to pay for it?

We were in St. Louis in 1993 when the Chesterfield Industrial Park and Airport, which was protected by a Corps of Engineers levee, was 17 feet under water for the better part of two months. A year ago we watched as President Bush got the blame for Mother Nature reclaiming a city built below sea level.

Now we're being asked to support and pay for a plan which is rife with the possibility of cost overruns and a catastrophe in the making. And backers have thrown in the idea of making a little bit of electricity with the water and wind to mollify the environmentalists.

If anyone is stupid enough to buy one of these living units, I'd like to know how they plan on getting insurance on their domicile? Why did people in New Orleans lose everything? Because they couldn't get insurance. The insurance companies were smart enough to know it would happen someday.

When Mother Nature reclaims her river, who are we going to blame? Stay on the bank, above the flood plain.

John Dix, Collinsville

Masterful!

[PonderInc]

Has anyone seen the Branson Landing?  From the website, it looks like another huge mass of national chain stores. (Riverwalk north?) http://www.bransonlanding.com/current_leases.html

One thing I give the Channels people credit for is their desire to provide space for local merchants and artisans, rather than ploping big national chains on the river.  

I'm sorry to be so crotchety, but all these river plans hit pretty close to home.  It matters to me that the scale is right, the architecture is attractive from all sides, that it's not just another suburban development plunked down in my backyard (I live where I do b/c I hate suburban development).  I also will continue to lobby for maintaining/reclaiming natural green space by the river.  I go there to "get away from it all," especially the west side where it's more quiet and you can get away from traffic noise.

I don't want to be a NIMBY, but I also don't want to be so desperate for a date to the prom that I accept an offer from some insensitive clod who shows no respect for the things I love.

We'll have to wait and see, I guess.  Some day my prince will come...bearing attractive, human-scaled, environmentally-sensitive, non-car-oriented, walkable development plans that support local merchants on the river.

[Guyfromtulsa]

quote:Originally posted by PonderInc

Has anyone seen the Branson Landing?  From the website, it looks like another huge mass of national chain stores. (Riverwalk north?) http://www.bransonlanding.com/current_leases.html

One thing I give the Channels people credit for is their desire to provide space for local merchants and artisans, rather than ploping big national chains on the river.  

I'm sorry to be so crotchety, but all these river plans hit pretty close to home.  It matters to me that the scale is right, the architecture is attractive from all sides, that it's not just another suburban development plunked down in my backyard (I live where I do b/c I hate suburban development).  I also will continue to lobby for maintaining/reclaiming natural green space by the river.  I go there to "get away from it all," especially the west side where it's more quiet and you can get away from traffic noise.

I don't want to be a NIMBY, but I also don't want to be so desperate for a date to the prom that I accept an offer from some insensitive clod who shows no respect for the things I love.

We'll have to wait and see, I guess.  Some day my prince will come...bearing attractive, human-scaled, environmentally-sensitive, non-car-oriented, walkable development plans that support local merchants on the river.

I have been there, and I was suprised.  I did not get the feeling that I was in branson.  The buildings were not all the same style like the riverwalk but they looked like individual buildings that have been there for a long time.  And every building had lofts on top of them.  I dont see what is so suburban about it.  It even had its own parking garage.  I was impressed anyway.  I thought it would be a bunch of hill billy stores that branson is famous for. I would post a picture if I knew how.

[perspicuity85]

This looks like it could be great news.  One issue that the Channels addressed was the need to connect the west bank with the east bank.  This can be done without building islands.  A great way to make an east-west connection would be to build large piers that extend into the river as well as implementation of a water taxi system.  The fact is downtown is on the east side and the most feasible place for waterfront development is on the west side.  A goal of any major riverfront development near the downtown area should be connecting the east and west bank.  I sincerely hope these Branson folks make this one of their goals.

[nuclear_2525]

from what I remember about Branson Landing, it was very VERY cheaply built.  Everything from poorly laid brick to cracks and pieces already falling out of the stucco...

It's a cool concept, but I don't trust this company to give Tulsa a quality development

[TheArtist]

http://illuminatingconcepts.com/designingexperiences/branson.htm

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=branson+landing&m=tags