LONG-DISTANCE DEDICATION
Couple remain rooted in Oklahoma City as they develop Midtown corner
When Teri and Eddie Coates purchased the corner of NW 8 and Shartel in 2012, they were newlyweds intent on making Midtown their home.
Career paths, however, led the pair to Boston and now Washington, D.C. Teri Coates earlier this year started her own architecture firm and Eddie Coates landed a job with a firm doing commercial development and real estate.
Their hearts, however, are still in Oklahoma City. And instead of selling the corner, Teri Coates has designed a $2 million, four-unit modern set of townhomes that will enjoy an uninterrupted view of the downtown skyline.
“We still consider Oklahoma home in a lot of ways to us,” Teri Coates said. “We want to see it continue to revitalize and be a part of that.”
The Coates’ story starts in 2008. Teri Coates was a Houston native who moved to Oklahoma City and worked for several prominent architecture firms locally, including Studio Architecture in Midtown.
The couple met while Teri Coates was pursuing her masters at the University of Oklahoma. They were married in 2011 and then moved to Boston in 2014 when Eddie Coates chose to further his education at Harvard Business School.
Her sister and parents, however, still live in Oklahoma City, as do his parents. The ties remain strong.
“We called this home as we started our relationship,” Teri Coates said. “It has special memories for us and it’s fun to continue to be a part of working in Oklahoma City in some capacity.”
The northwest corner of NW 8 and Shartel was an empty lot, cleared like many others of older one-story homes that had fallen into disrepair in the 1980s and 1990s.
The area itself was frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers until urban pioneers started buying lots and building modern style homes in the early 2000s. The area is now known as “SoSA” and
is home to dozens of new
homes and apartments.
The corner itself has grown in value thanks to a makeover now underway at Red Andrews Park across the street. A physician’s building associated
with St. Anthony Hospital is set to be built to the north of the alley garage entrances to the proposed new townhomes.
Construction is set to start on the development
named “Cirrus” by next spring. Each town house will span 2,000 square feet, and all are designed to take advantage of being located at the top a steep hill.
“The only thing between this corner and downtown skyline is the park,” Teri Coates said. “Big outdoor terraces on the third floor will act as outdoor rooms. You
won’t be able to tell there is parking on that first level — the focus will be on the top two floors. We wouldn’t design anything that we wouldn’t do for ourselves.”