By Matt Maile

A sprawling manufacturing complex on the eastern edge of Bricktown could become a new multifamily development with associated retail space, under a concept being developed for the property by CB Richard Ellis/Oklahoma and the property’s owner.
W.H. Stewart Co., a sheet metal fabricator, said it wants to sell its manufacturing buildings on E. Sheridan Avenue. As part of the sales pitch, brokers and the property owner have teamed up to market the property as a potential adaptive reuse, in which the steel-framed buildings would be converted to luxury apartments or lofts.
The apartment development would be part of an area property owners are calling the new Steel Yard District.
“We exhausted our marketing efforts to find a manufacturer who could use all or part of the property for manufacturing space,” said John Maisch, an associate at CB Richard Ellis/Oklahoma. “After those efforts, we turned our attention to alternative uses.”
W.H. Stewart Co. puts its 201,630-square-foot building complex, located on 4.6 acres at the 500 block of Sheridan, on the market in late 2002. The company, which is shuttering most of its fabricating operations - wants to sell the building for about $5 million.
Seeking to lay out a plan for how a potential buyer could redevelop the property, the property owner retained Oklahoma City architect Socrates Lazaridis of Renaissance Architects and Ross Vivona of Vivona Construction to develop a new concept for the property. The concept would convert the space into a multifamily loft or warehouse-style development with some retail component.
Lazaridis estimated that a potential investor could convert the space to multifamily and retail use for about $10 million over the purchase price for the property.
“We’re thinking in terms of a residential complex with some multipurpose space,” Lazaridis said Wednesday as he walked through one of the manufacturing buildings. “The mere fact these are huge industrial buildings fits perfectly with our concept.”
The Stewart properties comprise several steel-framed manufacturing buildings, each of which has a sheet metal exterior. The buildings are supported by large steel frames and in some cases have arching wood-plank roofs.
Under the redevelopment concept, the building’s exterior would be left largely intact with some new brickwork to accent the property. The interior of the buildings would be converted to space for up to 100 multifamily units.
The concept also calls for some space to be reserved for retail use, such as a dry cleaning business, a barber shop, a pharmacy or a possible retail store. Additional space would be available for a business center or boardroom that could cater to business owners.
Architects said the 30-foot clear height ceilings and the large open spaces of the manufacturing building would provide ample room for two-story housing.
“We’re going to maintain part of the existing character,” Lazaridis said. “However, we would enhance it with special brick work and brick arches that would relate to Bricktown. It would complement the architecture of Bricktown.”
Vivona said the end result of the redevelopment would be a multifamily and retail space that complements the neighboring Bricktown area.
“It’s something that will not be in competition with Bricktown but complement it,” Vivona said.
The Stewart manufacturing property sits on a main entryway into Bricktown from Interstate 235 and is located south of the 294-unit Deep Deuce housing development. Maisch said demand for multifamily housing - evident in the high occupancy rate at Deep Deuce - argues for the need for more upscale multifamily space in the downtown area.
“With 80,000 people working within a two- mile radius of downtown and 294 units at the Deep Deuce Apartments that are almost fully leased, there’s definitely a need for more downtown apartments,” Maisch said.
The steel-framed manufacturing buildings on the east boundary of Bricktown stand out from the red brick buildings that line the Bricktown canal to the southwest.
Because of its distinct nature, Maisch said he wants the area of the Stewart properties to be designated as the Steel Yard District, much like Automobile Alley, Bricktown, the Arts District and other special designations for downtown areas.
“The Steel Yard District emphasizes the property’s historical ties to the steel industry,” Maisch said.
Devery Youngblood, president of Downtown OKC Inc., said the idea of a multifamily reuse of the Stewart properties might be attractive.
Property representatives met with Youngblood within the last month to outline the redevelopment plan and the idea of creating a separate Steel Yard District, a concept plan for how the property could be redeveloped. The meeting was meant to familiarize Downtown OKC with the development plan and get some feedback.
“There’s a better market for multifamily than there is for industrial or warehouse space,” Youngblood said afterward. “And the idea of multifamily is most appealing to us.”