an almost century-old landmark just east of downtown is getting its first new roof in decades with long-awaited renovations being started by owner and developer Steven Morris The Walcourt at NE 13 and Walnut Avenue was an upscale 12-unit boardinghouse when it opened in 1927 but it fell into disrepair after closing in 1974 and has remained a visible reminder of the struggles faced by the surrounding Classen North Highland neighborhood spent the past year working on designs with preservation architect Catherine Montgomery planning for how to rebuild the structure with contractor Blake Gummerson and submitting their work for approval by the State Historic Preservation Office for historic tax credits which consisted of elaborate asbestos slate shingles “We had to get permission to use French-lock asphalt shingles produced by a single supplier,” Morris said Other exterior work will include repointing the brick and restoring the casement window frames and upgrading them with double-pane thermal windows The plans also call for adding geothermal systems The Walcourt is at the most visible entry into Classen North Highland bounded by Interstate 235 and Walnut Avenue More than a dozen new homes have popped up and more are being built on lots vacated years ago with previous structures burned down or razed due to neglect Much of the work is set to be finished later this year But the interior work will await leases being signed we don’t know what the floor plans might be,” Morris said “So we need to get the exterior done first and then we will work on what’s next.” The Walcourt was one of Oklahoma City’s most endangered historic buildings fires and destructive sprees only to elude anyone who sought to buy and bring it back to life the Walcourt at 141 NE 13 was an upscale 12-unit boarding house at the entrance to the Classen North Highland neighborhood.   created a structure that was able to endure the sort of wear and tear that would have led to other buildings collapsing or being torn down long ago.  QuikTrip, Costco, or maybe Buc'ees?: Here's a look at new stores coming to OKC in 2022 took out a full-page advertisement in The Oklahoman to boast of the meticulous attention spent on details The building would feature the latest in “Kelvinator Electric Refrigeration,” Kohler plumbing fixtures and Murphy beds He hired architect Joe Davis to create a building unlike anything else in the city.  “Have you noticed that no two angles of the Walcourt are similar?” Musson wrote “Doesn't its unique design, its very differentness fascinate you?"  More: First Jimmy's Egg location demolished, but new, larger restaurant on the horizon barely escaped demolition that took out hundreds of homes for construction of Interstate 235 and stood empty for more than 40 years.  Steve Morris was fascinated enough to buy the two-story Gothic structure in 2018 despite it needing a full replacement of the roof and a careful rebuilding inside to adapt it into offices while staying within guidelines attached to getting much needed historic tax credits.  That effort is paying off with the entire second floor leased and talks underway to lease the remainder of the building.  we factor in a high contingency,” Morris said “There is always more than what you can anticipate The wood had rotted from all the  water damage and it was separating from the walls so we had to rebuild them from within so we replaced everything with cherry wood and mahogany and replicated the trim.”  and construction workers had to drill 93 new piers after discovering the original brick piers had disintegrated. The job included “a lot” of structural steel required for weight loads Morris said the hallways were preserved and much of the plaster was salvaged Only one of the eight fireplaces in the Walcourt had damaged tile work and that was replicated by Paseo Pottery.  Morris said the oddest discovery was found in the basement which had been filled with water for years.  there were 100 railroad ties perfectly preserved,” Morris said “I have no idea how they got them in there. We also found a horse shoe — so maybe it will bring us luck.”  Staff writer Steve Lackmeyer is a 31-year reporter columnist and author who covers downtown Oklahoma City, related urban development and economics for The Oklahoman Please support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com Share on FacebookShare on X (formerly Twitter)Share on PinterestShare on LinkedInWILSON (WITN) - A decision hasn’t been yet on whether to cancel a Little League state championship tournament in Wilson after a shooting Sunday morning during one of the games This as multiple teams have already dropped out at the Gillette Athletic Complex on Corbett Avenue Pius Walcourt’s son was playing at the time and says,” One of the shots impacted in the outfield right by my son and there were several players that were right there also.” Dominique Williams was also at the game watching his son play He says he heard the gunshots and had to make a tough decision “I had a pistol in my car and as I was running to my car I was thinking ‘Do I go get my son or do I go and get my pistol?’ so I made the decision to fight back in case the shooter approached.” Video obtained by WITN from a parent showed players coaches and officials “hitting the dirt” after three shots were heard The video shows one shot crossing the outfield and landing just feet from a player Wilson police found an unoccupied car in the parking lot near field number two hit by gunfire Police on Monday said there was no evidence that anyone at the ballpark was intentionally targeted by the gunfire They also said two vehicles potentially involved were located and ruled out as those people were attending the game The baseball tournament was canceled for the rest of the day Sunday and city officials say a decision on whether the tournament will continue will be made later today A witness at the Little League field told WITN that seven and eight-year-old players were lying face down in the dugouts and on the field for protection Walcourt says those who were there continue to try to process