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OKC Central Chat transcript, March 8, 2013

The Oklahoman's Steve Lackmeyer took questions from readers in today's OKC Central Live Chat. You can join Steve's Q&A's on Fridays at 10 a.m. and submit your questions about the happenings in and around downtown Oklahoma City.

By Steve Lackmeyer | Published: March 8, 2013 Comment on this article

The Oklahoman's Steve Lackmeyer took questions from readers in today's OKC Central Live Chat. You can join Steve's Q&A's on Fridays at 10 a.m. and submit your questions about the happenings in and around downtown Oklahoma City. Below is an unedited transcript of the chat.

NewsOK 9:34 a.m. Good morning. Steve will be logging in at 10 a.m., but you can start submitting your questions now.

NewsOK 9:58 a.m. Good morning everybody!

Nick 9:59 a.m. Good morning Steve! Do you have your magic 8 ball ready? The masses are increasingly antsy!

NewsOK 9:59 a.m. Yes. I have the Magic 8 Ball at my side to handle all questions related to the "mystery tower." I kid you not.

Will 9:59 a.m. Steve, thoughts on the possibility of Bricktown losing the RedHawks? http://www.ask8ball.net/

NewsOK 10:04 a.m. We're not going to lose the RedHawks. The Texans, however, are seriously looking at yanking away the Houston Astros triple a affiliation. I say let them take it away. The deal with Houston was never warmly embraced when they came in as a substitute for the Texas Rangers. Think about it: people haven't shown much excitement over the Astros since they hosted the Bad News Bears in the 1970s. I'd love to see the RedHawks team up with St. Louis, restore what was as strong a following in Oklahoma as any connection to the Rangers. This could be a great opportunity to further separate our state from a sometimes dominating shadow of Texas. Read more from Mike Baldwin, who actually knows what he's talking about: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-redhawks-astros-might-move-triple-a-affiliation-out-of-okc/article/3763429

Gary T 10:04 a.m. Good morning Steve. I always appreciate you doing these chats. What is your process like for deciding what story gets in the paper, what goes on your blog and what maybe only gets a blurb in the business section? What is your proudest moment as a reporter?

NewsOK 10:05 a.m. This is an awfully serious question for what is still morning... must get coffee....

NewsOK 10:13 a.m. Breaking news is always first. I also want to empower readers so as to give them a chance to not just be informed about an issue, but provide them with the chance to have their say, get involved if they wish. Some topics are too narrow in interest to go into print, but are of interest to the very downtown centric audience that follows the OKC Central blog. I will readily admit that I hate doing stories about online websites giving Oklahoma City a ranking on "quality of life, business friendly, traffic, jobs growth, sweat on an August afternoon, etc." All too often, these are just stunts trying to get local media to provide publicity to websites. Quite frankly, I can do my own lists, thank you very much. So if I have to do these stories, if I can get away with it, I'll just turn in a "blurb." As for my proudest moment.... wow..... on March 20 I will mark my 23rd year at The Oklahoman. I've written thousands of stories. One series resulted in prompting the city to come up with a much needed fleet replacement plan for the police department. I've written stories that drew attention and help to those in distress. I've broken stories on Devon Energy Center, the relocation of Continental Resources to Oklahoma City, I drew attention to the plans for the Oklahoma City Boulevard ....but I don't know if any of those would rank as my "proudest moment." I just don't have an answer on this.

Gary T 10:13 a.m. Approximately 23 more days until your deadline for a new downtown tower. Any more info you can pass on to us?

NewsOK 10:14 a.m. Magic 8 Ball says: "Better not tell you now."

Gary T 10:14 a.m. What are the chances OKC ever snags a major airline hub?

NewsOK 10:15 a.m. The airline system is not expanding. The hub system, if you take an honest look at it, has been contracting with the loss of various airlines. I just don't see it happening. But I'm also not sure this is as big a deal as it once was.

M 10:16 a.m. Hey Steve, what is the possibility of a pedestrian corridor on Oklahoma between Main and 2nd. This would provide a great connection between Deep Deuce and N Bricktown. And the restored grid (doesn't need to be a street) would provide infill opportunities to further connect the two districts.

