Iconic Blue Dome building in downtown Tulsa sold
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Iconic_Blue_Dome_building_in_downtown_Tulsa_sold/20130927_32_0_Michae767607
QuoteMichael Sager has sold the iconic Blue Dome building and associated properties to Chris and JoAnn Armstrong, the operators of Arnie's Bar, for $1.520 million, the downtown developer announced Friday.
"There's a new generation of folks I'm entrusting it to for the future," Sager said. "They're not tearing it down."
The Armstrongs had been leasing the Blue Dome property from Sager at 318 E. 2nd St for the past seven to eight years and have worked with Sager closely on the Blue Dome Festival and other events. Sager's office was in the actual Blue Dome portion of the building.
He said there is 14,500 square feet of land where the original building, a former Route 66 gas station, is situated.
The Blue Dome sale will include another property owned by Sager, the Woody's Corner Bar, across the street at 325 E. 2nd St.
Sager said he will be focusing on plenty of other works in progress including the First Street Lofts and the Tallgrass Restaurant.
"We have 175,000 square feet, which is large. We're just utilizing our assets and being conservative," Sager said, noting that some of his other new properties include the Triangle Blueprint Company building at 314 S. Cincinnati Ave. which will be converted into retail and residential uses.
Quote from: saintnicster on September 27, 2013, 01:09:10 PM
Iconic Blue Dome building in downtown Tulsa sold
Maybe that's how he plans to pay the city back.
Quote from: Townsend on September 27, 2013, 01:30:39 PM
Maybe that's how he plans to pay the city back.
Not enough domes in the world to do that...
The triangle building is still listed for sale at 770k on the internet as far as I can tell. Interesting.
Quote from: saintnicster on September 27, 2013, 01:09:10 PM
Iconic Blue Dome building in downtown Tulsa sold
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Iconic_Blue_Dome_building_in_downtown_Tulsa_sold/20130927_32_0_Michae767607
Chris needs an extra parking lot. ;)
So for $1.52 million maybe he can install doors in the First Street Lofts and await more money to do anything else. Seems to be his practice. Longest. Development Project. Ever.
Quote from: DowntownDan on September 27, 2013, 02:11:46 PM
So for $1.52 million maybe he can install doors in the First Street Lofts and await more money to do anything else. Seems to be his practice. Longest. Development Project. Ever.
I'm sure he's in hock to his neck on it. No way he clears $1.52 million.
Word is Sager only paid $40K for the Blue Dome property 15 or so years back at auction.
Quote from: Conan71 on September 27, 2013, 04:22:09 PM
Word is Sager only paid $40K for the Blue Dome property 15 or so years back at auction.
Damn straight. I tried to talk my wife into buying the building for my office when I was free lancing graphics work back int the 80's. $50k and included the Veterans bar next door.
I smell a parking lot!!! Just so I can read about some heads exploding in here....
Isn't the dome currently the McNellies Group offices
$1.52 Million? What were they paying him in rent?
Here are the sales records from the Assessor.
Arnie's Bar & blue dome building
http://www.assessor.tulsacounty.org/assessor-property.php?account=R00500920135770 (http://www.assessor.tulsacounty.org/assessor-property.php?account=R00500920135770)
Sep 16, 2013 BLUE DOME PROPERTIES LLC STRONG PROPERTIES LLC $850,004
Jul 13, 1999 $137,500
The fair market value was $466,000 according to the assessor
Woody's
http://www.assessor.tulsacounty.org/assessor-property.php?account=R00500920133760 (http://www.assessor.tulsacounty.org/assessor-property.php?account=R00500920133760)
Sep 16, 2013 SAGER, PATRICIA W S & L MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC $670,003
Jun 7, 2002 $65,000
Fair Market value at the assessor is 407k.
If the deal was 1.52 million for both buildings I guess they paid 670k for Woody's. The ownership change hasn't hit yet.
Also the total taxable amount is a total of $501k. That is going to jump. They will be paying $14k a year more in property taxes.
Quote from: BKDotCom on September 28, 2013, 10:55:20 AM
Isn't the dome currently the McNellies Group offices
Until the end of the year...
