Something old and something new
by Mike Jones, Tulsa World
02/07/2010
If the progress being made in downtown Tulsa could be summed up in one project it might be the Mayo Building. There's a little inconvenience, it's a little messy and it might not be moving along as quickly as some would like, but the attention being paid to detail and the care in the rejuvenation of an old building reflect the overall goal of those interested in seeing downtown return. And the end results should be well worthy any wait or inconvenience.
Opened in 1910, the Mayo Building, at Fifth and Main streets - and not to be confused with the Mayo Hotel about two blocks west - is one of Tulsa's oldest buildings. The 100-year-old building had fallen into disrepair. But with the foresight of Wiggin Properties and an infusion of Vision 2025 funding, the building is nearing completion of a $30-million renovation project.
The Mayo Building is one of Tulsa's more historic structures and is on the National Register of Historic Places. In short, it was built by the brothers Cass and John Mayo, who also built the Mayo Hotel as well as other historic downtown buildings. Its roots are deep in the history of Tulsa's oil boom.
Due to the restrictions set in place by its historic-places designation, certain care had to be taken in restoring the old building. That care was evident on a recent tour. For instance, all of the original doors are being restored. The glass, of course, had to be replaced but even it matches the original glass. Even the old transoms remain, although they no longer open.
Wiggin, which recently saw the opening of the new downtown YMCA in the building, is now giving tours to potential residents of the 67 one- and two-bedroom apartments on floors three through 10. Emily Rohleder, vice president of Oklahoma City-based Wiggin, said during the tour last week that there has been a good deal of interest in the residences. She hopes to have most or all of the units leased by the completion of the renovation, which is expected in April.
Make no mistake, these are not units that everyone can afford — rents will range from $1.25 to $1.45 a square foot and units range in size from about 650 square feet to 2,000 square feet — but the clientele is likely to be young professionals with disposable income who work downtown.
And it will be an interesting place to live and will impress residents' visitors. Walking through the construction one can see the attention being paid to detail. The original marble is being polished, the original crown moulding is being refurbished and, as mentioned, there are those great doors.
The access to the Y, at a discount rate for residents, and the location in downtown make it ideal for downtown workers.
The recent success of the Mayo Hotel residence leasing gives Wiggin confidence that the Mayo Building will follow suit.
As both the Mayo Building and the Mayo Hotel share some success, other parts of downtown continue to show signs of life. On the high end is the BOK Center. A recent study found that the new arena is an island of success in an economic tempest. At the end of December, halfway through the fiscal year, the arena had shown a profit of $1.2 million. That figure is certain to increase with some big-time concerts on the horizon such as Reba McEntire and George Strait, whose show sold out in less than an hour.
The center also ranked No. 8 in the United States by Pollstar in the number of tickets sold for the 2009 calendar year. That's an incredible showing in a market shared by Los Angeles, New York City and other cities much larger than Tulsa.
In the BOK's second quarter, from October through December, it generated $516,326 in tax revenue through sales of tickets, T-shirts, concessions and other items. For the fiscal year, the center's sales tax remittance to the city, county and state is $1,523,709. The arena's budget is based on a profit of $285,597 for the entire fiscal year.
That sort of success will again prove the naysayers wrong, although it likely won't change their tune.
I expect the same sort of success — and the same doubters — when the new ONEOK Field baseball park opens in the spring. The anti-progress crowd will again complain of parking problems and crime. One only has to look at the BOK Center to understand how ludicrous those fears are.
More new restaurants and even a bowling alley are scheduled to open in the Blue Dome District soon.
Does there need to be more progress in downtown? Certainly. There needs to be more restaurants, although there are several now and more on the drawing boards. The nightlife in downtown continues to thrive.
My only concern is that the economy and any slowdown in progress might hurt the much-anticipated NCAA first- and second-round basketball tournament scheduled for the BOK Center in 2011. Tulsa needs to put its best foot forward for that prestigious event.
The Mayo Building continues its march toward rejuvenation as does all of downtown. It's beginning to feel more like a neighborhood all the time.
