Kaiser throws a couple more bucks at the river

[sgrizzle]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080311_1_A1_hTheK78883

quote:
Famed Blair estate to be purchased

by: BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
3/11/2008  12:00 AM

The Kaiser foundation is buying the property for community use.


The George Kaiser Family Foundation has a contract to buy the 33-acre historic Blair estate for an undetermined community use, the Tulsa World learned Monday.

Those who frequent Riverside Drive know the property as the one with the sweeping lawn and plantation-style mansion between 26th and 29th streets.

Foundation Executive Director Ken Levit confirmed the pending sale but would not disclose the purchase price. The closing is set to take place in the next several weeks.

Levit said there are no specific plans for the property.

"I don't think anything is going to change for quite some time," he said. "But we would like to find a way for it to be an asset for the public in the long term.

"We see it as a special and unusual resource for the community as a whole."

Levit said he expects the property primarily will be "park-like in one form or another."

The property has been owned by nursing home developer Daniel S. Buford since 1995. The estate of oilman B.B. Blair -- built in 1952 -- was put up for sale after the death of his widow, Penelope Blair.

Although the River Parks Authority had hoped to purchase it back then, Buford was the one who made the first offer.

It was initially feared that Buford would turn the property into a nursing home or possibly cut up the lot and build homes, but he instead chose to live there.

Although the purchase includes the 6,000-square-foot mansion, the Buford family will continue to reside there for "a number of years," Levit said.

"We're talking about a long time before plans are developed or even discussed," he said. "The Buford family has done a wonderful job of maintaining and preserving the property, and that level of care will continue to take place even though the ownership will change."

The Kaiser foundation last year donated $12.4 million to create a dual trail system to replace the existing one in River Parks, which is located across the street from the Blair estate.

Acquiring the property is seen "as adding to the fabric of the River Parks region," Levit said.

"I think it's an exciting opportunity for the community that this will be stitched together with the trails and the park system," he said.

River Parks Executive Director Matt Meyer said he has had no discussions with foundation officials about plans for the property.

"But in general, the George Kaiser Family Foundation has been an awesome partner for River Parks and we are very appreciative of their generosity and long-term vision," he said.

"I see this as being good news."

This make me wonder about the picture TulsaWorld leaked, then removed, that showed Riverside drive being run through the blair front lawn making for a larger park at the pedestrian bridge.

[inteller]

yeah exactly.  That piece of property was beautiful.  Now it will be dug up....or made into a dog park so people can take their dogs to ****.  Some things should be left alone.

[Conan71]

And here everyone thought Mr. Kaiser was going to pick up his marbles and go home....

[TheArtist]

I will just rehash my response on there...

Hmmm, this does open up some possibilities. Would indeed be good to keep the space open and the old home there. However, it might be nice to come up with some way to add a garden type walking path around the outer edge that loops around the entire property. Not something over done but something with taste and class, plantation or colonial style gardens perhaps. A white wicker rose arbor somewhere, a small white gazebo, water features. Again leaving the center lawn open and clean, but add something around the outer edge to entice and allow people to walk around the space, have picnics on the lawn, tented art shows, etc. The old house in later years could be used as a community space for art classes, meetings, weddings,,,


And how bout some constructive ideas inteller? I am gonna put mine out there and push for something nice to be done with the property. If it happens, Dont want to hear you bellyache. Find some way to become involved in a positive way, or sit back and whine about what other people do.  Even bad ideas win out over no ideas. Your choice.

[cks511]

My two cents is that he is genuine and wants to now stay clear of anything like the miller and taylor freakin fiasco river tax.  IMHO!

[cannon_fodder]

I'm a big fan of George Kaiser.  And I was one who thought he was taking his ball and going home.  Glad he proved me wrong.

Frankly, it's his land now, he can do with it as he pleases (within the guise of his non-profit and the guidelines of course).  I like a big open lawn sitting there, but it is really a waste.  If it is bulldozed and turned into housing it's a better use than it is now (it would be a neat spot for a row of setback brownstones with a park in front of them, facing the river with access from the rear.  Hell, that could be a break even for the foundation and leave more money for river parks!).