Quote from: Conan71 on September 30, 2013, 10:28:32 AM
Until the end of the year...
Know where they're moving?
Quote from: AquaMan on September 27, 2013, 05:35:00 PM
Damn straight. I tried to talk my wife into buying the building for my office when I was free lancing graphics work back int the 80's. $50k and included the Veterans bar next door.
Those people are insane! $1.5 million for that place?
I used to go into the Veteran's Bar in younger years quite a bit. Domino games going on ALL the time in the back room, and the dome room had pool tables. Red beer was a quarter. Ross and Juanita (I think that is what I remember his wife's name was) were good people and ran a nice little place there.
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on September 30, 2013, 01:20:04 PM
Those people are insane! $1.5 million for that place?
I used to go into the Veteran's Bar in younger years quite a bit. Domino games going on ALL the time in the back room, and the dome room had pool tables. Red beer was a quarter. Ross and Juanita (I think that is what I remember his wife's name was) were good people and ran a nice little place there.
As CharlieSheen pointed out, it was actually 1.5 for both Woody's and the Blue Dome.
Also, it turns out the World "updated" the article the next day.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.aspx/Blue_Dome_sold/20130928_32_E1_CUTLIN291227
Blue Dome building purchased by Arnie's bar ownersQuoteMichael Sager has sold the iconic Blue Dome building and associated properties to Chris and Jo Armstrong, the owners of Arnie's bar, for $1.52 million, the downtown developer announced Friday.
"There's a new generation of folks I'm entrusting it to for the future," Sager said. "They're not tearing it down."
The Armstrongs had been leasing the Blue Dome property at 318 E. Second St. from Sager since 2004 and have worked with him closely on the Blue Dome Arts Festival and other events.
Chris Armstrong said the torch was passed because Sager knows how much Armstrong and his wife love the Blue Dome District. Jo Armstrong said they feel lucky to have been a part of the revived Blue Dome District from the beginning.
"He built this district and put a lot of sweat equity into this district," Chris Armstrong. "He knew we would take care of it. It's an icon; it's a piece of history."
Sager said he didn't take the sale lightly.
"I wouldn't sell it to anybody except the right person. It's not a mere piece of property. This is a responsibility," he said.
Elliot Nelson of McNellie's Group has an office in the actual Blue Dome portion of the building, and Arnie's Bar operates out of the former service station.
Sager said there is 14,500 square feet of land where the original building, a former Gulf Oil gas station on Route 66, is situated.
The Blue Dome sale to the Armstrongs will include Woody's Corner Bar, across the street at 325 E. Second St., whose operator will continue leasing, Sager said.
Sager said he will be focusing on plenty of other works in progress in the Blue Dome District, including the First Street Lofts and the Tallgrass restaurant.
"We have 175,000 square feet, which is large. We're just utilizing our assets and being conservative," Sager said, noting that some of his other new properties include the Triangle Blueprint Co. building at 314 S. Cincinnati Ave., which will be converted into retail and residential uses.
The Armstrongs will office in the Blue Dome building and use some of it for storage because space at Arnie's is limited. But they also plan to redo some of the building's unique lighting and awning features, and create an area to display some of the artifacts tied to the gas station's history that Sager has collected over the years.
"There's so much interest in Route 66 and the Blue Dome. I don't know how you would do this and not have an archive of some sort," Jo Armstrong said. "I really think it's something we should honor. It was the first 24-hour gas station, and it was supposed to be an attraction to the public."
Chris Armstrong said people ask to see the dome every day.
"We get a lot of people doing the Route 66 tour. It would be nice to let them step inside and learn a little more," he said.
Arnie's Bar has a history of its own. It started in 1956 on Cherry Street in the building now occupied by Drake's Tavern. The Armstrongs started Arnie's in the Blue Dome District in 2004 after both worked there a few years before.
Blue Dome History
1925: The Blue Dome service station is built at Second Street and Elgin Avenue by Chastain Oil Company of Tulsa, according to the Tulsa Daily World. It's striking features included a blue dome with a copper cupola and copper "eyebrows" depicting east-west-north-south directions, and various motifs carved in concrete.