the traumatic experience “It’s just something that would never be expected to happen It’s just very sad that someone would ever want to shoot anything near a youth event They have their whole lives ahead of them and for something like this to happen It could traumatize them for the rest of their lives.” The South Durham Little League posted a statement on social media saying in part “The executive committee of South Durham Little League in consultation with the coaches of the 8U Orange All Star team and the 9U All Star team has made the decision to pull both teams out of the NC State Tournament that was being played in Wilson but it also was not a difficult decision for us to make The events were too traumatic for us to even consider having the teams return to Wilson to play.” The SDLL also said within their statement several other teams have decided to withdraw from the tournament too Police continue to search for the gunman and said they were using all their resources to determine the reasons behind the shooting Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Wilson Police Department 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255 Redevelopment is set to resume on the historic Walcourt the plan is changing from apartments to offices stood empty and boarded up for more than 40 years before it was sold in September to residential developer Brent Swift He cleaned up the property and started design work Swift was in discussions with several potential buyers to take over the project Walcourt Partners LLC led by Steven Morris had twice attempted to acquire the Walcourt and had been in discussions with the longtime former owner “I felt that the only thing that works there is office space,” Morris said “It was built with about a dozen efficiency units There were no kitchens; it was a central dining room for each floor The problem with the building — it's about 9,500 square feet and it's $200 per square foot to finish out no matter what you look at.” Morris said his estimates matched with those tallied by Swift has a long history in historic commercial development that includes office and residential properties “He really loves the building,” Morris said “But Brent had other stuff he really wanted to do And this would have prevented him from doing that I think I passed his muster and we got the deal done.” who is building the 701 Hudson condominiums in nearby Midtown said the sale did assist him in financing other projects downtown He admired Morris' work that dates back to redevelopment of the former Alpha Chi Omega sorority house at 103 W Boyd in Norman into the Casa Blanca office building we had some other things on our radar downtown that we wanted to pursue and we could achieve that with them buying it from us,” Swift said Any time you get into historic redevelop of a building like this offices for buildings like this make sense Morris is seeking rezoning of the property and closing an unused alley to allow the building to be converted to offices He plans to build apartments on the adjoining acre of land once the Walcourt project is complete He said work will start with repair and preservation of the exterior with design work by architect Catherine Montgomery “We have brickwork underway and new metal security doors going up this week,” Morris said We're going to replace the roof and we've found the French lock singles to match what is there “We will then start marketing so we can get a single tenant or a tenant for each floor,” he said Morris said his partners have long wanted to acquire the Walcourt and bring it back to life “We are die-hard historic preservationists,” Morris said a one-time architectural gem that has eluded efforts to buy and bring the landmark back to life is under contract to a developer with extensive experience in breathing life into similar properties with its Tudor Revival architecture and tin shingle roof has drawn plenty of unsolicited offers but not one ended in a sale contact with owner Mary Williams whose late husband bought the building at 141 NE 13 in 1976 first fell in love with the Walcourt about five years ago while driving along Interstate 235 But it took years for him to get the elusive purchase contract I've always admired the architecture of the building but I was never able to put the pieces together to do something with it.” perhaps more than any other developer in town is experienced in working with similar structures built during the 1920s and 1930s he was on his way to NW 37 and Western Avenue where he was preparing to tackle restoration of a 1938 Art Deco apartment four-plex at 1000 NW 37 Swift also won accolades for his work with a three-story apartment building which was built in 1929 near Norman's Campus Corner has suffered through numerous fires and roof leaks But Swift isn't afraid to tackle to property which he intends to bring back as apartments after closing on the purchase this fall “This building is in fairly good condition,” Swift said “The 37th Street building was the most challenging Swift credits the Walcourt's original developer for creating a structure that was able to endure the sort of wear and tear that would have led to other buildings collapsing or being torn down long ago took out a full-page advertisement in The Oklahoman to boast of the meticulous attention spent on details The building would feature the latest in “Kelvinator Electric Refrigeration,” Kohler plumbing fixtures and Murphy beds He hired architect Joe Davis to create a building unlike anything else in the city “Have you noticed that no two angles of the Walcourt are similar?” Musson wrote an upscale community when the Walcourt was built The Walcourt narrowly escaped ending up in the acquisition area that was to be cleared for the future I-235 built just west of Walnut Avenue Williams bought the building and about an acre of surrounding property in 1976 and then cooperated with preservationists in adding the Walcourt to the National Register of Historic Places Williams died without getting the chance to redevelop the landmark But no aspiring buyer could get close to signing