Oklahoma City design commission denies demolition request for 804 Southwest Second Street

The Downtown Design Commission on Feb. 20 denied an application by Vineyard Vogler LLC to demolish the building at 804 Southwest Second Street, a structure the commission has reviewed multiple times over the past year.

Justin Brannon, chair of the Downtown Design Commission, told the room that “because of the length of time that this has been under review by the Commission we either have to approve or deny the application today.” Commissioners voted to deny the application after extensive debate about stability, repair costs and whether the property owner had tried to market the property in its current condition.

The applicant’s contractor, John Evans, described the building’s condition and the engineering conclusions presented to the commission. “The building is in such a condition...the original roof is rotted out,” Evans said, explaining the applicant’s view that the joists and decking are beyond reasonable repair. He told commissioners that removing the top (rain) roof and shoring the original barrel roof would require engineered shoring and ongoing rental costs, and that those costs influence the owner’s view that the building is not financially salvageable.

City planning staff member Katie told commissioners the ordinance allows the commission to…