AUCTION BLOCK
Armory proposals include brewery, hotel, housing, retail, offices
The historic 23rd Street Armory is being eyed for affordable housing, retail and offices by developer Chuck Wiggin while Coop Ale Works is proposing to convert the landmark into a combined brewery, hotel and event center, with the remaining property to be turned into restaurants and retail.
The two competing proposals submitted to the Office of Management and Enterprise Services are set for a quick committee review with a recommendation to be made within one month.
Shelley Zumwalt, spokeswoman for the agency, said the committee will weigh not just the purchase offers, but financial ability to pull off the projects, planned preservation of the main building and the overall plan and likelihood of completion.
“They will make a recommendation to OMES,” Zumwalt said. “We will enter into negotiations with the entity recommended, and we are hoping to have everything done and ready to go by summer. It is an aggressive timeline.”
The 1935 Art Deco building was constructed of recycled penitentiary bricks. The interior has concrete floors, steel joists and fireresistant construction. The armory consists of offices, classrooms, a barrel-roofed drill hall and several garages with overhead door entry.
Wiggin proposal details
Wiggin, a veteran developer of housing and office projects in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, is proposing a phased development of all but one parcel of the property. His bid price is $1.2 million, and development would consist of a historic renovation of the armory with 42 apartments on the upper floors that open up to the cavernous main room of the armory.
The Wiggin proposal suggests the ground floor would “most likely” be leased to a “substantial fitness center” that would occupy half the space and retail, restaurant and service businesses that would cater to the nearby Capitol complex and area residents.
The second phase would convert buildings on the northeast corner of the property into restaurants and retail, while a third phase could involve construction of a new office building of up to 100,000 square feet pending demand.
“The armory itself is a challenge,” Wiggin said. “If the armory can be successfully repurposed, then the land to the east really is a pretty prime location. And so that got us thinking with what we can do with the armory — we came to a realization the second and third floors of the building are perfect for workforce housing.”
Coop proposal details
Coop Ale Works, meanwhile, is proposing moving its brewery to the open part of the armory and converting the floors that open up to the space into a hotel. The building also would be redeveloped into retail, offices for the brewery, a restaurant and event space.
Coop Ale Works submitted two alternate proposals.
One proposal is to buy the armory and 6.5 acres surrounding the landmark for $485,000. The project would include a 4,000-square-foot restaurant and patio facing the state capitol, a 4,000-squarefoot event space and a 22-room boutique hotel.
The second alternative proposal would be to buy the armory and 13.4 acres surrounding the building (all but one parcel) for $2.3 million. The
second proposal matches the first and adds 130 apartments and a mix of restaurants, retail and offices.
The proposals would not include any phased development. Sean Mossman, spokesman for the brewery, said the development would be unique and would accommodate the brewery’s continued growth.
“We originally started nine years ago next to the 51st Street Speakeasy,” Mossman said. “We grew out of the space and moved into our current production four years ago, but it was
always with the intention of finding our permanent home. We’ve known since we moved into this building we would outgrow it based on sales and production.”
Coop Ale Works submitted renderings to the OMES that the agency refused to release to the public, though such materials are routinely made public by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority and the City of Oklahoma City. Mossman also declined to release renderings after discussing the matter with Zumwalt.
Mossman said they will
not release renderings to the public unless they are chosen as developer.
“Our priority now is to preserve the integrity of the process and respect the committee’s upcoming deliberations,” Mossman said. “We’re not providing anyone, other than the committee, artist renderings of our proposed development. We do not want to create the perception of outside influence on the committee members. We will share artist renderings of what will hopefully be our future home if we’re fortunate enough to be selected.”