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Wiggin takes wraps off $30M Mayo 420
by Kirby Lee Davis, The Journal Record
01/14/2010
Within the next week, Wiggin Properties hopes to start signing leases on its 67-unit Mayo 420 Building, finishing its $30 million renovation of the downtown Tulsa office building by early April.
"We've started doing some tours," said Wiggin Vice President Emily Rohleder. "We've got some people interested."
Those units across floors three through 10 provide a near-even mix of one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 650 to 2,000 square feet. Rohleder expects lease rates ro range from $1.25 to $1.45 per square foot, or about $813 to $2,900 a month.
Wiggin's progress marks another advance in the chicken-and-egg problem of downtown Tulsa residential options. Rohleder remains optimistic about their leasing options, pointing to the early success the Mayo Hotel and Residences enjoyed last fall with its 76 apartments, leasing 60 almost immediately.
That was achieved even as Tulsa apartment vacancy rates rose to 9.5 percent lst year from 8 percent in 2008, according to the latest report by David Forrest with CB Richard Ellis of Oklahoma. That report showed Tulsa apartment rental rates dropping 2.5 percent last year, averaging from $462 for a one-bedroom unit to $631 for two bedrooms/two baths.
Some analysts attributed the Mayo Hotel's early apartment success to its small inventory and unique hotel services, providing hedges against the recession. Analyst Darla Knight said the Mayo 420's similar size and niche appeal could help it find a similar audience.
"I think they really need to focus their advertising dollars on identifying who those people are and where that market is," said Knight, the Tulsa representative for the Norman-based multifamily brokerage Commercial Realty Resources Co. "I think they should lease up okay, given the size of it."
Wiggin boasts a couple of strong attractions in Billy's Restaurant, which remained open through the restoration effort, and the YMCA of Greater Tulsa, which started 2010 by moving its downtown Tulsa branch into the Mayo 420 Building.
"It's really nice being in the center of everything," said Susan Plank, chief executive of the 100-year-old YMCA arm. "Our major goal was to be open Jan. 1 for the new year's resolution crowd. We were able to meet that goal."
The YMCA ocupies not only the other half of the first floor from Billy's, but also portions of the basement and the second floor. That floor's other half offers four private offices for lease, totaling 3,000 square feet, and a 2,000-square-foot community room for apartment tenants.
Oklahoma City-based Wiggin acquired the 10-story, 130,000-square-foot structure at Fifth and Main Streets in August 2008 for $1.3 million.
The property management company hired architects Kinslow Keith & Todd of Tulsa and Colcord Construction LLC of Oklahoma City to restore the buliding along historic preservation standards.
That presented some interesting challenges since the existing structure evolved through three construction projects. It started as a five-story building raised in 1910 by brothers Cass and John Mayo to house their furniture store. In 1914 they added a neighboring five-story building. Three years later they connected the two into one building while adding five more stories.
Through six decades under Mayo management the structure operated as a combination retail/office complex. As suburbia set in the structure went through a series of ownership changes, its occupancy falling as downtown Tulsa struggled. Before Wiggin acquired it, the building stood largely empty since 1994.
Plank, for one, thinks the restorers did a marvelous job. Surrounding its weight equipment, treadmills and exercise bikes, the Y's first-floor exercise area employs bare brick walls left from the stripped-down interior, all sheltered by a white plaster ceiling boasting a chain of domes lit by recessed lights.
The second floor continues that eye to history, with workers polishing and retaining extensive marble panels, terrazzo floors, a barrel hallway ceiling and old-fashioned doorway transoms. Such character provides a backdrop to the basement exercise rooms, whirlpool and sauna.
"Isn't this classic?" she said of the grand floor's rustic iron door, left over from bygone days. "They were going to drywall all of this, and we asked them not to. I like it."
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Mayo Building Named to National Register of Historic Places
December 2008
The Mayo Building was recently named to the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation.
Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is the official federal list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects significant in American History, architecture, archeology, engineering and culture. National Register properties have significance to the history of their community, state or the nation.
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YMCA Moving to Mayo
Tulsa World by Kevin Canfield, World Staff Writer
10/22/2008
The Downtown YMCA will have a new home in the historic Mayo Building beginning January 2010, officials said Tuesday.
