Tulsa Cherry Street Loft Scene
3 Nov
What started out as a novel idea has become a widespread epidemic. The north Cherry Street area has become quite the rage for the walkable, modern lifestyle. Beginning about three years ago with a single company, today the competition is steep and selection abundant for urban lofts and condos.
I hopped on my bike the other evening to get some exercise and thought I’d check in on the progress of this scene. Living across Cherry street myself (in a historic home) I am through this area often and keep in touch with the movement. It is, however, always a surprise to find numerous historical homes have fallen since my last visit to accommodate the town homes and condos moving in.
As with most urban development there is dispute as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. In fact it’s become a little heated in the comments section to this article on tulsa lofts.
I for one think there are some great benefits seen by the new development. Though I’m a big fan of historic preservation I am equally a fan of walkable urbanism. There is unfortunately almost always bad with good and in this case the same applies. We do have to sacrifice a few blocks worth of older homes, but in exchange we gain the opportunity to allow Cherry Street to flourish. The increase in population to the area this development creates is extremely healthy for businesses in the Cherry Street area and will likely spur additional development making this area more desirable and valuable. While this may upset a few historic preservationists it is in my opinion healthy for the district and ultimately healthy for the City of Tulsa.
Do you agree? Have anything to add? This is meant to be a discussion. Please share your thoughts below.
Not to be a downer, but much of the ‘Loft’ style new builds I see happening in the city are not significant, beautiful in a modernist sense, or particularly ‘cool’. I lived in the Tribune for a while, and while I enjoyed my time there and appreciated that such living space is available in Tulsa, it still was lacking in many ‘modern’ areas.
The new ‘lofts’ going up on Cherry Street and the Brookside area are, in my opinion, nothing more than mass produced, lowest cost, non-architecturally significant, equivalents of strip malls meet apartments complexes. AND the lease and sale prices of these spaces are ridiculous!
When I moved to the Tribune it was because I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see in Tulsa. I am a young (at the time 25, now 27) professional that is tired of the suburban sprawl and waste in our city. The new build McMansion neighborhoods are the wrong way to go. But I was paying out the nose to be a part of that change. If we want to attract young, creative, professionals back to culturally significant areas of Tulsa proper, then we need builders and management companies that can make that work affordably.
I understand that if you make something that IS actually beautiful, sustainable, modern architecture that it demands a price. But if you’re going to make cheap, crap, that is only ‘modern’ because the lines are clean, then price it for what it is and get some young, creative, talent back to the city.
I for one bought a home built in 1951 just south of Mayo Meadow for a steal and am remodeling to period modernist concepts.
Let’s preserve the modern spaces in Tulsa, or remodel and repurpose still standing structures into real lofts. While the Philtower, Tribune, and possibly the Mayo, fit this ideal, they are priced as if modern living in Tulsa, OK is for the crazy rich….and, they’re basically apartments in neat buildings.
Some truth in what you say, Clint. I agree that generally they are just tastefully done apartments. With that being said, I still feel that they could be a lot worse. At least they do have a sense of style and taste to them, as opposed to so many complexes being built with a complete disregard for design. It’s obvious that they are going for a modern, contemporary style, which I have to support. As for pricing, i totally agree that they seem a little steep. Sure they are going to charge what the market will bare but the prices seem out of line with any previous comps, the neighborhood and general quality.
If qualities can be improved upon without increasing the price significantly, I suspect there is still room in the market for other players able to bring higher design and quality. I understood this is what was already happening with tulsagreenlofts.com, but have not inspected the units.
Thanks for your thoughts! And props on the remodel. I’d love to see some pics if you’d care to share.
I believe that the loft scene in Tulsa is practically nonexistent. I think that an architect and or a designer from L.A. and New York are in order. Young professionals do not live in the lofts due to pricing, and lets face it, lack of design.
I am an Architectural Draftsman, though much of my time is spent designing structures from scratch, thus, I’m basically the architect. I am very interested in adding to the existing and future urban residential/work-from-home commercial spaces by way of potentially starting my own company soon. I would love to build AFFORDABLE urban lofts, with upper scale lofts being constructed with a more traditional style, but they would still be different than your typical house…possibly 3rd stories or rooftop decks/small pools/gardens, etc. I’m not a big fan of “cheap” materials, but with the right team, we could come up with clever and green elements to keep the cost of higher quality materials down. Anyone interested…in starting the company with me? Anyone with design experience or passion or into the movement towards urban living (but not the kind from the past)…then email me @ eyethinkgreen@yahoo.com.
Side Note: It makes me sick that modern properties are outrageously priced (because of demand). I’m not into starting the company so I can make big bucks, but rather so I can give the people of Tulsa something to be excited about as well as giving me the perfect place to live.
Funny that most of the properties pictured above have been through the foreclosure process in the last 2 years. I think that speaks to the design and price of these structures in desirable location.