The historic Vandever Building’s
conversion into a 44-unit apartment
building with street-level
retail has hit a snag with its adjoining
neighbors, who have obtained a
temporary restraining order halting
construction of a parking garage
in the Vandever basement.
“It’s delaying the project. I don’t
know how long this will take,” said
Bryan Bickel, president of Sustainable
Design Builders, the construction
company leading the project at
16 E. Fifth St. “There’s financing in
place. People have shops in there
expecting me to be done at a certain
date.”
Bickel said the project was targeted
for completion by early next
year.
Tulsa County District Judge
Daman Cantrell issued a temporary
restraining order against the
Vandever’s owners, TDL NOW II,
after Fifth Street Corridor (FSC),
which owns the Thompson Building,
filed a lawsuit alleging that the
construction of the parking garage
would be an “unreasonable interference”
because the exit would
cause traffic to cross FSC’s easement
and violate FSC’s rights in
getting in and out of its property.
The lawsuit says the original
owners of the buildings agreed in
the 1920s that neither would put in
trap doors or openings in the alley
that would cross the easement. It
further notes that Thompson gave
Vandever permission to construct
a skybridge over the easement in
1945.
FSC ultimately seeks a permanent
injunction.
“We certainly recognize the
easement that exists, but our intended use doesn’t interfere
with their rights pursuant to
their easement,” said Kenny
Joe Smith, the attorney for
TDL. “We have a right to use
it as long as we do not unduly
burden their rights.”
Smith said the easement
is only 15 feet wide and runs
east to west behind the buildings.
It connects to the public
alley between Fifth and Sixth
streets.
The Thompson Building, at
20 E. Fifth St., has a back door
to the easement, but Smith
said it appears that most employees
use the front door on
Fifth Street. The easement is
not big enough for parking.
In fact, Smith said a large
sign prohibits parking,
though one vehicle routinely
parks there.
FSC’s attorney, Thomas
Askew, could not be reached
Thursday.
Smith said he is in communication
with Askew and
hopeful they can reach an
agreement. A court date has
not been set.
Bickel said he thinks there
was simply a misunderstanding.
“They believed we were
going to tear the alley out
and build a ramp in the alley.
But the plan is to leave the alley
intact, cut a hole in back
of the Vandever building and
put a ramp inside the Vandever
building,” he said.
“The way it’s designed,
it won’t do anything to the
Thompson Building, but they
didn’t understand that.”
Bickel said the basement is
larger than the footprint of
the Vandever building. The
old basement housed an antiquated
mechanical room,
which will be torn out. When
a high-efficiency system is
installed, it will free up the
square footage needed for
parking, Bickel said.
Bickel’s company also performed
the renovation and
conversion of the old City
Hall into the Aloft Tulsa
Downtown hotel.
The Thompson Building
was built in the Beaux Arts
style in 1923 with 10 floors.
Five more stories were added
in 1929.
A Jimmy John’s restaurant
opened on the ground floor
of the Thompson Building recently.
Other tenants include
KWB Oil Property Management,
which manages the
building, and Schnake Turnbo
Frank public relations
firm.
A KWB representative
could not be reached Thursday.
The six-story Vandever
Building, which housed the
illustrious Vandever Department
Store, was built in 1924.
Susan Hylton 918-581-8381
susan.hylton@tulsaworld.com
Real Estate
U.S. homebuilders' confidence in the housing market held this month at its highest level in nearly eight years. But builders are starting to worry that sales may slow if mortgage rates continue to rise.
New home construction in the Tulsa region from January to August is outpacing last year's numbers, a continuation of the upward tick that started in 2012 following a six-year slide.
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