Obviously I'd PREFER a dog park to development, or even a kid park [] (really Inteller, what harm would it be to you if it was a dog park?  Currently is is nothing to you).  Thus far the Kaiser foundation has been nothing but good for Tulsa, I have no reason to doubt this will be more of the same.

Maybe we can make it a quite area for reflection, where Inteller can go pout about how everything sucks so much (in his new Mercedes SUV).

[RecycleMichael]

I think he should straighten the road and use some of the lawn. That has got to be one of the most dangerous stretches of four lane anywhere...

That would get the road further from the path and allow a larger gathering place close to the river.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I think he should straighten the road and use some of the lawn. That has got to be one of the most dangerous stretches of four lane anywhere...

That would get the road further from the path and allow a larger gathering place close to the river.

it is only a dangerous stretch if you don't know how to drive your lumbering suburban through a more narrow than normal passage.  The road on that particular part of riverside is actually pretty smooth compared to the hell around 41st.  I owuld hate to see it get torn up just so more trails can be built.  Is that the ultimate goal?  Let all the streets fall apart so we can jog to work?

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by inteller

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

I think he should straighten the road and use some of the lawn. That has got to be one of the most dangerous stretches of four lane anywhere...

That would get the road further from the path and allow a larger gathering place close to the river.

it is only a dangerous stretch if you don't know how to drive your lumbering suburban through a more narrow than normal passage.  The road on that particular part of riverside is actually pretty smooth compared to the hell around 41st.  I owuld hate to see it get torn up just so more trails can be built.  Is that the ultimate goal?  Let all the streets fall apart so we can jog to work?

I don't care how many trails you build, I don't "jog" no matter what. I do see some benefit from  moving the road, not as far as the TW image showed (it move the road so close you could spit on the porch) but I think 20ft or so into the lawn wouldn't hurt and it would help people use the pedestrian bridge and surrounding areas more. Much of the west bank is taken up by stairs and ramps to get you onto the pedestrian bridge and the bike/walking path through it is about 5-6 feet wide. A more open arrangement wouldn't hurt.

And yes, people don't know how to drive through it. They fear the wall. I was above riverside there yesterday and was dumbfounded by the number of people who couldn't keep their car between the lines. It was more than 50% of the cars I counted.

If anyone needs a reference picture, it's the area behind my kids:

[Renaissance]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle


If anyone needs a reference picture, it's the area behind my kids:

First off, that's adorable.

Second, that pictures nicely shows how empty the lawn is.  There's nothing there to "preserve."  It's just a swath of grass in an otherwise lively area.  I always wondered why more hadn't been done with it.

[inteller]

you are absolutely right, there is nothing to preserve, and that's exactly why it needs to stay that way.  There seems to be this addiction in Tulsa that every open stretch of land has to have something built on it.  Give me a break.  Decades from now we'll be dying for some open space.  Just look how popular Central Park is in New York.

[cannon_fodder]

Wow.  Comparing Tulsa to NYC and 3 acres of green space to Central Park.  

Ignoring the fact that most people in Tulsa have their own green space.  Ignoring the miles of green space across the street in River Parks.  Ignoring Zink park just down the street.  Ignoring all the other large by NYC green spaces around town (including Woodard and of course large green space in Mohawk park) and the fact that all the green space you want is an hours drive in any direction.

I'm a big fan of green space and parks, but pretending like it is a scarce commodity in Tulsa or will be in the near future, let alone to the extent NYC is lacking it, is a bit out there.  Is this your new angle to oppose any development in Tulsa?  We need the green space.

[bigdtottown]

I for one don't see much point is preserving acres and acres of bermuda...hardly what I'd call stunning landscape architecture.  Maybe some sort of park would work.  Heck, even a few nice homes scattered in there with nice, interesting landscaping would be better that what's there now.

[sgrizzle]

My whole point is moving the road a bit (you can see the sidewalk goes straight but the road curves in the picture) won't take anything away. You just put some of the green space by the river instead of all of it in front of the house.

[sgrizzle]

Found it, finally:


The area in the top-right corner was pulled within a couple of hours after the story hit the website last year. Maybe this purchase has something to do with that picture and was removed when they realized they had shown their hand.