The "this has nothing to do with Tulsa" mega-post

[Laramie]

 

The Collective

All pics via Oklahoma Gazette

Oklahoma City's first food hall, The Collective Kitchens + Cocktails, is open:

Excepts from articles written by Jacob Threadgill June 14, 2019 issue.

Beth Lyon's Black Cat: Chef Beth Ann Lyon has devised menus all over the city; now it is her turn to take center stage with her concept that debuted as a food truck last year. She opened Kitchen No. 324, wrote the original menu for The Press, Anchor Down and many others. Lyon, a Coach House graduate, is a proponent of what she calls intuitive eating.

Café de L'Asie: Oklahoma City is more than familiar with chef Vuong Nguyen after the Coach House program veteran became the original chef at Guernsey Park, developed the menu at Chae Modern Korean and served breakfast at Bonjour. He also now operates the re-vamped menu at Ur/Bun.

Nguyen takes his French training and family's Vietnamese recipes for a casual Pan-Asian concept with elevated elegance.

"I'm staying true to the flavors; I'm bringing bold Asian flavors and not masking anything," Nguyen said. "The uniqueness of it is going to be my spin on it."

The Flying Pig BBQ: You've probably seen The Flying Pig BBQ's bright orange food truck at events or driving around Oklahoma City for years, but now you do not have to track it down.

The Flying Pig offers pulled pork, chopped brisket, pork ribs, smoked chicken, sausage and bologna. Its namesake sandwich includes a hot link and smoked sausage wrapped in bacon that can be topped with macaroni and cheese for 50 cents extra. The B-52 takes all of these ingredients, including a bed of macaroni and cheese, and tops it with pulled pork.

Fried Taco: Ruben and Kristal Pacheco operate Fried Taco in Edmond, last year's nominee of for Best food truck in Oklahoma Gazette's Best of OKC readers' poll. Fans of its Puerto Rican and Caribbean fusion dishes now have a permanent place to find them.

In addition to tacos, it offers dishes from across the Caribbean, like mofongo, a Puerto Rican staple for which mashed plantains are combined with pork before being topped with a flavorful broth. Be sure to also try its drinks like mango coconut and coconut lavender lemonade.

Local-homa: A farm-to-table restaurant does not have to involve an expensive meal eaten in a rustic-style restaurant. Chef Gary Arnold and team want to take Oklahoma products and deliver fine-dining quality food in a casual and quick setting.

Okie Pokie:  Oklahoma City's first standalone poke concept is making the move from the bottom floor of the old Guernsey Park building to The Collective. Poke is one of the fastest-growing food trends in the continental U.S., after it started to make its way from Hawaii in the last two decades.

A variety of vegetables like edamame, cucumber and mango salsa with a dollop of guacamole make a poke bowl one of the most refreshing and nutritious meals in the food hall.

Oh Baby:  Oklahoma native Michael Spencer has been all over the country, working in some of the best kitchens at places like Beverly Center in Los Angeles, The Venetian in Las Vegas and more. He returned to Oklahoma City to help open The Cheesecake Factory and has found a new home serving Dutch babies, a German-style puffed pancake.

You also wont have to wait for Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts to get a version of Strawberries Newport, as it will be on the menu at Oh Baby.

Press Waffle Company:  This concept from brothers Bryan and Caleb Lewis enters The Collective with a lot of momentum, after securing investment on the hit television show Shark Tank.

You might be used to normal waffles made from a quick-mix batter, but these waffles are made in the Liege style, with a 24-hour fermented yeast dough that has bursts of Belgian sugar.

The Collective is the fourth food hall location for Press Waffle Co., after opening three locations in Texas.

Shaka:  Chef Patton Simpson builds on his background of living in Honolulu and experience cooking in Oklahoma City at places like Ding Asian Fusion and Musashi's to bring his Hawaiian-inspired concept to the Collective.

"It's a lot of citrus taste that is very easy on the palate with some savory taste and a few spicy items, but it's more soothing than anything," Simpson said.

