Jeez...TW from 2007...We were so naive...
Downtown building being converted into loftsThe project, which began Wednesday, is partially funded with Vision 2025 money.
Construction of the first Vision 2025 downtown residential project began Wednesday with a jackhammer's boring into the concrete floor as city leaders covered their ears."This project has been a dream of mine for 30 years, and now it's coming true," said Michael Sager, the developer who bought the former Jacobs Hotel at 310 E. First St. in 1977.
The five-story structure, which was built in 1916, has been home to night clubs and a restaurant because it is in the heart of the Blue Dome District. It's also been used for storage and indoor baseball pitching. When its transformation into the First Street Lofts is complete early next year, the structure is planned to have 19 units, with a grocery store and deli on the ground floor. The project is one of four that were selected to receive interest-free loans from $10 million set aside in the Vision 2025 sales-tax initiative. "I would have never been able to get this project off the ground without the Vision 2025 money," said Sager, who received $1.3 million toward the $3 million total cost. "It's just too risky for the banks." The units will range in size from 650 to 2,000 square feet and rent for about $1 per square foot. An adja cent lot will offer dedicated, secured parking.
The building also will have a rooftop deck for use by its tenants. The First Street Lofts will target youthful urban dwellers, said its architect, Rachel Zebrowski of Miles Associates, noting that it will have wireless Internet service and an elevator that's large enough to accommodate bicycles. Sager expects a high demand, but he won't start a waiting list until the renovation is close to completion. The other Vision 2025 residential projects, which have yet to begin construction, are the historic Mayo Hotel, 115 W. Fifth St.; the Mayo Building, 424 S. Main St.; and the Transok Building, 2 W. Sixth St.
The idea behind the interest-free loans is that when the developers repay the money, it will be redistributed to future residential projects in an effort to boost downtown's population from the current 1,500 or so. Downtown Tulsa Unlimited President Jim Norton said luring more residents into the central business district is critical. "You must have a strong residential base to create new retail, restaurants and nightspots, so this is an important building block," he said. Using 1996 and 2001 third-penny sales-tax funding, the city has helped other residential projects become reality, including the Tribune and Philtower lofts and the Renaissance Uptown apartments. "Those have been enormously successful, and I expect the First Street Lofts to continue that trend," Norton said. Mayor Kathy Taylor said downtown's revitalization is moving at a rapid pace. "I know we hear a lot about the BOK Center and the Convention Center," Taylor said, "but it's projects like this that will truly bring life back to downtown."