2003: The Blue Dome District is born with the approval of a tax-increment financing district in which sales and property tax dollars are captured and spent within the district on public improvements. Arnie's Bar and Good Fellas are the two main businesses in the district bordered by First and Third streets and Detroit and Frankfurt avenues.
2003-Present: Dozens of restaurants, bars and other retail businesses emerge in the Blue Dome District including Dilly Deli, Dwelling Spaces, El Guapo's, Fassler Hall, Juniper, McNellie's Pub House, Lyon's Indian Store, Joe Momma's, Yokozuna, S&J Oyster Co. The district hosts popular festivals including St. Patrick's Day, the Blue Dome Arts Festival and the Eat Street Food Truck Festival.
They mis-characterized Arnie's. The article purports that the Armstrongs "started" Arnie's in 2004 in the Blue Dome. That's incorrect. Donal and Neil Cosgrave bought Arnie's when it was on 15th and they moved it downtown. Chris and JoAnn bought it a few years later from the Cosgraves.
Word around the campfire is that the Armstrongs also take over promotion of the BDAF as a part of the purchase of these properties.
Arnie's was where Drake's Tavern is now.
Quote from: davideinstein on September 30, 2013, 03:16:01 PM
Arnie's was where Drake's Tavern is now.
Really liked that location
Drake's Tavern is still a great bar. The owner named it after his son (who is in the ninth grade with my son). He plans to give the bar to his son when he graduates from college.
I went to Arnie's a few times when it was on 15th St with some TU classmates and the Prof.
Quote from: Townsend on September 30, 2013, 03:23:18 PM
Really liked that location
If you stopped in for 15 minutes, you smelled like you had been in the place for hours. Hands down the smokiest bar I've ever been in, but it was worth it to drop in, play some shuffleboard, and chat with Joe the bartender. Wasn't he Arnie Simmons' brother-in-law?
Drakes is the same. Smoke that is.
Quote from: rdj on October 01, 2013, 08:34:59 AM
Drakes is the same. Smoke that is.
As is Arnie's. Even outside.
Quote from: carltonplace on October 01, 2013, 09:36:37 AM
As is Arnie's. Even outside.
One unfortunate reason I never go to Arnie's anymore and haven't been in Drakes in over five years. Love the places, can't handle the 2nd hand smoke.
I'd be curious to know how many others avoid smoke-filled bars these days. Thankfully, there are plenty of good non-smoking options around Tulsa to enjoy a nice craft beer.
Quote from: Conan71 on October 01, 2013, 11:25:34 AM
One unfortunate reason I never go to Arnie's anymore and haven't been in Drakes in over five years. Love the places, can't handle the 2nd hand smoke.
I'd be curious to know how many others avoid smoke-filled bars these days. Thankfully, there are plenty of good non-smoking options around Tulsa to enjoy a nice craft beer.
I can't take it either. Maybe it's getting older or I'm just not at all used to smoke anymore but I hate hacking for two days after being in a bar. It didn't used to phase me, but now it really does. And I have never smoked.
Quote from: Conan71 on October 01, 2013, 11:25:34 AM
One unfortunate reason I never go to Arnie's anymore and haven't been in Drakes in over five years. Love the places, can't handle the 2nd hand smoke.
I'd be curious to know how many others avoid smoke-filled bars these days. Thankfully, there are plenty of good non-smoking options around Tulsa to enjoy a nice craft beer.
I can handle the smoke but there's too many non-smoking bars to deal with smelling like cigarettes. I did that to myself for way too long.
The non-smoking bars tend to be cleaner from my experience. A preference of mine.
Quote from: Townsend on October 01, 2013, 11:45:51 AM
I can handle the smoke but there's too many non-smoking bars to deal with smelling like cigarettes.
Exactly. I haven't gone to a smoky bar in years. Too many other good options.
I still go to Arnies but I don't stay long if there isn't room on the patio.
Quote from: carltonplace on October 01, 2013, 02:54:57 PM
I still go to Arnies but I don't stay long if there isn't room on the patio.
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a bar downtown with a huge outdoor patio? I mean you could have a small outdoor concert huge.