Theo's Doughnuts: While most people think of brioche as a buttery piece or bread or roll for a sandwich, the dough can also be turned into a doughnut, but it is much easier said than done. Owners Ryan and Morgan Kennedy discovered the brioche doughnut while traveling overseas, and when they could not find the sweet treat upon returning to the States, decided to take matters into their own hands.

"When I came back home and thought about getting a doughnut treat, this is what I imagined," Ryan Kennedy said. "They are not in Oklahoma City, so I was determined for how to make them for myself."


After months of construction and financing delays, The Collective is set to host a soft opening in late June with regular service set to begin soon afterward.

The two-story space is made out of three once-forgotten buildings at the corner of NW 10th Street and Harvey Avenue. It features two full-service bars, rooftop and courtyard patios and coffee service.


Unlike other food halls that charge restaurants up front to enter the space, Collective co-founder Truong Le wants it to serve as a restaurant incubator. The Collective offers its kitchens a turnkey operation and marketing in return for a portion of sales.

Original article posted in the Gazette:  https://www.okgazette.com/oklahoma/anticipated-opening/Content?oid=6264673  Get a full glimpse of all of Oklahoma City's chefs who from The Collective, a true collective among the best. 

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City's Embark - Bus Rapid Transit.




The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COPTA) is acquiring land from the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust to develop the first station in the city's first bus rapid transit corridor, city officials announced this past Monday.

Oklahoma City won a federal grant this week for a bus rapid transit line, a new option for commuters between northwest-side neighborhoods and downtown.

Service could begin in 2023. Opening bus rapid transit is the next step in building a comprehensive regional transportation network.

Plans for the Regional Transit Authority envision commuter rail to Edmond and Norman, and expanded streetcar service to Midwest City and Tinker Air Force Base.

The $14.3 million BUILD grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation was announced Thursday — along with grants to Tulsa and the Port of Muskogee — by Sen. Jim Inhofe.

"Federal investment in Oklahoma infrastructure continues to pay dividends for citizens across the state," Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said in a written statement.

The bus rapid transit line will go up N Classen Boulevard to the Northwest Expressway, then out the Northwest Expressway past Penn Square to Meridian Avenue.

Bus rapid transit utilizes dedicated lanes and priority at traffic signals to cut commute times.


Transit Director Jason Ferbrache said the federal grant is to be matched with $10.8 million in bond funds and $2.2 million in sales tax proceeds, both approved by voters last year.

Other transit funds totaling $1.5 million bring the project's total cost to $28.8 million.

Enhancements such as sidewalks and bike lanes will connect to the route and are part of the design.

The service would link to the downtown streetcar line, providing an option for reaching downtown offices, restaurants, shops and entertainment venues without having to drive and park.

Ferbrache said design and engineering tasks would continue through 2021, with construction beginning in that same year. Service could begin two years later.

A report this week said the average commute time in Oklahoma City has crept up to 21.1 minutes, from 20 minutes in 2010.

Source: Oklahoman - https://oklahoman.com/article/5617199/bus-rapid-transit-wins-federal-grant

[Laramie]

Oklahoman, August 14, 2019

A shrine to the former Okarche priest who was murdered in Guatemala is one step closer to reality.

The Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, on Tuesday announced that the groundbreaking for the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine will be

November 3rd at SW 89 and Interstate 35.

The event from 3 to 5 p.m. will include children's and family activities. It is free and open to the public.

Rother was serving as a priest with the Oklahoma City Diocese when he was killed in his parish rectory in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.

"The groundbreaking for the shrine will be a significant moment in the life of the Church in Oklahoma and for the broader community," Coakley said. "The shrine is being built to honor Blessed Stanley Rother, an Oklahoma original and the first U.S.-born priest and martyr ever beatified. It will be a place of pilgrimage where the faithful will come from near and far to honor Blessed Stanley at his final resting place and to seek his intercession for their many needs. It will be a place of welcome, serving all people."