NewsOK 10:19 a.m. The problem stopping a connection between Deep Deuce and Bricktown is that an extension of Oklahoma Avenue would require an expensive bridge crossing or a massive ramp up due to the change in elevation, and it would have to cross the Union Pacific tracks. And the Union Pacific railroad, from all that I've heard, is still a bit grumpy over the effort several years ago to make it contribute toward the cost of rebuilding the Walnut Avenue bridge one block south of where Oklahoma Avenue is cut off.

That said .... have you taken a close look lately at the rail "crossing" where Oklahoma Avenue would be located?

Gary T 10:19 a.m. How are renovations going on the Sherman Iron Works building and what is going in there?

NewsOK 10:19 a.m. Stanley System is renovating the building into their offices.

Gary T 10:19 a.m. With things steadily moving along on Film Row, do you think it will take more of a center state for the deadcenter film festival in years to come?

NewsOK 10:20 a.m. Yes, absolutely. We've already seen a growing connection between the festival and Film Row in previous years. I look forward to seeing how the screening room at The Paramount might come into play this next festival.

Gary T 10:20 a.m. Is seems like ODOT, city council, etc are going to stick with the Classen/Western/Boulevard plan with a bridge going over Western. Once that interchange is completed, do you think we will see resurfacing of some of the streets to coming off of it? Do you ever see Classen being redone and maybe a lane taken out, widen the median to make it prettier and at least make it more bicycle friendly, if not pedestrian friendly?

NewsOK 10:22 a.m. The city and state might want to stick with the new designs for the boulevard, but it's not a done deal until the project is approved by the Federal Highway Administration, and that hasn't happened yet. Yes, I do think some of the surrounding streets will be fixed up, either in connection with the boulevard project or as part of the next bond issue proposal to go to voters. I have not heard of any effort to narrow Classen Boulevard.

Gary T 10:22 a.m. You wrote an article a while back about the property on the SE corner of Lincoln and NE 4th being redone. Has there been any movement on that?

NewsOK 10:23 a.m. If I recall correctly, that's the old doctor's hospital you're talking about. I've seen no work done at that site since a renovation application was submitted to the design review committee a year or so ago.

Gary T 10:23 a.m. I saw the plans for the Tower Theatre several years ago and it appears it was going to be used for events, not unlike Will Rogers Theatre. Do you know if that is still the plan or have things changed?

NewsOK 10:24 a.m. The project is stuck. The owner, Marty Dillon, has indicated he's having trouble obtaining financing.

Gary T 10:24 a.m. How is the bikeshare program in and around downtown working? Any chance they will expand to, say, the Plaza District?

NewsOK 10:26 a.m. From all I've seen, Spokies is going very well. It was expanded to Automobile Alley last fall, and conceptual plans for the new Core to Shore park suggest including three to four Spokies stations for visitors. The program is administered by Downtown OKC Inc., so I'm not sure how it could work in the 16th Street Plaza District, which is well outside downtown's boundaries.

Gary T 10:26 a.m. What is the latest on the Osler building renovations?

NewsOK 10:26 a.m. Renovations to convert the Osler building into a boutique hotel have begun.

Gary T 10:27 a.m. There was a rumor going around about a new hotel going in between NE 6th and 9th and Oklahoma Avenue, backing up to the highway. Also, I remember seeing renderings for a renovation of the Bindery building on the SE corner of NE 10th and Oklahoma. Any progress on these two projects? Would this development help advocate for a quiet zone?

NewsOK 10:30 a.m. NE 6 and Oklahoma is a property that is in play. It also was being eyed for a Panera Bread restaurant and housing. I'll put my bet on housing. I'm meeting with an individual today who is involved in the Duncan's Bindery project and I'll hopefully have an update for you soon.
The quiet zone effort is ongoing, and my sources tell me it will come to a successful outcome in the near future.

Gary T 10:30 a.m. When are we likely to see progress on an Adventure District line DT?

NewsOK 10:31 a.m. The Adventure District line is part of a much larger debate about the planning and routing of the MAPS 3 streetcar system. At the end of the day, regardless of what is said by special interest advocacy groups, review committees, etc., the decision on all of this rests with the Oklahoma City Council.