a purchase contract with Williams' widow Swift credits someone who was a complete stranger with getting the deal done a suburban real estate broker with Keller Williams who had no connection with Swift approached the developer with a pitch at a home and garden show earlier this year “He asked me what would be a building I would want to buy but I couldn't get,” Swift recalled ‘Just the Walcourt.' He didn't know about it Swift had a portfolio to prove he could get the job done Arie succeeded in meeting with representatives of the aging owner But months passed before Swift get a meeting with the owner not even sharing them with his friend and architect Swift contacted Gardner with an invite to tour the building and disclosed the possibility that he would get to draw up plans for a project sought after by architects throughout the metro “At all the different offices I've been in we've talked about it dating back to 2002,” Gardner said But you can't help but be excited about a project like that.” The next step for Swift and Gardner is to work with the State Historic Preservation Office to obtain historic tax credits and ensure their restoration will preserve the Walcourt for the next century as the surrounding neighborhood itself comes back to life “It's unique to the neighborhood; it's unique to that kind of architecture and its view of downtown,” Gardner said it's something you don't usually get to figure out how to bring back to life.” is on hold while The Oklahoman's online site is upgraded Writer Steve Lackmeyer answered questions about Oklahoma City development that were submitted by readers in advance of this prewritten chat Live chat is expected to resume in late March Q: Good morning Steve and happy Friday to you what is the mindset of property owners holding on to properties I pass properties every day that have been boarded up for 10 years or more I look it up and there are some local property owners that could sell them and make sure money A: Sometimes we're dealing with properties owned by people who acquired historic buildings dreams of restoration only to be unable to get the job done or they pass away and families find themselves unable to let that dream go Such was the case with the Walcourt that was owned by Mary Williams whose late husband bought the building at 141 NE 13 in 1976. The century-old The building was boarded up for 40 years and caught fire several times before it finally sold in 2017 and the new owners are looking for office tenants before beginning interior finishes The Jewel Theater at 904 NE 4 is the only surviving historically Black movie theater still standing and is in the middle of a JFK neighborhood enjoying a revival The theater remains boarded up and I've been told several parties have shown an interest in buying the landmark who bought it in the 1970s with plans of restoration Other properties are caught up in family disputes or are tied up with title complications And some are owned by speculators who let their properties languish and hurt efforts of surrounding owners to bring life to an area even as these speculators are counting on their neighbors' investments to increase their own values I am aware of one such property owner who has been buying up properties south of downtown to do just this and is seen as hurting efforts by others truly trying to redevelop blighted areas A: Readers were excited when the state agreed to sell the former National Guard Armory at 200 NE 23 to COOP Ale Works for use as a brewery director of sales and marketing at COOP Ale Works and the project is very much alive and still moving forward. The armory was built in 1935, was once home to the 45th Infantry and National Guard It was vacated by 2010 and then put up for sale in 2017.  was seen as a potentially awkward fit for most development possibilities due to its design The bulk of the interior is just the ground floor with the roof three stories above.   Floors line the east and west sides of the building overlooking the space.  was seen as ideal for an expanded COOP Ale Works brewery that will be transformed into a visitor destination with the side offices turned into a boutique hotel.  The proposal called for 16 hotel rooms overlooking the production floor with the opposite side of the building to be home to a restaurant and event venue.  The two wings are intended to be connected via a 4,000-square-foot lounge and taproom on the production floor that will be separated from the brewing operations by a 105-foot-long glass wall with seating for 80 and an array of games, is designed to be located atop the wall overlooking the brewery.  the T-shaped Veterans Administration building to the east of the Armory is designed to be turned into 12 hotel villas a basement speakeasy and a pool and lounge open to guests and the public.  It’s not a question about growth or viability. COOP Ale Works was one of the city’s first craft breweries when it opened in 2009 and it now sells at hundreds of locations in a multistate region. Oklahoman food writer Dave Cathey reported this week the brewery is working with Sonic Drive-ins to produce a line of hard seltzers.  “We need the space,” Mossman said “We need this building.”  Blame the generosity of our city fathers for the delays. I mentioned in last week’s chat that if the proposed MAPS 4 outdoor stadium is to be built at Wheeler Park the city will have to find a way to change deed restrictions against alcohol sales required by the Wheeler family when they donated the land.  placed their own restrictions as part of donating the land along NE 23 to the state to build the armory.  “There have been a couple of issues involving clearance of title,” Mossman said “That’s the total bottleneck right now.”  Mossman said the purchase will be completed and work will resume.  “We’re excited about it,” Mossman said “We are anxious about it from time to time When you’re developing an old piece of real estate you sometimes find things under the pillow.”  