The $40 million shrine will include a 2,000-seat church, a chapel where Blessed Stanley will be buried, an education building, an event space and several areas designated for shrines and devotion. The Spanish colonial-style church will be the largest Catholic church in Oklahoma. The property also will include a $5 museum and pilgrim center where visitors will get an experience that leads them through the life, witness and martyrdom of Blessed Stanley, the archdiocese said in a news release. The church will help accommodate the growing Hispanic population whose parishes are significantly overcrowded, the release said.

Design architect for the project is Franck & Lohsen Architects in Washington, D.C., supported by the local architectural firm ADG. The general contractor is The Boldt Company in Oklahoma City with Cooper Project Advisors serving as the owner's representative. To RSVP for the groundbreaking, email rsvp@archokc.org. Tickets are not required.  

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City reveals 16 MAPS project initiatives, eight year collections,
totaling $978 million to be presented before voters December 2019.

         By William Crum
         Staff writer wcrum@oklahoman.com
         Published August 24, 2019

Mayor David Holt says the outline for MAPS 4 he will present to the city council on Tuesday "takes MAPS and the power of MAPS out to the neighborhoods and into people's daily lives."

Holt's recommendation for raising an estimated $978 million over eight years concentrates on improving quality of life throughout Oklahoma City and, in significant part, for individuals living on the edges of society.

A 10-page "resolution of intent" to be considered by the city council offers hope that public investments can help lift individuals out of the traps of poverty, mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse, and can point at-risk youth away from crime by enhancing facilities for activities from theater to video games to sports.

"This is going to change neighborhoods, and it's going to change lives," Holt said Friday.

"So many of these projects can almost bring tears to your eyes when you think about, 'What is the value of a young person's life forever changed by these youth centers? What is the value of somebody's life forever changed by the homeless housing or the diversion hub?'

"This is the MAPS that the people created and it meets a broad spectrum of needs across the city," Holt said. "It's remarkable."

The 16 projects included in Holt's recommendation are the product of a public engagement initiative that began last year.

It culminated with 26 hours of presentations for the city council in July and early August that drew hundreds of advocates to City Hall.

As in past MAPS, sports facilities have a place, with $215 million allocated for a new Fairgrounds Coliseum, a stadium with a regulation professional soccer field, and renovation and expansion of Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA's Thunder.

MAPS 4 would be a distinct shift from the large downtown construction projects emblematic of MAPS 3.

With the council's consent, plans are to ask voters on Dec. 10 to extend the 1-cent Metropolitan Area Projects sales tax into the next decade, with collections to begin April 1, 2020.

Proposed are:

    • $70 million for construction of at least four youth centers focused on after-school and summer programming; another $10 million would be allocated for ongoing capital
         improvements such as technology upgrades and $30 million for an operating fund.

    • $15 million for construction of a fifth senior health and wellness center, adding to the four centers included in MAPS 3. Additionally, $15 million would go toward a financial
         assistance fund for low-income seniors at any of the MAPS senior centers.

    • $63 million for enhancing and renovating every neighborhood and community park with improvements including trees, play structures, restrooms, shade structures and
         walking paths.

    • $38 million for construction of a permanent home for the Palomar Family Justice Center, a facility housing agencies concerned with reducing the incidence of domestic
                 violence.

    • $22 million for construction of a "restoration center" housing mental health and addiction services, $11 million for two mental health crisis centers and $7 million for
          transitional housing.

    • $60 million to help finance bus rapid transit lines to northeast and south Oklahoma City, park-and-rides, and transit innovations such as micro transit; $10 million for 500
            new bus shelters; $12 million for new buses and gear to give buses priority at traffic signals, and $5 million for planning and land acquisition.

    • $87 million for sidewalks, trails, bike lanes and streetlights, guided by needs identified in the BikeWalk OKC plan.

    • $50 million with the potential to leverage up to $400 million in outside funding for affordable housing, with the intent of reducing homelessness by facilitating a "housing
         first" policy.    

    • $38 million for a new animal shelter.