"We're moving forward and we're very excited," said Suzann Stewart, chairwoman of the YMCA Metropolitan Board of Directors.
The Downtown YMCA, currently at 515 S. Denver Avenue, will occupy the first three floors of the Mayo Building at the corner of Fifth and Main Streets. The move will not affect the Billy's on the Square restaruant on the first floor. The new facility will include workout areas, locker rooms, classrooms and offices for the Downtown YMCA staff.
YMCA officials have been looking for a new downtown location ever since it was determined that it would be cost-prohibitive to get the YMCA residencey area up to building codes before changes take effect in 2010.
The existing Downtown YMCA building is for sale.
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Wiggin Begins $30M Mayo Transformation
Excerpts from an article by The Journal Record
09/29/2008
After more than a decade of talk by many would-be developers about creating residences in downtown Tulsa's nearly empty Mayo Building, Wiggin Properties intends to deliver the goods with a $30 million renovation.
"This property looked like the best place for downtown housing," President Charles E. Wiggin, appreciating its location at Dewey Bartlett Square. "You go up to some of the upper floors and the views there are spectacular."
Last month the Oklahoma City-based property management company paid $1.3 million for the 10-story, 130,000-square-foot structure at Fifth and Main streets. About two weeks ago workers with Colcord Construction LLC of Oklahoma City started the long process to restore the decaying Mayo along historic preservation standards, using plans by architects Kinslow Keith & Todd of Tulsa.
Of the existing yellow-brick structure, only Billy's on the Squaer will remain intact when the completed project debuts in 2010, said Wiggin. Colcord Constructino will repair or replace the street-level marble facing, the three-story Mayo sign, the interior wood trim, plaster moldings and just about every other historic facet of the original office structure.
Wiggin will dedicate from 3,000 to 3,500 square feet of second-floor space to private offices. That floor also will house a 2,000 square-foot community room for the apartment tenants. Floors three through 10 will provide 67 residential units ranging from 650 to 2,000 square feet. Wiggin estimated monthly rents would range from $700 to $2,000.
An agreement with the neighboring Main Street parking garage will not only let Mayo residents keep their cars there, but allow Wiggin to connect the Mayo's third floor to the garage's fourth level for easy tenant access.
(Click here to read the article in its entirety.)
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The Mayo Building Will House Luxury Loft Apartments, Using Part of the Vision 2025 Funds
Tulsa World By Robert Evatt, World Staff Writer
9/27/2008
Wiggin Properties of Oklahoma City has started a $30 million project to convert most of the 10-story Mayo Building at Fifth and Main streets into 67 luxury loft apartments under the Mayo420 name, Charles Wiggin, prseident of the company, said Friday.
The long-delayed conversion is one of the downtown living proposals that received Vision 2025 money. One of the others is the Mayo Hotel, a separate building owned by the Snyder family that's in the midst of a $40 million renovation into 72 lofts and 100 hotel rooms.
The Mayo Building's renovation, which already has begun and includes a community room, a health facility and some office space, will create rented apartments from 650 square feet to 2,000 square feet that will command rents between $700 and $2,000 or more per month. The first apartments will be ready for renters by December 2009, with construction to wrap up in spring of the following year.
Wiggin said he and his company tackled residential projects before and decided to undertake a residential effort in downtown Tulsa because they were intrigued by the city of Tulsa's requests for downtown living proposals.
"We looked for the best building, and this one stood out," Wiggin said.
Built by Cass and John Mayo in 1910 and expanded twice by 1917, the Mayo Building was originally home to the Mayos' furniture store, then became offices for Tulsa's early oil producers, including Texaco and Shell Oil. The building fell into decline in the 1980's and was mostly vacant a decade later. Billy's On the Square restaurant, which opened in 2001, was its only tenant.
Though Wiggin Properties was awarded $3 million in Vision 2025 money in 2006, it was only able to begin construction recently as the purchase of the building from Pearson Group of Austin, Texas, moved slowly, and Wiggin wanted to assemble a talented team of developers.
One of these was the architectural firm of Kinslow Keith and Todd, which designed the Philtower Lofts during their recent renovation. Wiggin said that building's performance helped convince him there was a need for more downtown lofts.
