uphill CLIMB
OKC’s southside business district of Capitol Hill attracts new development
Capitol Hill, a great old business corridor just south of the Oklahoma River, was a popular topic in Friday’s OKC Central Live Chat. Several questions about the district’s future were prompted by news that developers Steve Mason and Aimee Ahpeatone have acquired the Yale Theater on SW 25 near Robinson Avenue and are starting to bring it back to its former glory. Lackmeyer hosts OKC Central Live Chat every Friday at 9:30 a.m. at NewsOK.com.
Below is an edited transcript:
Q: What is the future of the Capitol Hill district? I hope that future improvements help the current residents and do not hurt them.
Q: I’m very excited to hear about Yale theater redevelopment. What does this mean for the future of Capitol Hill?
Q: Is Steve Mason the first one to put real investment in Capitol Hill? The Yale Theater update seems opportune, but very forward.
A: Mason was very quick to note that the effort to bring Capitol Hill back to life dates back 20 years to when a Main Street organization was launched for the district. The district still stands with much of its historic mid-20th century architecture intact because of the tenacity and hard work of its merchants, property owners and nearby residents.
I am seeing a really amazing pattern emerging. The locals — the people who have the most to lose or gain — work hard to keep their areas alive and still viable for a comeback. They make some strides, but not enough to say they are a revival story.
And then we see the arrival of Jonathan Fowler, who I see as our urban “John the Baptist.” He sees the potential. His heart is in place-making and improving communities.
He joins with locals in either creating events and festivals, or enhancing existing events, to bring more of the city to the community and giving businesses a boost. And then the developers follow.
We saw this pattern with the Plaza District, we saw this along the Hudson and NW 8 area of Midtown, and I credit Fowler with helping draw more interest to Capitol Hill. Was Fowler the only reason Mason came to Capitol Hill? Probably not. But he has made it a much more attractive proposition.
As for what is ahead, developers like to follow other developers and not be pioneers. Steve Mason has become in just a decade a great pioneer who created Ninth Street out of a small cluster of blighted old buildings even I couldn’t envision being fixed up and restored. Mason is saying this is just the start of his investment in Capitol Hill. Just watch — others will follow.
If you look at the Plaza District, you see some longtime merchants who have not been gentrified out of the area. I really hope that the same scenario works out in Capitol Hill, which has a great array of Hispanic businesses. I know having talked to Mason he wants that to stay intact.
Q: What’s going on with the Meatball House location in Deep Deuce? It looks like construction has stopped, which is worrisome because I am/was really looking forward to having Meatball House in Deep Deuce.
A: Work is set to start this spring.
Q: Will we ever see a good, reliable connection between the core and the Adventure District? My family loves the zoo and the Science Museum Oklahoma but would think there would be more options for dining and hotels if there was a good connection to downtown.
A: Studies were done for a passenger rail Adventure line. The tracks and right of way already exist from the Oklahoma Railway Museum all the way into the John F. Kennedy neighborhood. But more funding is needed to take it into Bricktown, and that has not happened. Maybe you can request it for the next bond issue?
Q: I know you’ve written about it, but could you touch a little on Bricktown — mainly the closings, but also the interest in new places coming in? Are any places showing interest in potentially coming (that) people might like to know about? Is there any reason this area of town isn’t busier and businesses are pulling out or is that purely cyclical?
A: I’ve been covering Bricktown for more than 20 years. Please don’t take offense at this, but your question pops up about every few years. Bricktown is a district that goes through transitions. Each time the district emerges bigger and better.
How many folks can remember the closing of Waterworks and how it was set to be the first of many restaurants that would close because of street and utility work being done in the mid-1990s in advance of construction of the canal and ballpark?
Retail was supposedly doomed to be a failure with the closing of the Laughing Fish. These moments happen.
And then we get a theater, a Bass Pro Shops, a Brickopolis, hotels — a lot of hotels — apartments, a Starbucks, corporate anchors like Tapstone and Sonic. The list goes on and on.
Losing Hooters was a good thing. Losing Spaghetti Warehouse, while it was a sentimental favorite, was a good thing. They were tired concepts that were no longer clicking with the market.
They are closing throughout the United States. It just so happens the property owners of these two buildings are not moving very fast (or at all) in replacing them. But the other vacancies are filling up quickly.
Heyday Entertainment and Sussy’s should be great replacements for Red Pin and Bolero’s. We have The Falls, an event center, about to go in and do a major renovation of the longtime blighted Margarita Mama’s building.
We have more than $100 million being invested in Bricktown. It’s definitely on the right track from my experience and observation.
Q: What’s your favorite project proposed for the 2017 bond issue? Stormwater improvements?
A: For downtown, stormwater improvements are a critical need. What does it say about our downtown when you see sandbags stacked up in front of apartments and businesses? What does this tell potential investors?