    • $63 million toward a successor to the "Big House." The new Fairgrounds Coliseum would host horse shows, state basketball and wrestling tournaments and
             other events, replacing the out-dated Jim Norick Arena.

    • $115 million for expansion and renovation of Chesapeake Energy Arena, home of the NBA's Thunder.

    • $71 million for job-creation through investments in the Innovation District being developed around and within the Oklahoma Health Center campus south of the state
         Capitol.

    • $17 million toward development of a "diversion hub" to centralize services aimed at providing alternatives to jail for low-level criminal offenders. Advocates anticipate a
         private donor would offer $20 million to support operations.

    • $25 million for renovation of the Freedom Center, a local civil rights landmark, and construction and operation of a museum to be named for civil rights leader Clara Luper.

    • $37 million for construction for a stadium suitable for professional and college soccer, high school football and soccer, and concerts; the venue would be the home of the
         Energy FC professional soccer team.

    • $25 million for beautification projects on major traffic corridors, including approaches to Will Rogers World Airport.

Many of the initiatives are predicated on the arrangement of partnerships with community organizations.

Agreements would establish "measurable benchmarks" to assess success in meeting goals.

MAPS' history

Voters approved MAPS 3 in December 2009. The 1-cent tax was collected for seven years and nine months, beginning April 1, 2010, and ending Dec. 31, 2017, and has brought in more than $800 million so far.

Its successor was the MAPS for streets initiative, which is expected to raise at least $240 million for street resurfacing and other improvements by the time it expires on March 31, 2020.

Tuesday, the city council is expected to set Dec. 10 as the date for the MAPS 4 election. The council will adopt various housekeeping measures to meet legal requirements for scheduling and conducting the election.

The resolution of intent amounts to a promise to voters by the city council to complete MAPS 4 as outlined in the resolution, in a timely way and within budget.

Council members adhere to the promises made to voters to maintain MAPS' credibility and in hopes of maintaining voters' support for further extensions.

MAPS is a temporary sales tax first approved by voters in 1993 and renewed several times since, including for MAPS for Kids, which renovated and/or constructed public schools throughout Oklahoma City.

MAPS is unique in municipal finance in that projects are constructed on a payas-you-go basis and open debt-free.

MAPS is credited with driving the Oklahoma City renaissance and revitalization of downtown.

MAPS financed renovation of the Civic Center Music Hall and construction of the main library downtown, the Bricktown ballpark and canal, and the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

MAPS 3 financed the downtown convention center, park and streetcar; the whitewater park on the Oklahoma River; the Bennett Event Center; senior health and wellness centers; and sidewalks and trails.

Oklahoma City Council to consider MAPS 4 package Tuesday, special election would be Dec. 10:  https://www.okc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/3148/18

[Laramie]

How migration of millennials and seniors has shifted since the Great Recession:  https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-migration-of-millennials-and-seniors-has-shifted-since-the-great-recession/amp/?__twitter_impression=true[/b]

[Laramie]

Oklahoma City Scissortail Park, Convention Center & Omni Hotel.





Pics taken on September 4, via OKCTalk forum; Join the discussion @ https://www.okctalk.com/forum.php

[swake]

That is not a park that's going to be ready for tens of thousands of people to see Kings of Leon for free in three weeks. Most of the sod isn't even down. The park is going to be destroyed.

[Laramie]

That is not a park that's going to be ready for tens of thousands of people to see Kings of Leon for free in three weeks. Most of the sod isn't even down. The park is going to be destroyed.

Just how much of the 40 acre first phase upper section of the park (across from the new convention center & Omni hotel) is what is in question.  The second phase lower 30 acres will likely be complete in 2021.

Webcam:  https://www.senserasystems.com/public/embed/M68776484796

Like you Swake, many of us have concerns about how much stress the turf will be able to sustain for a concert that is expected to attract 15,000-20,000 on a grass bowl.   I'll be surprised if there aren't any major repairs the grounds crew will need to address following the event.