"They've leased well and are a good indication of what we can expect from downtown residents," he said. "It's also attracted suburbanites who sold their midtown homes and moved here."
Since Wiggin has applied to have the Mayo Building entered into the National Register of Historic Buildings, the exterior and common areas will look as close to the building's original design as possible, he said. But the apartments themselves will have new looks.
"They'll have a contemporary feel, with tile and hardwood floors and modern appliances." Wiggin said.
The building will also have a third-story bridge connecting it directly with the Main Park Mall parking garage on the same block, he said. The easy acess to covered parking was part of the building's attractiveness for Wiggin Properties. Billy's on the Square will remain open during the renovation, said owner Billy Bayouth.
"We're excited about the renovation and are looking forward to the building coming alive again," he said. Bayouth said the building's upcoming apartments, the BOK Center and other downtown developments are causing him to consider possible evening hours for the restaurant at some point in the future.
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Property Firm Seeks Input on Downtown Development
Tulsa World By Bloomberg, AP and Staff Reports
11/15/2006
(Tulsa) Wiggin Properties LLC, a recipient of Vision 2025 sales tax downtown housing funds, is organizing a focus group to gather input from those who either live downtown or might consider living downtown.
The gathered information will be incorporated into plans to renovate the Mayo Building, 420 S. Main St., into a mixed-use building with retail, office and apartment spaces, according to the Oklahoma City-based company.
The group will meet at Billy's on the Square at Fifth and Main streets from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with a buffet dinner.
To register, contact Emily Rohleder at 582-8100.
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Downtown Lofts Offer a Unique Perspective on Tulsa Living
By Holly Wall | Tulsa Urban Weekly
(Tulsa) Downtown living options provide Tulsans an opportunity to get closer than ever to the heart of their city. They allow Tulsans to actively participate in the past, in
Tulsa
’s history, by turning something old into something new for a new generation.
And as downtown and midtown are reborn, residents can get closer to enjoying the “new urbanism” that is slowly but surely becoming reality in
Tulsa
.
Most downtown lofts and apartments are re-creations from the past, survivors of the wrecking ball from thoughtless years past. The Tribune Lofts, for example, are located in the historic Tribune building in the Brady District and have been designed to preserve the style and history of the six-story building. There are only 35 apartments in the building, and no two are exactly alike.
Another historic-landmark-turned-living-space is the Philtower building, hosting 25 residential loft apartments on floors 12-20. It was the first ever multi-use high rise. The building has been a part of
Tulsa
’s historical landscape since 1928 when oilman and philanthropist Waite Phillips constructed it to house his petroleum company and his home.
Tulsans are finding these and other historic downtown buildings an ideal place to live. Not every Tulsan sees downtown as idyllic, though, and most downtown dwellers will tell you it takes someone just a little different to live in the heart of the city.
Damian Arredondo is an artist and the manager of the Blair Apartments, 614 S. Elwood. Of downtown tenants, Arredondo said, “I would have to say we are the type of people that want something different for an apartment, not a plywood wonder.
“We also have very creative and individual residents,” he added. He said many of the Blair’s occupants are attorneys, artists, musicians and dancers.
Micha Alexander, downtown developer and owner of the Virginia Lofts at 3rd and Lansing, echoed Arredondo’s sentiments.
He said people who live downtown are mostly young professionals, people who work downtown and people who are looking for more than “cookie cutter neighborhoods out South.”
Alexander said living downtown is quiet and safe, which is probably the opposite of what most people think of when they think of urban dwelling.
“You don’t see too many people after five,” said Alexander, calling it “deserted.”
“There’s more open space,” he added.
Alexander is currently working on new retail and residential development along
3rd Street
. He said Tulsans will be hesitant to make the move downtown until they see real, tangible development.
He also said that to see more growth downtown, more residents should have the option to buy, not just rent, their homes.
“We need to get people rooted here,” he said.
One woman who spoke to Urban Tulsa Weekly has her roots at Central Park Condominiums at 7th and
Denver
, and she’s not leaving. Tanda Laughlin moved to
Central Park
nine years ago, the day before the grand opening. She, like many others, loves her downtown residence for its proximity to her job and shopping outlets, the view from her seventh-story apartment and the feeling she gets from being in the middle of the city.
