Updates on Abundant Life Bldg (Tulsa Club moved to its own thread)

[Townsend]

So I drive by the abundant life building and I can't believe the transformation.

Has anyone else seen it lately?  I'll get some pictures and post them as soon as I can.



The weeds and trees on the roof?  Even taller.  sigh

[tulsabug]

So I drive by the abundant life building and I can't believe the transformation.

Has anyone else seen it lately?  I'll get some pictures and post them as soon as I can.



The weeds and trees on the roof?  Even taller.  sigh

It needs to be torn down as does ORU. Nastynastynasty.

[Townsend]

After 30 years being vacant, downtown Tulsa building maybe revived

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120214_16_A1_CUTLIN801786

The owner of a downtown building that has been vacant since the 1980s - and is uninhabitable because of loose asbestos - says he wants to turn the structure into high-end condominiums.

"There is going to be nothing like it in Tulsa," said David Horton of David Horton Ministries. "We're talking about glass and steel and balconies like something you would see in Scottsdale," Ariz.

The seven-story structure at 1720 S. Boulder Ave. has been vacant since the 1980s. Five years ago, it was included on a list of 69 vacant downtown buildings targeted for abatement through either rehabilitation or demolition.

Today, the Abundant Life Building is still considered an open case by the city, with officials issuing the occasional abatement notice for tall grass or weeds.

The structure, commonly known as the "Diamond Club," is unsuitable for habitation because of the asbestos. Still, Horton believes the building can be resurrected.

"Our goal is to take the building down to the frame and kind of rebuild it," Horton said. "Our inspectors have said the steel in the building is better quality than you would buy today."

The current vision for the building began to take shape in 2007 when Horton asked Brian Freese of Freese Architecture to work with him and a potential investor to come up with development plans. The deal fell through, but Freese was hooked on the building's potential.

"He seemed to trust my instinct in terms of what I thought the building should be," Freese said of Horton. "I had recommended from the very beginning that it should be mixed use. It is a wonderful location for high-end condominiums."

Freese's plan calls for up to 35 condominiums with large patios and great views. The ground floor of the building would have a double-high lobby with space for a restaurant and outdoor seating, plus other retail operations.

"If I were to try and paint a picture, I would say think California modern," Freese said.

"Interiors very open, very light-filled, very sleek, sophisticated, open. There is nothing like it right now."

Built in 1957, the steel structure with a marble veneer was intended to serve as the world headquarters for Oral Roberts' ministries.

But by the 1980s it was shuttered, and in 1997 David Horton Ministries purchased the building for $1.6 million. The idea then, Horton said, was to turn it into a mission training center.

That never happened.

"We bought the building just a couple, three years before 9/11," Horton said. "When that happened not only our ministry (but others) really suffered.

"Renovating a building like that was just not possible. We really got stuck with it."

Freese and Morton said they understand that real obstacles stand in the way of getting the project off the ground. For starters, they need an investor. Freese estimates the project would cost about $12 million.

"We are not interested in bringing in just anybody with a lot of dough who consequently just makes it whatever they want it to be," he said.

"We have a very strong vision for what this should be, and we're really wanting to stick with that."

Freese said that even in the best of times, high-end condominiums in a mid-size city like Tulsa are a tough sell. But he's working with Horton for a reason - he believes that after all these years, and despite all the hurdles ahead, the project could work.

"I am optimistic it will happen eventually," Freese said. "Because in my opinion this is, by far, the highest and best use for this property and its location with the amenities nearby."





Dilapidated list
In 2007, the city of Tulsa identified 69 vacant buildings in and around the Inner Dispersal Loop that needed to be rehabilitated or demolished.

The city has closed its files on 65 of the 69 buildings because they were either rehabilitated by the owner or found not to meet the criteria for a dilapidated structure.

"I can tell you from the city's standpoint, we have not had to demolish any structure within the IDL," said Kevin Cox, field supervisor for the city's Working in Neighborhoods department. "There was one that the property owner demolished."

The Abundant Life Building, 1720 S. Boulder Ave., is one of the four buildings the city continues to monitor.

"Other than the weeds and trash and the two and three times the building has been found unsecured (in the past year), it has not presented any issues," Cox said. "But I can tell you that the city would like to see the building rehabilitated."

The other buildings still being monitored by the city include:

1416 E. 11th St.: A local investor is negotiating to purchase the property. The owner has stated his intention to rehabilitate the structure for commercial store fronts.

121 W. Fourth St.: The building, commonly known as the Coney Island Building, is tentatively scheduled to be demolished in March.