Scissortail Park construction phases 1 & 2 are on schedule: May 7, 2018 -  https://kfor.com/2018/05/07/landscaping-taking-shape-at-scissortail-park-in-downtown-oklahoma-city/

[Laramie]

Construction started on the Bricktown Marriott Renaissance full service hotel.

              First full-service hotel in Bricktown
              10 stories
              182 rooms

       Tulsa developer, Andy Patel

Patel recently developed the 133 room Fairfield Inn & Suites on the Oklahoma City convention center complex.



When the Oklahoma City convention center, Omni hotel & Fairfield Inn & Suites open, there will be 738 rooms (605 Omni, 133 Fairfield) available on site for convention attendees.

[Laramie]

                               One Day in Oklahoma City - The West 2019 Part 20

         

         Youtube video:  One Day in Oklahoma City - The West 2019 Part 20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aylnL1dRR4A

[Laramie]

OKCTalk reports on BankFirst Tower

BancFirst set to start complete renovation of city's 2nd tallest tower

After purchasing the former Cotter Ranch Tower last year and announcing plans for a major renovation inside and out, BancFirst has filed building permits to start the work on Oklahoma City's second-tallest building.

The bank currently owns and occupies a building directly west of the tower and plans to move its downtown and other workers into the tower once their space is ready.

The renovation will include completely replacing the black exterior glass with new, blue-tinted glazing, adding lighted signage and an extended crown, removing half of the ground-level pillars and completely reworking the large surrounding plaza and lobby. The lower-level space that connects to the city's Underground tunnel system will also be reworked with a large banking area and glass light wells.

Originally built as the headquarters for Liberty Bank in 1972, at 500 feet it reigned for almost 3 decades as Oklahoma City's tallest building until the completion of Devon Energy Center in 2012.

The property changed hands several times before the most recent 14-year ownership by the Cotter Family which was often tumultuous with frequent complaints of lack maintenance and a slow bleeding of tenants that has resulted in a near 50% vacancy rate.

BancFirst has worked to secure several existing long-term tenants such as Hall Estill law firm and the Petroleum Club.

The bank also teamed with Continental Resources to purchase the adjacent Santa Fe Parking Garage from the city of Oklahoma City.

Design work on the tower is by Bockus Payne Architecture.

BancFirst set to start complete renovation of city's 2nd tallest tower: https://www.okctalk.com/content.php

[Laramie]

   2020 Oklahoma City Convention Center Complex


"Omni Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel"

Workers put the finishing touches on the 17 floor before the crown tops the new 605 room Oklahoma City Omni Hotel.  This is an impressive site as the convention center & hotel are expected to open sometime from September - December 2020

New Oklahoma City Convention Center

Udates from OKCTalk forum

[Laramie]

OKC opens 40 acres of 70 acre Scissortail Park.


Scissortail Park opening as portrayed in this drawing on the Oklahoman front page.

Scissortail Park opening with the OKC convention center & Omni Hotel in the background
[/size]
Mexican grass covers one of many hills within the park

Many of the 26,000 in attendance got an early glimpse of the central downtown park

Water spay guns provide a cool breeze for park goers


Pics, Daily Oklahoman (Top),  OKCTalk forum pics 2, 3, 4 & 5

[Laramie]

Holt dedicates Kings of Leon Lane

By Brandy McDonnell
Features writer bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com



Mayor David Holt, right, hands off the street sign to Kings of Leon band members Matthew, Jared, Caleb and Nathan Followill, from left, after Holt dedicated Kings of Leon Lane, on Friday. The city council voted in August to rename East California Avenue between Joe Carter and Charlie Christian avenues. [CHRIS LANDSBERGER/THE OKLAHOMAN]

A short walk from where the Followill family band played its first Oklahoma City show a decade ago, the words "Kings of Leon Lane" now are emblazoned in bright white on a new green street sign.

About 300 family, friends and fans gathered Friday afternoon in front of the Bricktown Events Center to watch a stretch of E California Avenue officially renamed in honor of the fourtime Grammy-winning rockers.