Laughlin said she feels like she’s getting the best quality living space she could get for her money, and one can see from touring the apartment the details and craftsmanship that set downtown residences apart from hastily-built pre-fab, cut-out homes.
And
Central Park
is different in and of itself – in addition to permanent homes, the high-rise luxury condos also offer a place for short-term and extended stay visitors to live at about a third of the cost of a hotel.
Still, the price of living downtown doesn’t come cheaply, and if you want to live downtown, you’d better be able to afford it. Though many downtown lofts come with high-dollar amenities. For instance,
Central Park
boats a pool and Jacuzzi, tennis and basketball courts, a fitness center, jogging track, tanning bed, sauna and covered parking. Those homes and amenities come at a price that includes location, location, location.
The other drawback – most downtown residences aren’t ideal for raising families. Even in a two-bedroom, two-bath, a couple’s space can become smaller when a third person comes into the picture. Also, rarely will you find a backyard to go with your downtown apartment. And while some lofts allow pets, this is usually the exception rather than the rule.
Also, Alexander said those who live on downtown streets are usually the last recipients of street improvements and new streetlights, things that help to make residents feel safe.
Also, while downtown dwellers are in close proximity to just about everything they need, many agree that a grocery store close by would be a big improvement. Developments like these might help to attract more people to the downtown area.
For the most part, though, Arredondo said downtown living is moving in the right direction.
“I think we are all ahead of our times,” he said.
And with funds from Vision 2025 directed toward expanding downtown living spaces and those renegades who believe in
Tulsa
enough to make downtown development happen,
Tulsa
is sure to see more opportunities for those who want to live out of the box to find a space that is just right for them.
For example, construction of Mayo 420, loft-style apartments in the historical Mayo Building, one of Tulsa’s very first “skyscrapers,” will begin at the end of this year, thanks to help from the Vision 2025 Downtown Housing Fund. The first apartments are slated to be available for occupancy in mid to late 2007, and the ground floor will contain retail and restaurant space.
Other downtown living options include Renaissance Uptown, the Brady Arms and The Village at
Central Park
.
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City of Tulsa awards $3 million of Vision 2025
Housing Funding to Wiggin Properties
(Tulsa) On March 9, 2006 Tulsa Mayor Bill LaFortune announced that Wiggin Properties would receive $3 million in Vision 2025 financing from the City to assist in the renovation of the Mayo Building for luxury rental residential conversion.
The City’s Vision 2025 Oversight Committee and the Downtown Vision 2025 Housing Fund Committee approved four projects. Mayor LaFortune said, "These four projects were unanimously selected from a total of 10 excellent development proposals. Tulsa is coming back and coming back strong. We see so many public and private revitalization efforts underway, and wonderful plans for downtown. We appreciate the work and vision of all the applicants."
The $10 million of Vision 2025 funds are expected to create approximately 166 residential units and upwards of $36.8 million in total investment.
The four projects selected are: The Mayo Building, by Mayo Redevelopment, LP, at 424 S. Main; the TransOK Loft Apartments, owned by Navajo Properties LLC, at 2 West 6th Street; the Mayo Lofts (hotel), by Mayo LLC, at 115 West 5th Street; and the 1st Street Lofts, by Blue Dome Properties, at 310 E. 1st Street.
The City’s request for proposals (RFP) was released on August 9, 2005 and the 10 submissions, requesting a total of more than $30 million, were received by December 7, 2005. The Downtown Housing Fund Committee, which makes recommendations to the Oversight Committee, held nine meetings to evaluate the proposals. One meeting included a field trip to view each of the buildings proposed for adaptive reuse, as well as to view the sites of proposed new housing construction. The Committee interviewed each applicant and received a professional financial evaluation conducted by an outside consultant. The Committee evaluated all 10 proposals based upon a numeric value established by the criteria in the RFP. The criteria included: urban quality of project; feasibility; public/private ratios; experience and number of units.
