Downtown dreaming: Urban housing developers find reasons for hope in

From the master bedroom in the crown molding-bedecked model home at The Hill at Bricktown, prospective homebuyers have a view of downtown Oklahoma City's skyline. The windows on the other side of the two-story home on Russell M. Perry Avenue look out onto rows of recently poured concrete foundations where more of the brick town houses are being built.

Out of the 24 units at The Hill that have been completed, seven have sold so far, five of them this year. Marcacci said he is pleased with the pace of sales and expects demand for downtown housing to grow as more people get used to the idea."We'd love to see them all going right now, but for this market, it's really going well," Garrett said.Construction on the 157-unit, $75 million complex wedged between Bricktown and Interstate 235 stalled when the housing market crashed two years ago. The project's financing dried up, but resumed late last year.However, Triangle's Second Street Lofts, which are in the $100,000 price range, are faring better, with 26 of the 55 units there selling in less than a year, Garrett said.About half of the 30 units in Triangle's Central Avenue Villas have sold, which start at about $187,800 for a 791-square-foot condominium.Downtown housing in the lower price range is faring better in a down housing market than higher-end properties, said developer Pat Garrett.Garrett is a member of Triangle Development Partners, which has developed several blocks of urban dwellings in the Deep Deuce area."Urban living is new to Oklahoma, and people need to be familiarized to it," Marcacci said.Architect Anthony McDermid, principal of TAP Architecture and also a partner in Triangle, believes downtown Oklahoma City still needs more housing and demand will eventually grow, once developers and planners figure out the right formula to recruit new urban dwellers."The housing business is in the dumps, but that's going to change," Wiggin said. "Downtown has emerged in the last few years as a legitimate location for people to live and I think that's a long- term trend with legs. I think it will accelerate over time. Housing looks like it's a good investment place to be over time more than anything."The high-end town houses at The Hill, which range in price from $350,000 to $815,000 for 1,650 square feet to 3,700 square feet, are attracting young professionals and empty nesters, said real estate agent Matt Marcacci."We have not nearly recognized the potential for housing downtown," McDermid said. "It's a puzzle we have not been able to solve yet."Downtown's housing market has cooled in the last few years, but developers are optimistic that demand will grow again as the economy gets better.Sales have been slow in Triangle's Brownstones at Maywood Park development, Garrett said, where prices start at $645,000 for a 2,371-story, 2.5-story condominium.

"The housing business is in the dumps, but that's going to change," Wiggin said. "Downtown has emerged in the last few years as a legitimate location for people to live and I think that's a long- term trend with legs. I think it will accelerate over time. Housing looks like it's a good investment place to be over time more than anything."