"This is truly a great honor for us to have a street named after us in a city that two of us were born in and two of us wish they had been born in," said drummer Nathan Followill.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt dedicated Kings of Leon Lane just hours before the band was to play a free concert to kick off the grand opening weekend for downtown OKC's Scissortail Park.

"Their roots here, their ties to us through the years, their support of us through the years, we felt like it was time to do this," Holt said before formally dedicating "from now and for all time" Kings of Leon Lane.

Family band

Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, Kings of Leon have deep roots in Oklahoma City as well as Talihina. Brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill spent their childhood on the road with their father, a traveling Pentecostal preacher, as he traveled a circuit between Tennessee and Oklahoma.

"He did a lot of revivals around here, and then when he was in town, they stayed with my parents in Oklahoma City off SW 24th," said Chris Followill, their uncle, who lives in the OKC limits in the tiny community of Stella.

The brothers formed Kings of Leon in 1999 with their cousin, Matthew Followill, naming the group after their grandfather, Leon. Their uncle said they played their first OKC show a short distance away at the former Bricktown Live venue, while Holt noted that the band played two memorable concerts at the Bricktown Event Center, where Kings of Leon Lane now runs between Joe Carter and Charlie Christian avenues.

"We like people to know that groups like Kings of Leon and artists like Vince Gill and Wanda Jackson and Charlie Christian came from Oklahoma City. We want that story out there," said Holt, who spearheaded the effort to rename the street, which the city council approved in August.

Historic moments

After achieving critical acclaim for their first two albums — 2003's "Youth and Young Manhood" and 2005's "Aha Shake Heartbreak" — Kings of Leon made the leap to stadium status with a pair of breakthrough albums: 2007's "Because of the Times" and 2008's "Only By the Night." The group released "Come Around Sundown" in 2010, followed by "Walls" in 2017.

The rockers' documentary "Talihina Sky," which follows the band as it travels to a family reunion in Talihina, opened the 2011 deadCenter Film Festival in OKC, and the group received the Rising Star Award from the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame that year. In 2013, KOL played the "Rock for Oklahoma" concert at the Chesapeake Energy Arena to benefit local tornado relief efforts, and they returned to The Peake in 2017 to perform in concert in support of "Walls."

During the street dedication, Holt cited the documentary, in which the Followills talked about growing up poor in Oklahoma City, with future singer Caleb sharing that he and Nathan only had two pairs of pants between them.

"They had nothing. There's a lot of kids in Oklahoma City who have those challenges today. And they can look at groups like Kings of Leon and think, 'Man, I can be anything. I can realize artistic success, creative success, financial success,' whatever is that they dream of," Holt said. "These street signs, as simple as they may be — a piece of metal with some stickers on them — they speak to you and they inspire you. And that's what they're meant to do."

Their Uncle Christopher Followill said the rock stars remain loyal to Oklahoma and their family here. His son Chris "Nacho" Followill is a guitar tech who travels with the band.

"It's like a mini-reunion when they come to town. It's a blast," their uncle said. "We mark the schedule when the schedule comes out, and then we always do blocks of rooms so the whole family can stay together.

"So, it's a big deal for us ... and I'm pretty proud of it because Leon is my dad. So that sign, that's my dad's name. So, that's kind of emotional and it's pretty awesome."

[heironymouspasparagus]

                              One Day in Oklahoma City - The West 2019 Part 20

     
         Youtube video:  One Day in Oklahoma City - The West 2019 Part 20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aylnL1dRR4A

Probably just a coincidence, but the ad leading into the video was for The Epoch Times news.  An extremist right wing newspaper (claiming fair and balanced, just like Fake Fox News) that was started as the propaganda arm of the Falun Gung cult in China.  The Chinese simulacrum of OAN Network - the KGB version out of Russia.  And Trump's newest favorite network.


Cute comment about our Soviet emulation architecture....

"End of the Tail"....lol.  We gotta get back to the Cowboy Hall of Fame...been way too long!

Pops!!   Yeah, Team Soda!

Very good video!   Like that kind of stuff anyway (RV related, since I live full time in RV most of the time.)