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Proposals Would Create Historic Residences
By Brian Barber - Tulsa World Staff Writer
January 15, 2006
Some of Tulsa’s most historic buildings could be transformed into residential spaces with the help of $9.3 million in Vision 2025 funds set aside to boost the downtown population. A total of 10 proposals, including ideas for the Mayo Hotel, Transok Building and Wright Building, among other prominent structures, are being reviewed by city leaders.
"Tulsa’s downtown has a solid base for revitalization," Mayor Bill LaFortune said. "It’s full of grand old buildings that should be brought back to life. All they need is some TLC – tender loving care." Downtown Tulsa Unlimited President Jim Norton is heading up the Vision 2025 Downtown Housing Fund Committee that is evaluating the proposals so it can make funding recommendations.
"People really took this seriously and considered the criteria, as they should have," he said. The rehabilitation of a historic building is an important factor to the committee, Norton said, along with the proximity to the planned Centennial Walk, a historic pathway through the heart of downtown. The proposals also needed to exhibit an urban feel, he said. "I don’t think we have a single application that is deficient," Norton said, adding that he hopes multiple proposals will receive Vision 2025 funds. A total of $33.2 million in requests were submitted that would create more than 450 residential units, he noted.
"It would be nice if we could give money to all of them, but that won’t be possible." The committee will interview some or all of the applicants and should have its funding recommendations to the Vision 2025 Oversight Committee by early March, Norton said. From there, the recommendations will go to the mayor for approval and then to the Tulsa Development Authority for contract negotiation. Proposals were encouraged to include plans for repayment of the Vision 2025 funds once a profit is turned so the money can be given to other downtown residential projects, said Pat Treadway, planning and economic development division manager for the city’s Urban Development Department.
"If this is as successful as we hope it will be, it will be the beginning of a renaissance for downtown," he said. LaFortune said the program is the perfect example of a public-private partnership.
"We’re leveraging public dollars to position the downtown area for explosive growth in the coming years," he said. A successful revitalization will never happen without permanent residents, Norton said.
"They will bring the nighttime and weekend traffic that retailers and restaurants must have to survive," he said. Most of the proposals are for residential spaces that would cater to the uppermiddle class.
"If that living downtown, the rest will be easier," he said, adding that it is important to eventually develop quality downtown housing for all segments of the population. Demand for downtown living space is high, Norton said, citing the success of the Philtower Lofts, the Tribune Lofts and the Renaissance Uptown apartments. Those projects were helped along with public funds from the city’s 1996 and 2001 third-penny sales tax packages, and downtown Tulsa has benefited by gaining more urban dwellers, he said. The Tulsa Development Authority provided $3.3 million for Renaissance apartments at 1000 S. Denver Ave., $700,000 for the Tribune Lofts at 20 E. Archer St. and $1 million to renovate the upper floors into apartments at the Philtower, 427 S. Boston Ave. A market study conducted two years ago indicated an immediate need for 600 to 800 residential units.
"I’m sure that need has only grown since then," Norton said. "Whichever proposals are selected to receive Vision 2025 funds, I’m sure they will be extremely successful."
One Vision, 10 Properties
Tulsa Club Condos Mayo Hotel, First Street Lofts, Tribune Loft Condos, Transok Building, Reunion Building, Mayo Building, Gates Building, Wright Building
Transok Building
600 S. Main St.
Funds requested: $2 million
Total project cost: $4.7 million
Developer: Navajo Properties
The proposal: This is one of several downtown properties that have been purchased by California investors Henry Kaufman and Maurice Kanbar. The pair want to create 52 lofts on the upper floors, with the ground floor used as commercial space. The lofts would range in size from 752 to 1,450 square feet, with rent priced between $940 and $1,812.50 per month. Formerly known as the Public Service of Oklahoma Building, this art deco structure - completed in 1929 - is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gates Building
Two buildings at 323 E. Brady St. and 216 N. Elgin Ave.
Funds requested: $1 million
Total project cost: $2.25 million
Developer: Gates Building LLC, Robert
Johnson Architects
The proposal: Converting the old Gates Hardware building and an adjacent structure in the Brady District into 16 units. They would rent for about $950 per month starting out. If sold, they would be priced between $180,000 and $200,000.
