City Hall Consolidation (purchase of One Technolog

[rbryant]

During this morning's Economic Development Commission meeting, Don Himelfarb presented a summary of the report on the City Hall Consolidation Study.  Below is a link to the PowerPoint presentation.  Also, there will be a video airing on Channel 24 at 11:00am, 4:00pm and 10:00pm most days (not Tuesday).  The video will also soon be available on uTube.  The City Council will vote on the consolidation very soon, most likely on June 28th.  The EDC voted unanimously to support the consolidation plan.  

Here are just a few reasons the EDC voted unanimously (and reasons why I personally and sincerely hope this passes through City Council):

• Saves the city (and taxpayers) a significant amount of money, money which can then be free to spend on other needy items
• Helps in the revitalization of downtown
• City Hall DESPERATELY needs to present a more favorable impression to companies considering relocation to Tulsa (not to mention our own residents)
• The potential for LEED Certification (Green building) creates a competitive advantage for Tulsa and demonstrates the desire for our city to be a leader in environmental issues (also reduces long term energy needs of the City)
• Creates a "One Stop" for city services all in the same building
• Improves downtown real estate market by reducing vacancy
• Replaces current (obsolete/aging) city hall location with a hotel site adjacent to convention center (will make new arena much more desirable for major conventions, and will increase tax revenues)
• It is an innovative idea that presents Tulsa as a more forward thinking city, and is vital if we want to compete in the 21st Century.
• THERE WILL BE NO TAX INCREASE AS A RESULT OF THIS.

Link to report summary:  view report

It is imperative that our city councilors understand the importance of this consolidation and its positive benefits to the city.  Mr. Himelfarb is presenting this report to the city council today.  The Mayor, Mr. Himelfarb, and members of the EDC are asking for letters to your city councilors stressing the need to take this innovative and fiscally responsible step forward for the betterment of Tulsa.

[TulsaSooner]

Has it been determined whether or not the Police/Municipal Courts building would be included in this consolidation?

[Hometown]

Flip side of this coin is the beginning of the end of Civic Center as we know it.

Not a good thing if you want to preserve Tulsa's Modern Architecture or preserve our Civic Center.

[Admin]

Past discussion on the issue can be found here:
http://tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6771

[TulsaSooner]

quote:Originally posted by TulsaSooner

Has it been determined whether or not the Police/Municipal Courts building would be included in this consolidation?

According to the presentation it isn't, which kind of eliminates the "One Stop" benefit.  So folks who make a court appearance and need to pay a fine would have to go to One Tech or the City would have to have another set of cashiers/supervisory staff located at Municipal Court?

[rbryant]

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

Flip side of this coin is the beginning of the end of Civic Center as we know it.

Not a good thing if you want to preserve Tulsa's Modern Architecture or preserve our Civic Center.

The Civic Center/Convention Center would receive some much needed renovation and updates.  It would not be demolished, but improved. I saw some nice renderings, including a huge ballroom.    The current City Hall is the building that would eventually be demolished.  I haven't met anyone who would bemoan the loss of that building and all of its mold and other problems.  It does not even have a public entrance aside from entering through the parking garage, which is quite lame, and certainly not pedestrian friendly in any way.

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by rbryant

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

Flip side of this coin is the beginning of the end of Civic Center as we know it.

Not a good thing if you want to preserve Tulsa's Modern Architecture or preserve our Civic Center.

The Civic Center/Convention Center would receive some much needed renovation and updates.  It would not be demolished, but improved. I saw some nice renderings, including a huge ballroom.    The current City Hall is the building that would eventually be demolished.  I haven't met anyone who would bemoan the loss of that building and all of its mold and other problems.  It does not even have a public entrance aside from entering through the parking garage, which is quite lame, and certainly not pedestrian friendly in any way.

You just met the one person who will.  Hometown will be the person chained to the building like a tree hugger when they go to implode that nasty old City Hall.

[Hometown]

quote:Originally posted by rbryant

quote:Originally posted by Hometown

Flip side of this coin is the beginning of the end of Civic Center as we know it.

Not a good thing if you want to preserve Tulsa's Modern Architecture or preserve our Civic Center.

The Civic Center/Convention Center would receive some much needed renovation and updates.  It would not be demolished, but improved. I saw some nice renderings, including a huge ballroom.    The current City Hall is the building that would eventually be demolished.  I haven't met anyone who would bemoan the loss of that building and all of its mold and other problems.  It does not even have a public entrance aside from entering through the parking garage, which is quite lame, and certainly not pedestrian friendly in any way.

I'm sure it seemed completely reasonable to Tulsans of the day to demolish each and every one of our wonderful old priceless movie houses.

It takes time to see the value in historic architecture.

I say get good photos.  The trends of the last 30 years will most likely continue unabated.

[rbryant]

quote:
I'm sure it seemed completely reasonable to Tulsans of the day to demolish each and every one of our wonderful old priceless movie houses.

It takes time to see the value in historic architecture.

I say get good photos.  The trends of the last 30 years will most likely continue unabated.

I share your disgust with what has been demolished over the years.  When I see the slide shows and photos showing what Tulsa was like decades ago... the density downtown... the activity... the vitality... it makes me want to cry because that's the city I want to live in.  And we had it at one time.  The biggest crime is when the buildings are demolished to be replaced with surface parking.  And, unfortunately, this has been happening even recently when you consider the Skelly Building and the Auto Hotel.  If someone insists on demolishing a building, then at the very least they should build something better.  This is a situation in which that should happen, as the city is in need of a hotel next to the convention center (according to various folks who have been trying to bring in large conventions to Tulsa).  If it's not demolished and simply becomes vacant and available for lease, I wonder if anyone would even be willing to locate their offices there.

However, I see this not so much as an issue of whether or not the current city hall building will be demolished at some point, but more a factor of the city making an improvement (on many levels) in the location of city hall.

[CoffeeBean]

Wasn't the idea of revamping 5th St. floated a few years back?  Expect more talk about a new library.  What does the future hold for the Page Belcher Federal buidling?  The YMCA needs to come down and the new fountain is dull.  We need ball park downtown.

[rwarn17588]

As a person who's experienced in preservation and types of architecture on Route 66, I can say with considerable certainty that I won't miss that mold-infested, confusingly laid-out, nondescript, dogsh*t building that is city hall.

[bacjz00]

A truly excellent question!! What IS to become of the Page Belcher Federal Building?  That thing is smack donkey in the way of any kind of Arena/Convention Center/Civic Plaza redevelopment.

[TulsaSooner]

quote:Originally posted by TulsaSooner

quote:Originally posted by TulsaSooner

Has it been determined whether or not the Police/Municipal Courts building would be included in this consolidation?

According to the presentation it isn't, which kind of eliminates the "One Stop" benefit.  So folks who make a court appearance and need to pay a fine would have to go to One Tech or the City would have to have another set of cashiers/supervisory staff located at Municipal Court?

Bueller....Bueller?

[]

[Breadburner]

I hope this deal gets done.....One of the better ideas someone has come up with.....

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by CoffeeBean

Wasn't the idea of revamping 5th St. floated a few years back?  Expect more talk about a new library.  What does the future hold for the Page Belcher Federal buidling?  The YMCA needs to come down and the new fountain is dull.  We need ball park downtown.

Ideal plan is the ball park still ends up in the east end and the civic plaza becomes a hotel/restaurant district tied to the arena and convention center. The library and post office/fed courthouse are also possible candidates to move out of the way of progress.