Around the Pearl

[tshane250]

Have you all seen the Pearl District Website created by the Pearl District Association?  I love their take on urban living.  Here is their mission statement.

quote:To reinvent the art of city life in Tulsa. To develop from the grass-roots an urban neighborhood that is diverse, intriguing and charming; that adapts to the new realities of the 21st Century and has the character, humanity and convenience of the best, traditional cities; that offers a radical and attractive alternative to suburban living; where it is possible to work, play and shop without recourse to a car; where neighbors work to foster good schools and safe, attractive streets and civic spaces; and where a vibrant, civic environment is matched by enlightened public policies.   To do all this before it is too late.

Here is the link to the site.  Enjoy!

The Pearl

[aoxamaxoa]

Yawn. Would rather see more syncronicity going on in the Brady Distric.

The rail tracks should be the borders for these districts. And, there should be fewer disections of downtown. Look into the tunnel system as a district. How about the Tulsa Underground district. The track disecting the Pearl is a huge liability....

I do like what has happend around central park. That area does need contiued support. Especially residential.

[TheArtist]

I would like to see more done around the Blue dome and Brady District as well. Its not as though people from outside the Pearl District picked that area as a project to work on. The Pearl District idea and plan was created by the people who lived there and who decided they wanted to make a change.  They took action and got results.  If other areas of town want to do the same, I don't see anything stopping them from implementing form based codes, future development plans, etc. If I lived in the Pearl District I would be focusing on that area as my first priority not the Brady District.  

I look for forward to the second and third ponds being installed.  I think they will definitely spur more renewal and make the area "visibly distinct" and having "fresh potential" in the average persons eyes.

[Chicken Little]

quote:Originally posted by aoxamaxoa

The track disecting the Pearl is a huge liability....

That is also the same track that INCOG and others seem to think will be Tulsa's first light rail line someday.  Those Pearl people are looking ahead to that.  Today's liability is tomorrow's opportunity.

[Double A]

I generally like the Pearl District plans, but these canals are a bit of a sticking point for me. I've been told that in order to keep water in these canals it will require expensive pumps that are prone to breakdown and require expensive maintenance/repairs. I don't think the city should take on this extra expense when we can't even afford to fix the fountain at Swan Lake. I am also skeptical about affordable housing being offered in this redevelopment considering that when the Village at Central Park was pitched to the Infill Task Force they claimed that the units would start at around $150,000.

[RecycleMichael]

The Villages at Central Park townhouses were in that price range when they were first being built. They were well done and there was plenty of demand for them that caused the price to go up. Now they sell for more (welcome to free market capitalism).

Now people want to build more housing in the area that is more in line with the overall average price range for Tulsa. If they build good ones and there is demand for them, their value might increase as well.

What is wrong with infill housing that increases in value and spurs more affordable housing?

[Double A]

The problem is when you are receiving TIF's and other publicly funded incentives for your development I think you should keep the promises made in order to secure that funding. I'll be sure to check if any units have been sold for $150,000 as you suggest.

[si_uk_lon_ok]

quote:Originally posted by Double A

The problem is when you are receiving TIF's and other publicly funded incentives for your development I think you should keep the promises made in order to secure that funding. I'll be sure to check if any units have been sold for $150,000 as you suggest.

But if the demand is pushing the house prices up what do you do? Means test people if they want to buy a property?

If he makes lots of money on the development good for him, he'll likely reinvest and cause others to do the same.

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael
What is wrong with infill housing that increases in value and spurs more affordable housing?

Well. They tore down an aging Senior Center and put in an Arts and Crafts Center - seemingly for the private use of Village residents.

Next they dug an enormous hole and hired a first-grader to design a retaining wall.

Then they said that to make the whole thing profitable we would need to spend $45M to renovate the area.

Saaaaayyyy those park boulders have some twins across the street on a private residence?  How'd day ged dare?

Have you seen the new buildings, BTW? WOOD frames now, not that steel.

The prob is that there is a handful of slumlords who are sitting on their property hoping that the taxpayers are going to bail them out with a buyout or whatnot, all the while making themselves look like the Mother Theresa of regentrification.

You know what you get when you add a bunch of connectors together? A pearl necklace . . .

[TheArtist]

I have been painting murals in the new Central Center and will be doing so for the next 5 weeks.  Looks to me the people using the central center are not the people living in the Village, unless its mostly populated by the elderly, the poor, oh and some cloggers lol.

I am very glad the city was persuaded to make that water retention pond into a nice park.  This spring people will be able to start enjoying it and begin to see how nice it is. Over time as the plants start to grow and fill in, that park will equal or rival Woodward IMO.

[tim huntzinger]

You urbophiles call this 'sustainable' development?  That is like calling a person in a coma 'dynamic.'

Now in order for the damn thing to work they need 'canals.'  Nope tearing down the senior center and building a butt-ugly private park was not enough.  Now they need canals.  THAT was not in the Channel 8 story was it, now?

How did dose big rocks make it across the street?

[sgrizzle]

The existing development is not sustainable, it is merely a component. Through form-based codes and "intelligent design" then the area may become a sustainable development.

[carltonplace]

quote:Originally posted by Double A

I generally like the Pearl District plans, but these canals are a bit of a sticking point for me. I've been told that in order to keep water in these canals it will require expensive pumps that are prone to breakdown and require expensive maintenance/repairs. I don't think the city should take on this extra expense when we can't even afford to fix the fountain at Swan Lake.

The Swan Lake Neighborhood was awarded V2025 funds that will be used to replace the fountain. The entire venture is very expensive. The neighborhood has been raising funds for some time.

The canals and the retention pond are creative resolutions to a long time Elm Creek flood plain issue. The TIF you refer to is on the Home Depot, and I'm certainly glad that we can get something back for the eyesore (plus all of the money I spend there working on my old house). If the Pearl District development takes off, this will be a great infil development and a nice economic driver for the core.

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

You urbophiles call this 'sustainable' development?  That is like calling a person in a coma 'dynamic.'

Now in order for the damn thing to work they need 'canals.'  Nope tearing down the senior center and building a butt-ugly private park was not enough.  Now they need canals.  THAT was not in the Channel 8 story was it, now?

How did dose big rocks make it across the street?

The canals are nothing new for the "Pearl District" seems like you are just discovering them or something lol.  The city was going to put in water retention ponds, and "ditches" to connect them, well before there even was a Pearl District but the people living in the area wanted to see if they could make both items better and into something that would benefit the area more than just being for flood control. Thus now they are called parks and canals but they are still part of the cities original flood control plans for the area.

As for the sustainable development, the people pushing the Pearl District are mainly pushing for Form Based Codes.  So that any NEW development in the area will EVENTUALLY create a walkable, sustainable, district. It is hoped that both the "experimental" form based codes and the water retention pond beautification plans will spur new development in the area.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

You urbophiles call this 'sustainable' development?  That is like calling a person in a coma 'dynamic.'

Now in order for the damn thing to work they need 'canals.'  Nope tearing down the senior center and building a butt-ugly private park was not enough.  Now they need canals.  THAT was not in the Channel 8 story was it, now?

How did dose big rocks make it across the street?

"Urbophile"?  Cute.  I like that.  I guess it makes you an urbophobe.  Fear of urbanity - you don't want to see it happen, just like an arachnophobe doesn't want to see spiders.