The Mayo Hotel
115 W. Fifth St.
Funds requested: $8.4 million
Total project costs: $21,342,548 million
Developer: Mayo LLC
The proposal: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Mayo Hotel was once hailed as the finest hotel in Oklahoma and was the tallest building in the state. In recent years, the Grand Lobby and Mezzanine have been renovated without public funds, and this project would continue that effort. The building would have 118 lofts that would be sized between 700 and 3,060 square feet and rent for $700 to $3,060 per month. There also would be new elevators, a revamped Crystal Ballroom and a rooftop bar. The proposal is split into two parts — one for $5 million and the other for $3.4 million — in case the city wants to help fund only a portion of the work.
First Street Lofts
310 E. First St.
Funds requested: $1,574,315
Total project cost: $2,824,315
Developer: Blue Dome Properties LLC
The proposal: A residential loft building that would be marketed as “creative spaces for creative people.” Sixteen units would range in size from 678 to 1,883 square feet and rent for between $700 to $2,100 per month. The bottom two floors would be commercial space.
The Olive District
Third Street and Kenosha Avenue
Funds requested: $5 million
Total project cost: $11.3 million
Developer: Maverick Properties
The proposal: In what is being billed as the beginning of the Olive District, 25-year-old entrepreneur Micha Alexander would construct a new building that would be a mix of condos and office and retail space. The 29 condos would have prices ranging from $153,150 to $238,200, and a penthouse would be priced at $630,600. Alexander said he is flexible on the name of the Olive District. It originated with the idea of making the cellular tower on the site look like a swivel stick and putting several giant olives at the bottom. (He started up the martini lounge 818 nearby.)
The Wright Building
115 W. Third St.
Funds requested: $1.5 million
Total project cost: $6,065,650
Developer: RK Development LLC
The proposal: To convert the top five floors of the building, which is in the process of being put on the National Register of Historic Places, into 27 one- and two-bedroom loft apartments. They would be sized between 1,027 and 1,710 square feet and rent for between $1,500 to $2,200 per month. A 45-space parking structure would be connected. The 1917 building was the first high-rise medical office in Tulsa.
The Mayo Building
424 S. Main St.
Funds requested: $4.5 million
Total project cost: $15.1 million
Developer: Wiggin Properties LLC
The proposal: The design calls for 94 one- and two-bedroom units in sizes ranging from 600 to 2,000 square feet, with ground-floor commercial outlets such as the current tenant, Billy’s On the Square restaurant. Monthly apartment rent would be $650 to $2,400. Amenities would include hardwood floors and a rooftop terrace. The building was constructed in 1910 and expanded in 1917.
Tulsa Club Condos
115 E. Fifth St.
Funds requested: $2.5 million
Total project cost: $6 million
Developer: Tulsa Club Development Co.
The proposals: With retail and office space on the first two floors of this art deco building, the rest would be converted to condominiums and penthouses. The 47 condominiums would range in sizes from 746 to 1,000 square feet and sell for between $111,000 and $150,000. The 13 penthouses would be 1,300 square feet each and sell for $260,000. This 1926 building was constructed through a joint effort between the Chamber of Commerce and the Tulsa Club, an exclusive organization that was started by Tulsa’s oilmen. Club members enjoyed a lounge, squash courts, gymnasium and barber shop and other amenities until it closed in 1994 due to falling membership.
Tribune Loft Condos
Phase II, adjacent to the original Tribune Building location at 20 E. Archer St.
Funds requested: $4 million
Total project cost: $11,592,000
Developer: American Residential Group
The proposal: A new building would be constructed with complimentary architecture adjacent to the original 1924 Tribune Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The second phase would have 40 units with one to three bedrooms and ranging in size from 831 to 2,258 square feet. They would have prices ranging from $165,000 to $395,000. The new building also would have office and retail space on the first floor and parking.
900 Reunion Center
9 E. Fourth St.
Funds requested: $2.76 million
Total project cost: $3.76 million
Developer: Reunion Investments Limited LLC
The proposal: Sixteen luxury condos sized between 1,500 and 1,800 square feet would be constructed in this 10-story building. Pricing for the condos has not been determined.The red-brick with limestone trim building was constructed in 1917 as the First National Bank building.
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