Slum houses of Elgin

[inteller]

Down at 600 S Elgin there are two white houses that look like they need to be razed.  Just curious as to why there are single family houses of this style in that part of town anyways.  That whole block could use some urban renewwal.

[breitee]

That area used to have a great deal of houses like that as it was once a residential neighborhood. There are still some old brick apartment buildings there as well. I agree that their time has long since passed and they need to go.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by breitee

That area used to have a great deal of houses like that as it was once a residential neighborhood. There are still some old brick apartment buildings there as well. I agree that their time has long since passed and they need to go.

I could advocate keeping the brick apartment buildings, but they would first need to kick out all of the residents and gut out both of them and renovate them.  Then tear down the houses in between and create a greenspace for the apartments.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

Down at 600 S Elgin there are two white houses that look like they need to be razed.  Just curious as to why there are single family houses of this style in that part of town anyways.  That whole block could use some urban renewwal.

Across from Avis?

[waterboy]

If they are the ones I'm thinking of they sit next to an abandoned luncheonette (good name for an album!) and they have for sale signs on them. They are actually are rented out to tenants and the yards are used for paid parking. Seems like the price was around 175k. They must be circa '07, '08.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

If they are the ones I'm thinking of they sit next to an abandoned luncheonette (good name for an album!) and they have for sale signs on them. They are actually are rented out to tenants and the yards are used for paid parking. Seems like the price was around 175k. They must be circa '07, '08.

175k for both of them?  I'll give them $10 and a box of matches.

[joiei]

Just what we need, another parking lot in the downtown area.  If your advocating a tear down at least replace it with something besides another parking lot.

[MichaelBates]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by waterboy

If they are the ones I'm thinking of they sit next to an abandoned luncheonette (good name for an album!) and they have for sale signs on them. They are actually are rented out to tenants and the yards are used for paid parking. Seems like the price was around 175k. They must be circa '07, '08.

175k for both of them?  I'll give them $10 and a box of matches.

Why not renovate them into some sort of interesting boutique or cafe? Do we have so many 100-year-old houses in Tulsa that we can tear them down willy-nilly?

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates



Why not renovate them into some sort of interesting boutique or cafe? Do we have so many 100-year-old houses in Tulsa that we can tear them down willy-nilly?

Completely agree.  I just moved to the "new urbanist" neighborhood of State Thomas in Uptown Dallas.  Most of the buildings are shiny new townhomes and apartments, but the neighborhood gets its charm from the few remaining single family homes--some of which are historic Victorians, while others are just old houses.  They used to be run down homes.  Now they are day spas, law offices, or residences.  But they help the area keep from seeming too sterile and master-planned.

[BKDotCom]

quote:Originally posted by Floyd

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates



Why not renovate them into some sort of interesting boutique or cafe? Do we have so many 100-year-old houses in Tulsa that we can tear them down willy-nilly?

Completely agree.  I just moved to the "new urbanist" neighborhood of State Thomas in Uptown Dallas.  Most of the buildings are shiny new townhomes and apartments, but the neighborhood gets its charm from the few remaining single family homes--some of which are historic Victorians, while others are just old houses.  They used to be run down homes.  Now they are day spas, law offices, or residences.  But they help the area keep from seeming too sterile and master-planned.

Are you two familiar with the 2 shacks in question?   Rennovating these would amount to razing them and rebuilding.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by BKDotCom

quote:Originally posted by Floyd

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates



Why not renovate them into some sort of interesting boutique or cafe? Do we have so many 100-year-old houses in Tulsa that we can tear them down willy-nilly?

Completely agree.  I just moved to the "new urbanist" neighborhood of State Thomas in Uptown Dallas.  Most of the buildings are shiny new townhomes and apartments, but the neighborhood gets its charm from the few remaining single family homes--some of which are historic Victorians, while others are just old houses.  They used to be run down homes.  Now they are day spas, law offices, or residences.  But they help the area keep from seeming too sterile and master-planned.

Are you two familiar with the 2 shacks in question?   Rennovating these would amount to razing them and rebuilding.

no, they don't know.  They just spout things.  Those houses are junk.  I'd like to save them too, but it simply isn't going to happen.  My idea is for the entire block.  Tear that junk down, kick out all the bums in the apartments, renovate them both, create a green space in the middle and keep the parking in the back for good paying tenants.

[we vs us]

I drove by there this morning.  Those buildings just aren't in any shape to do anything with.  They look like you could blow real hard on them and they'd just fall over.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by we vs us

I drove by there this morning.  Those buildings just aren't in any shape to do anything with.  They look like you could blow real hard on them and they'd just fall over.

They are held together by termite tubes and scum.

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by BKDotCom

quote:Originally posted by Floyd

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates



Why not renovate them into some sort of interesting boutique or cafe? Do we have so many 100-year-old houses in Tulsa that we can tear them down willy-nilly?

Completely agree.  I just moved to the "new urbanist" neighborhood of State Thomas in Uptown Dallas.  Most of the buildings are shiny new townhomes and apartments, but the neighborhood gets its charm from the few remaining single family homes--some of which are historic Victorians, while others are just old houses.  They used to be run down homes.  Now they are day spas, law offices, or residences.  But they help the area keep from seeming too sterile and master-planned.

Are you two familiar with the 2 shacks in question?   Rennovating these would amount to razing them and rebuilding.

I know the houses in question but haven't taken a close look in a few years.  Maybe they should be condemned--I don't know.  But it's always worth looking again at older structures in historic districts to see if they can be salvaged--particularly considering that property values in the neighborhood they're in are about to start rising.

This is why I have suggested a demolition committee for downtown.  The idea would be, before you can tear down any structure in the IDL, you have to go before the board and show that the building lacks historical significance or is totally beyond repair, and also show what your replacement plans are.

This would, in theory, keep people like the Tulsa World from tearing down Art Deco buildings for parking lots.  Not sure these houses qualify, but it's the same thought process anyway.

[waterboy]

I looked at the houses two years ago. They are worth saving simply because they are the last two I can find within the core of the downtown and are older than nearby Central High, now PSO. They will require imagination, hard work, time, money and some understanding of those old building materials and techniques. Not something easily found these days. Inteller, if you saw my home when I bought it 25 years ago you would have razed it too as well as most of original Maple Ridge,Morningside, Riverview, Carson and Owen Park.

My plan was to bridge the two structures.