Q: With the hotel going up quickly and the apartments next door the area west of Chesapeake is starting to move well Do you think we will see any movement in the near future on the area between Whole Foods and the new hotel A: Is there really that much land left to develop with the apartments being built to the west of the hotel I can see a relatively small stretch of land immediately north of Whole Foods and with the hotel and apartments coming online next year I can't imagine it taking long for that to be built up as additional retail or restaurants Q: What are you hearing from business owners on when their comfort level for resuming in-person meetings and things getting back to normal A: The folks I'm talking to are cautiously optimistic that we may return to a situation closer to normal by autumn Q: Now that vaccines are starting to roll out are there any developments that were put on the backburner that are going to move forward that you know of who owns the 20-story former Kerr-Mac building at 260 N Robinson Ave. decides to switch his plan to restore it as office space and instead go with apartments in response to changes in the office market caused by the pandemic Q: When I have talked to friends about the new soccer stadium the fear for the cotton oil site (south of Lower Bricktown) is that it will be a stadium with a sea of parking around it will there be any city incentive to redevelop the area surrounding it into living Maybe a request for proposals to go along with the approved plans there really isn’t enough space to do that and Wheeler has its own hurdle of serving alcohol to get over The cotton oil mill site was always my favorite option for the same reason the convention center's location was a favorite option; it would help spark development in the area A: The MAPS 4 stadium is a potential game changer for wherever it might be located with potential to spur a lot of adjacent development The Farmers Market site may indeed be too small Title issues at Wheeler Park are not impossible to overcome and I wouldn't rule it out as a contender has shown a lot of interest in the stadium being built on the cotton oil mill site and even had a contract to buy the land a few years ago More on the MAPS 4 multi-purpose stadium: More on the MAPS 4 multi-purpose stadium The issue on the cotton oil mill site is the cost of the land which I've been told would run about $35 a square foot unless the sellers allow for a deep discount with the idea of a stadium boosting the value of the rest of the property Your idea of the city looking for developers to take on the remaining property isn't a bad idea but I don't see how that can happen without the city using up the entire stadium budget to buy the land These may not be the only sites to get considered by the city with other sites having been pitched in the past for the stadium would likely hurt interest among south side Hispanics who are passionate soccer fans It used to be part of the Urban Farmhouse compound and while building permits indicate the warehouse is being converted into a marijuana and grow facility What I can share right now is the direction of the project is very different with aspirations to take on a vibe more like Austin Thomas said it will include an outdoor venue with multiple stages a multi-theme bar and food service It will include parking on site and a remote park and ride by the lower section of Scissortail Park I hope to tour the project soon and will share more details Staff writer Steve Lackmeyer is a 30-year reporter columnist and author who covers downtown Oklahoma City and related urban development for The Oklahoman Please support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a subscription today at oklahoman.com/subscribe Real estate briefs from The Oklahoman for April 28 2018OklahomanCountry club added to historic register OKMULGEE — The Okmulgee Country Club and Golf Course has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places according to the Oklahoma Historical Society The facility was designed by Leon Senter and features "an exceptional example of the Bungalow/Craftsman style clubhouse," the preservation office said The long-vacant Walcourt building fetched $850,000 when it sold late last year nearly 80 percent more than its sales price three months before purchased the building at 141 NE 13 from Brent Swift who had bought the building from longtime owner Mary Williams for $475,000 in September 9,378-square-foot building; Morris plans offices The price was not disclosed at the time of sale in December Online upgrades at the Oklahoma County Assessor's Office kept the transaction and price from being distributed through the usual channels until recently In celebration of its 500th Positive Energy Home partnership with Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity donated $25,000 toward the construction of a home for Nang Za Lian and Cin Zam Huai and their two children at 7304 Park Meadow in Habitat's Legacy Estates neighborhood including about a dozen from Petra Industries in Edmond were among hundreds donating a day of labor over the course of the build The home is scheduled for dedication on May 31 will unveil its annual list of Oklahoma's Most Endangered Historic Places on May 7 at a reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m in the Community Room of Page Woodson Apartments This event will include tours of the newly renovated apartments Developer Ronald Bradshaw will talk about the work Tickets to the reception and unveiling are $20 for Preservation Oklahoma Members go to www.preservationok.org or call 525-5325 Central Oklahoma Commercial Association of Realtors presents these events in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act the association is the education sponsor for Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST Policy Training from 8:30 a.m The free training is provided by the Tulsa Area Fair Housing Partnership and the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development and Tulsa Apartment Association members will be available the association is sponsoring Fair Housing 101 training from 10 a.m The event will also provide continuing education credits for attorneys and Realtors