Executive Q &A: Meg Salyer

Meg and Chris Salyer arrived in Oklahoma City 24 years ago hoping to start a new life in the "country.” And though this might sound like "Green Acres,” it's a story that begins with the wife dreaming of a life of "farm living.”

They bought a farm near Will Rogers World Airport and even raised some chickens. But within months, the couple ended their rural pursuit and made the move to the Edgemere neighborhood on the north fringe of downtown.

They bought an old building on Broadway, and did the unthinkable — they opened for business along one of downtown Oklahoma City's most blighted corridors.

These days the couple are considered pioneers who helped convert Broadway into Automobile Alley — a thriving mix of retail, restaurants, lofts and offices. Meg Salyer's leadership on Automobile Alley is just a fraction of the time she donates to causes throughout the city.

She recently sat down with The Oklahoman to discuss her jump from New York to Oklahoma City and what might be next for the Automobile Alley area of downtown.

Q: You started life as a New York girl, so how did you end up in Oklahoma City?

A: I actually traveled to Oklahoma City when I worked for Chase Manhattan Bank. I really enjoyed the time I spent here. I met Chris in New York — we had a mutual friend — and I commented over dinner how much I enjoyed traveling to Oklahoma City and he answered he might be able to take care of that for me. And before you knew it, I was doing a true "Green Acres,” going from a high rise with a doorman with a view of the Hudson River to moving to a farm near the airport. That was 24 years ago, and here we are.

Q: So how did you end up living and working in the inner city of Oklahoma City?

A: It took less than a year before we started driving around and looking for something in town. Chris' sister lived in Heritage Hills and we spent a lot of time in and about those old neighborhoods. To me, it felt so much like home. We were driving one Sunday, took a turn at 32nd and Walker, and saw this beautiful old yellow house with a white picket fence. And we've lived in Edgemere for 18 years.

Q: What are your earliest memories of Broadway?

A: My earliest memories are pretty sad. Remember this part of downtown had been in decline for a long time. But coming from New York, I could never understand how property I considered to be in walking distance from the city center could be all boarded up, empty and dilapidated. I think back, there was all the high weeds and grass growing up through cracks of the sidewalks, faded signs, boarded up windows. It really was sad.

Q: Did anyone make fun of you or question your sanity buying property along Broadway?

A: It was an interesting early time. At the time we were, Chris and I, were in the check cashing business. The first piece of property we bought along Broadway was 824 N Broadway. It was originally a sports car dealer. We had an owner-occupied use each time we moved into some of this real estate. It wasn't a very hard stretch. It worked so well for us — it was a building that had a car elevator in it, so it was multipurpose. We could have our offices on the second floor and Chris could use the third floor for storage.

Q: Was Chris already into vintage cars at that point?

A: Yes, I think cars must run in the Salyer genes. We bought a really fun sports car on our honeymoon, so he was already on his way into the car hobby. And this really was like a custom-fit building for us.

Q: Steve Mason, who is renovating older buildings at NW 10 and Broadway, recently referred to you as a visionary. What sort of vision did you have when you first came out here?

A: We didn't have a vision. We certainly didn't have a cohesive vision. We typically had something to do in each building we bought, but we weren't buying as an investment. We were buying to house a business we were operating. There were lots of other plans that other people had tried to put in place over the years ... but these were always individuals' plans, and they never involved the neighborhood. It wasn't really until after April 19, 1995 (the bombing of the nearby Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building) that we got a cohesive group of people together to really look at how important this stretch of Broadway is to downtown. We were able to work on this concept that everybody now recognizes as the front door to downtown.

Q: How many nonprofits and boards are you involved with?

A: I'm on a lot of boards. I serve on the board of Downtown Oklahoma City, the BID board, the All