BethanySooner 10:31 a.m. Good morning Steve. Now that the announcement is getting closer,can you narrow down the week that you think the tower announcement is most likely to take place?

NewsOK 10:33 a.m. Magic 8 Ball says: "Without a doubt."

NewsOK 10:34 a.m. That's a surprise to me, by the way, but Magic 8 Ball says what it wants to say.

BethanySooner 10:41 a.m. When you interviewed Jeff Speck, did you get his take on the proposed boulevard? Also, he said that he gave the engineers ten guidelines. Do you have that list?

NewsOK 10:41 a.m. Jeff Speck is clearly worried about the state building a road that will open with excess capacity when he sees a street grid that is already functioning without the boulevard. I need to get that list.

NewsOK 10:42 a.m. By the way, sorry about the pause - I was interrupted by a phone call.

Guest 10:42 a.m. Good Morning, Steve. Looks like the Santa Fe station acquisition is headed for a fight. Are the Brewers being reasonable in this?

NewsOK 10:44 a.m. The Brewers think they are being reasonable and the city is not being reasonable. The city thinks the Brewers are being unreasonable, and that the city's bid is reasonable. This is real estate. It's business. And in this matter, it also will likely end up as an eminent domain action where either mediators or a judge will make the final call on what is, and isn't, reasonable.
That said, those I talk to say the city's offer is a bit low, and that the Brewers' counter-offer is more than a bit high.

Guest 10:44 a.m. Any word on if Old School Bagel Cafe downtown will be open on the weekends?

NewsOK 10:44 a.m. I talked to Mark Beffort, who manages Leadership Square, and it appears this decision has yet to be made.

Jennifer M. 10:44 a.m. Any word on if Old School Bagel Cafe downtown will be open on the weekends? Please say yes!

NewsOK 10:45 a.m. I guess I just disappointed you.

David 10:45 a.m. This is an exciting time for OKC. I grew up in Oklahoma, and have since moved out of state for graduate school, but I enjoy reading about the progress being made in the city. What strategies do you think OKC has or can put in place to attract younger professionals? I'd like to hear not only about jobs, but also clothing and grocery stores, restaurants/clubs/music, and other cultural attractions.

NewsOK 10:52 a.m. Good questions. Certainly progress has been made with the addition of the Thunder to our sports scene, the creation of ACM@UCO in Bricktown, the rise of the Plaza District, the growing community downtown, various rowing venues along the river, and a growing tolerance for diversity in the city (I'll leave it to others to comment on diversity statewide). Could the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber take a stronger role in promoting the local music scene (I believe they support our growing presence at South by Southwest in Austin) or the creation of an incubator for creative start-ups? Could more be done to spotlight the efforts of our young professionals and provide financial backing for their ventures?

Ray 10:52 a.m. Where does the city stand with the convention center site? Have they purchased the land? Are they going to eminent domain it? Has the price and location been questioned by city officials?

NewsOK 10:52 a.m. Acquisition talks are ongoing. This story is not done.

Pat 10:52 a.m. Good Morning Steve, To the point, in your opinion, will the tower at Stage Center exceed 30 floors ? Thanks

NewsOK 10:54 a.m. Magic 8 Ball says: "Outlook is good." Magic 8 Ball is feeling chipper today.

Ray 10:54 a.m. When is the new comprehensive plan for OKC going to be finished? It seems like they have been working on this for 4 years!

NewsOK 10:54 a.m. Such plans take time. I don't know the answer to your question.

Guest 10:54 a.m. Natives definitely restless

BethanySooner 10:54 a.m. It appears that Councilman Shadid is trying to divert MAPS streetcar funds to bus transit. In your opinion, would the citizenry lose faith in our elected officials for future MAPS projects if in fact funds are diverted?

NewsOK 10:55 a.m. I think the citizenry would be upset and lose faith if this project weren't given serious thought as to its implementation, funding and long-term viability and success.

BethanySooner 10:55 a.m. Someone mentioned you were working late into the night on a 'big' story. Can you give us a hint as to whether this is business, retail, or housing related? Also, what district?

NewsOK 10:56 a.

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