Quote from: CharlieSheen on October 01, 2013, 03:01:13 PM
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a bar downtown with a huge outdoor patio? I mean you could have a small outdoor concert huge.
Something like the Mont in Norman at this location would be pretty awesome. Just wrap the patio all around the Blue Dome building and plant a bunch of trees/plants. It could be really cool, and yes have live music.
Quote from: SXSW on October 01, 2013, 03:04:03 PM
Something like the Mont in Norman at this location would be pretty awesome. Just wrap the patio all around the Blue Dome building and plant a bunch of trees/plants. It could be really cool, and yes have live music.
And can we do something about the gravel?
Quote from: RecycleMichael on September 30, 2013, 04:08:30 PM
Drake's Tavern is still a great bar. The owner named it after his son (who is in the ninth grade with my son). He plans to give the bar to his son when he graduates from college.
Best bar around. Too much smoke though.
Quote from: CharlieSheen on October 01, 2013, 03:01:13 PM
Wouldn't it be nice if there was a bar downtown with a huge outdoor patio? I mean you could have a small outdoor concert huge.
The bar at the old train depot on 3rd had a good outdoor patio.
Quote from: Townsend on October 01, 2013, 04:00:18 PM
The bar at the old train depot on 3rd had a good outdoor patio.
Somebody should open that again.
QuoteSomebody should open that again.
Great idea.
Quote from: CharlieSheen on October 01, 2013, 05:49:22 PM
Somebody should open that again.
It has new bathrooms, bars up and down stairs. The floors (they've been sanded by all of the sand from the patio) need some work, the patio needs to start from scratch and the windows need to be made safe so drunks don't fall out of them or break them but overall its a cool, slightly beat up space.
The bathrooms are new but horrible and there isn't a bar upstairs anymore.
The bathrooms are tiled similar to this (http://www.finecraftsimports.com/arts_crafts_images/talavera_mexican_tile_211315-105c.jpg)
Don't know how somebody thought that would fit the building.
Quote from: CharlieSheen on October 02, 2013, 08:08:51 AM
The bathrooms are new but horrible and there isn't a bar upstairs anymore.
That's a shame. It was a cool bar.
I'm not sure when it was removed. Did it become something after the last bar?
Sorry foR more thread drift, so what are some of the good non-smoking bars?
Soundpony for certain, I believe Hunt Club is non-smoking as well. We don't hang out in bars much so my knowledge is fairly limited. Any bar connected to a food service establishment is going to be non-smoking unless they have it completely partitioned off.
Most bars downtown/midtown are smoke free. Probably be easier to list the ones that allow smoking.
Arnie's
McNellie's (smoking upstairs only)
Woody's
Empire Bar
Brookside Bar (or whatever it is called now)
Sharky's Pool
Drake's
Can't think of any others but I'm sure they exist. I only ever visit the first two on the list so I'm going off memory and word of mouth on the others.
Caz's also allows smoking.
Pretty sure Empire went non-smoking, though they have a nice patio where you can smoke.
Quote from: DowntownDan on October 17, 2013, 04:43:42 PM
Pretty sure Empire went non-smoking, though they have a nice patio where you can smoke.
Which makes it not so nice.
Thread drift... but for a very cold beer with an Ice House type patio feel, the downtown RibCrip has really cold, great cold, $3 beers at 22-ounces. I like.
Quote from: MyDogHunts on October 17, 2013, 08:59:56 PM
Thread drift... but for a very cold beer with an Ice House type patio feel, the downtown RibCrip has really cold, great cold, $3 beers at 22-ounces. I like.
Too bad I'm not a big fan of "RibCrip".
I wonder if there is a competing facility called "RibBloods"
http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=downer&play=true
Quote from: Hoss on October 17, 2013, 09:12:23 PM
Too bad I'm not a big fan of "RibCrip".
I wonder if there is a competing facility called "RibBloods"
http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=downer&play=true
Ha, Ha... I like my ribs Cripped (I have a lisp), not Bloody... are you making fun of me? No, I'm making fun of him. Old joke. Wood Eye.
Ta, Dum, Dum
And you have to love Arnies Hamms beer for $1.fiddy. Smoke has never been an issue outside when I've been there.