[shane453]

This development is in a big empty field to the north of Quail Springs Mall in NW OKC, along the booming Kilpatrick Turnpike Corridor. This area is seeing a lot of Class A office developments and million dollar suburban homes, but developer Larry Owsley wants to bring the urban lifestyle to this suburban mecca.

So he's taking a 250 acre field and building this Italian-themed lifestyle center. More than 2,000 residential units (lofts, zero-lot line townhomes, condos, etc) and millions of square feet of office and retail properties, in addition to stage/performance areas, an IMAX theater, parks, and a large conference hotel. Owsley wants to include lots of service retail like cleaners and grocers (Whole Foods or HEB) so that residents will theoretically never have to leave- in other words, he's trying to create a true urban neighborhood in the middle of sprawl central.

Currently, the street to the north of the development is being widened, and dirt work is progressing on the whole interior of the site. The IMAX is scheduled to open by spring 2009.

 

[TU 'cane]

I still can't believe the enormity of this project, it's huge! There's no doubt that this will bring a ton of jobs to the OKC area and will see a lot of business being right there in between Edmond and OKC. I can't wait for this to be complete.

 

[Classof2010]

OMG . That thing is massive! Too bad its so far north in suburbia, but who knows maybe this will inspire a better class of developments in that area making. Considering everything over there is closed residentials and huge parking lot retail and office. I also think this will spur more sctivity for Quail Springs Mall...well maybe not the theatre.

 

[Ian604]

That looks pretty amazing and good use of such a (relatively speaking) small land area.

A few of the photos remind me of CenterCourt, a mixed use retail/condo building here in Lexington that was completed last year.

 

[SRG]

This is just 1 of several major lifestyle center developments going up in every corner of Central Oklahoma.

 

[Classof2010]

What are some of those other ones SRG? I'm really not thinking. All I can think of is UNP, which I really do not like. I've been waiting for something like this ^^ which is like a real urban lifestyle center. Isn't there another lifecenter project going up around the quail springs area also. The one I'm talking about has a lot of open parking space. XP

 

[bolenmeister]

im always wary of these huge ambitious projects announced an dthen they give you a really low grade sketch as a "rendering." i will believe this is happening once shovels are in the ground and the village is half built with this economy.

 

[OKCity__SuperSonics]

im always wary of these huge ambitious projects announced an dthen they give you a really low grade sketch as a "rendering." i will believe this is happening once shovels are in the ground and the village is half built with this economy.

LOL AT U

OKC AN METROS ECONOMY IS GETTING BETTER NOT WORSE

 

[Classof2010]

nah... I agree with bolenmeister. This is such a huge ambitious project it seems a stretch. I'll believe it to when I actually see this stuff going up.

Remember Legacy at Arts Quarter. They were drawn renderings like this that looked great, but alas...it turned out pretty bland. =[

I dont think economy has anything to do with the quality of it. We get cheated all the time when it comes to developments *cough*LB*cough*

 

[shane453]

We have no reason to expect to be cheated by Owsley, and the developer himself says that the reason he is pursuing this is so that he doesn't have to go to other metropolitan areas to experience this type of development (the type of development shown in the sketches). We should be seeing this take shape by the end of 2008, and many areas completed by 2009. I agree not to take the sketches too seriously, but the land use plan will probably be stuck to pretty well.

However, the economy would NEVER be a reason for this project not to happen in OKC... Or any project for that matter. We're doing better than ever. The higher energy prices get, the more investment money we have floating around from oil and natural gas executives. Owsley will not run into economic problems.

 

[Cashville]

LOL AT U

OKC AN METROS ECONOMY IS GETTING BETTER NOT WORSE

For future reference, are you actually a retard? Or do you just play one on the internet?

 

[SRG]

I think the latter.

 

[Infoman]

Anything new?

 

[SRG]

The theater opening in 2009 is still on schedule last I heard. Ground work started much earlier this year. I haven't seen the site lately, but Shane or some other OKCers probably have.

 

[Infoman]

Please don't say this is a one phase project or it's crazy in OKC.

 

[SRG]

No, it's several phases.

 

[shane453]

It looks like they are still working on all the roads, they were doing some work on making neat little entrances, and in the middle of the site there is a lot of groundwork. Last I saw it was a few weeks or a month ago probably. I'm guessing most of the work is on the theater building.

 

[srob24]

i drive by this site a lot and there aint sh*t going on, no construction crews and equipment or anything, just dirt lots and lots of dirt

 

[okcpulse]

i drive by this site a lot and there aint sh*t going on, no construction crews and equipment or anything, just dirt lots and lots of dirt

There was a lot of infrastructure that had to be done across the 400 acre site, and a lot of earth work had to be done. I have been keeping in touch with the developers, and they have said everything is on track and the development has not been altered.

The property had to be terraformed to fit the layout, hence all of the earthwork.

 

[dmoor82]

Construction Begins on Watermark at Tuscana
Multifamily Community in Oklahoma City

[ 05/18/2011 | from Watermark-Residential ]

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Watermark Residential has begun construction of Watermark at Tuscana, a multifamily community on the north side of Oklahoma City. The project's completion date is May 2012.

"Initial work will include grading and forming the site in preparation for pouring the foundations for the community's buildings," said Eric Garrett, managing partner of Watermark Residential.

The community, which is located at 2701 Tuscana Blvd., will consist of 240 Class A apartment homes in three buildings on a 10-acre site. The community also will include a clubhouse, a resort-style pool and detached garages. There will be one-, two- and three-bedroom homes.

According to Garrett, the community features an e-Urban design. "This design represents a step forward in multifamily community development," he said. "The e-Urban design is more cost effective and more efficient in terms of land use by allowing more units to be developed per acre than is possible with traditional designs."

"It also pushes net rentable space in each building to about 88 percent from the normal 65 percent," he added. "The design accomplishes this efficiency through the use of short corridors and additional elevators."

The community's three-story buildings feature a Tuscan-style facade. Tuscana also will incorporate an attractive plaza along with extensively landscaped courtyards into its design. Other amenities include professional management, 24- hour maintenance, wi-fi throughout the clubhouse and pool area and an outdoor grilling area.

The community is part of the 150-acre Tuscana Master-Planned community in Oklahoma City and is convenient to the Quail Springs shopping corridor and several major employers.

"Tuscana is in a prime location and represents an important addition to the local community," Garrett said. "We are looking forward to its completion and adding it to the list of Watermark's other high-end multifamily communities."

Leasing will begin in October 2011 with the first building ready for occupancy by January 2012.

Thompson Thrift Construction of Terre Haute is the general contractor for Tuscana. The architect for the project is Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners Architects, L.P., which originated the e-Urban design concept. http://www.watermark-residential.com/news-2011-05-18.php