Steve Lackmeyer: OKC Central Chat transcript, Oct. 26, 2012

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: October 26, 2012 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 9:29 a.m. Good morning everyone. Steve will be logging in at 10 a.m., but you can start submitting your questions now.

Steve Lackmeyer 9:58 a.m. Good morning!

Steve Lackmeyer 9:59 a.m. I'm at Nebu in Devon Energy Center - meeting someone here after live chat. Let's get started, shall we?

Gary W 9:59 a.m. Corsair Cattle Company and Corsair Caughron LLC (I assume owned by the same person) bought a lot of properties in 2006 & 2007. Except for the plans for the renovation of the Downtown Baptist Church on Main Street, there has been little movement towards improving those properties. Are they just renting them out or waiting to get more money for renovations?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:01 a.m. It wasn't that long ago that when Corsair Cattle (the Smith brothers) bought a downtown property, it was assumed, usually quite correctly, that they would do nothing but sit on it until they could flip at a great price. Only in the past few years have they begun to act as developers, and have done well with NW 7 and Hudson (Ludevine) and other properties. I've not seen much activity with the Downtown Baptist Church (Main Street Arcade), though a few months ago they did submit renovation plans to the downtown Design Review Committee.

Gary W 10:01 a.m. Steve, thanks for taking all our questions. When is the Santa Fe Parking garage renovation supposed to start?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:02 a.m. The last I checked, the Santa Fe parking garage renovation should start this winter.

Gary W 10:02 a.m. I remember seeing plans to re-streetscape Classen and make it more pedestrian friendly. Any chances that comes to fruition?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:02 a.m. Gary, are you talking about the Asian streetscape completed last year? That's the only project I know about.

Gary W 10:03 a.m. With the Edge being built in Midtown, do you see some of these other large lots (SW corner of 11th & Hudson, SW corner of 10th and Hudson) being bought up and larger developments being done on them?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:04 a.m. Yes, I do see some other developments taking place on the lots you speak of, and don't be surprised if conversations are going on now ... I suspect we'll see more mixed use residential.

Gary W 10:04 a.m. Steve Mason bought 11 NW 8th in June, 2011. Has there been any progress on that remodel?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:04 a.m. Mason has been weighing ideas for development, but I'm not aware of any announcement yet for that property.

Gary W 10:04 a.m. Are there any plans to renovate the Melvin Luster home at 300 NE 3rd?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:05 a.m. Neighbors report they've witnessed activity at the Luster home, which is a very impressive home built almost a century ago. It's not in great shape...

Nick 10:05 a.m. Good morning, Steve!

Steve Lackmeyer 10:05 a.m. Good morning Nick!

Bryce 10:05 a.m. A few months back you wrote an article about the Century Center Mall being renovated. Is anything happening with it still?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:06 a.m. Hopefully we'll hear an update on Century Center in the near future.

Nick 10:06 a.m. When can we expect actual construction to begin on the Edge @ Midtown?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:06 a.m. It's my understanding they are preparing to get site work started any time now.

guy 10:06 a.m. Are there any plans for the lot on 13th and Broadway next to the Garage apts?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:08 a.m. Companies affiliated with Mark Moore own those lots. I think they are great corners, especially the one at Robinson that was once home to a shopping center that included Brown's Bakery. I can see housing being built there, but any developer would have to figure out how to win support from the adjoining Heritage Hills neighborhood.

Pat 10:08 a.m. An affiliate of sandridge bought the property at 4th and EKG. Is this a land company, a drilling company or midstream company of theirs ? What I'm getting at, is this for an extension of the Sandridge Commons or some other unspecified entity ?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:08 a.m. Pat, the buyer was 4th Street Partners LLC. That's all we know, and SandRidge isn't talking.

George 10:09 a.m. When it comes to the skyline and downtown Okc in general, do you see growth fueled by all local companies or have you heard any outside relocation rumors?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:10 a.m. George, good question. Hopefully many of you read the story I had last Sunday about the future for downtown Oklahoma City's skyline. So here's what I can tell you - the companies I'm hearing about looking at new office construction downtown are mostly, but not totally, local companies.

Andy L 10:10 a.m. Any idea what the current status is of the new apartment complex that's supposed to be built on the old Mercy Hospital site? I thought construction was supposed to have begun several weeks ago.

Steve Lackmeyer 10:11 a.m. Groundbreaking on The Edge, the housing to be built on the former site of Mercy Hospital at NW 13 and Walker Avenue, was last week!

Nick 10:11 a.m. Perhaps Marva will step back in build something great? I seem to mention her every chat, but I really like what Marva has proposed in the past and her work on the Seiber was amazing.

Steve Lackmeyer 10:12 a.m. Nick, Marva, I'm sure, appreciates your comment. She's still developing the corner at NW 5 and Hudson (site of the old Allen's Cafe) and is pursuing some other projects that aren't ready for primetime.

Nick 10:12 a.m. Any updates on the Hotel Marion renovation and neighboring garage?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:14 a.m. My understanding is that most of the pieces for the garage and Marion have been figured out, and planning is well underway.

guy 10:14 a.m. Is there any special reason the gazette parade is using such a different route this year?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:15 a.m. My guess - and this is only a guess - is that it probably involves sponsorships and advertisement agreements that help pay for the production. Keep in mind, Bill Bleakley and his crew put a lot of time, money and effort into the parade, so at some level it's got to be self sustaining.

Corey 10:16 a.m. How far off are we from official announcement (s) of a new tower being built downtown?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:16 a.m. I'm going to take Mark Beffort and others at their word and believe it will likely be within the next several months.

Toby Keith 10:16 a.m. Any info on expansion plans at St. Anthony's?

Steve Lackmeyer 10:17 a.m. No, I need to catch up with them...

Pablo 10:17 a.m. Any final thoughts about the OKCoCo vs. Fleet Tracking story? Know some folks are scrambling to find a place to work instead of the coco.

Steve Lackmeyer 10:18 a.

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