1320 S. Cheyenne Ave: An investor has made an offer to purchase this empty synagogue.

To view a list of the original 69 buildings targeted by the city, go to tulsaworld.com/vacantbuildings

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120214_16_A1_CUTLIN801786

It still sounds like he's just making believe he's going to do something with it.

[carltonplace]

After 30 years being vacant, downtown Tulsa building maybe revived

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20120214_16_A1_CUTLIN801786

It still sounds like he's just making believe he's going to do something with it.

Yes, this is the telling part:

Freese and Morton said they understand that real obstacles stand in the way of getting the project off the ground. For starters, they need an investor. Freese estimates the project would cost about $12 million

[AquaMan]

They should just be blunt. We need the Kaiser Foundation to help us build more condos for people who have almost as much money as Kaiser does.

[Conan71]

Maybe 900 foot Jay Seuss paid him a visit.  Pastor Horton needs to appeal to his flock.  

[carltonplace]

They should just be blunt. We need the Kaiser Foundation to help us build more condos for people who have almost as much money as Kaiser does.

$12M / 35 UNITS = $342,857.14 per UNIT

[Conan71]

$12M / 35 UNITS = $342,857.14 per UNIT

Figure on a Sager budget and the project will go north of $25 million after 10 years and the units will then go for $343,000 each in the foreclosure sale.

[carltonplace]

Figure on a Sager budget and the project will go north of $25 million after 10 years and the units will then go for $343,000 each in the foreclosure sale.

Agreed

You would be hard pressed to find many single family dwellings in the Buena Vista platt of Riverview that are in this price range (and these are large houses). A quick glance at zillow puts the median single family dwelling price at around $200K.

This building is not tall enough to present much of a view worth paying so much for...the condos would need to be beyond swanky and gate-protected.

I wonder if this proposed development would encroach into the residential neighborhood to provide gated parking?

[AquaMan]

$12 million for 35 units is probably abatement, reconfiguring and updating construction costs. May not even include profit. And one thing I learned about construction. Develop a best estimate number...then add 35% for unforeseen costs.

I love the idea that he is in love with the idea. Now, if he can simply create something that an urban dweller could reasonably afford, he's got something. A lot of people are unaware that those sleek contemporaries from back in the day, were actually much more affordable than traditional construction. They were smaller, lacking in storage and built quickly.

Please, someone develop urban condo's that young people can afford. You're driving them into the suburbs.

[Kenosha]

342,000 for a nice condo doesn't seem outrageous to me.  Just sayin'.

[AquaMan]

I am happy for you. If that be true for others then it reinforces that I may simply be slipping into a denser plane of existence where the rest of you are just inanimate objects. That may be true in any regards.

By contrast, for the same price, I can buy a pretty nice two story Maple Ridge/Morningside/Sunset property, 3500ft, small yard, two car garage with rentable quarters and a nearby park. I can purchase in the nearby mid-town burbs and be king of the hood. I can still ride my bike to work, or Cherry Street and instead of condo fees, pay someone to do yard work. Just sayin'.

[Conan71]

I love downtown and wouldn't mind living in a downtown condo, but I enjoy having a yard and enjoy little home projects.  Interestingly, I seem to have gone in the opposite direction of my peers in terms of income increasing along with ever bigger housing.  I've gradually down-sized my living space and payment in the last 10 years even though my income has increased.  I have no worries about job security, but I feel a whole lot more secure with a lower house payment. 

[AquaMan]

Yes, that is a contra-behavior for most. And as someone pointed out on another thread, the downtown experience is as much about living in the nearby neighborhoods that surround downtown.

There seems to be a pretty stout premium for living in the downtown rather than nearby. Perhaps that is just the nature of the beast. I visited my son in OKC last week and he showed me the new home he and his pregnant wife are building in Moore. Ugh. Moore. They had wanted to live closer to downtown but couldn't find what they needed at the price they needed. The tipping point was ....school district. He got an acre of land adjacent to a farm pond, 4 br, 3baths, 3000 ft and a three car garage and a growing school system for less than what he would have had to pay for what they wanted in the city. I told him, congratulations, you are now a responsible adult. Suffer like the rest of us!

I suspect that he will live there a few years then as his income increases and the kids are older he will move several more times. Very different from my path.

[Red Arrow]

342,000 for a nice condo doesn't seem outrageous to me.  Just sayin'.

$Acouplemillion for a small bizjet doesn't seem outrageous to me.  It's still out of my price range.  Just sayin'.