Philips recalled . “ I was really thrilled to see it ( the nomination ), and I was also really happy to see Cory ’ s name attached to it . Because I ’ ve been able to watch , just be an observer and see some of the renovation and adaptive reuse projects that he ’ s been a part of in Stillwater , and so I knew that if it was ever going to get a chance this would be the best chance for something to happen here . So it was really exciting .”
and federal tax credits to rehabilitate income-producing buildings . That funding also comes with many strings attached .
“ The good news about the historic preservation . Not only does it allow you access to tax credits , but because somebody is watching so well , when the building is done , you know it was done right . You don ’ t have to take your contractor ’ s word on it . You don ’ t have to take anybody else ’ s word on it .” Williams said . “ And so when you get done , you have an asset that will make it another hundred years . And that ’ s important to me because I won ’ t be here … but the town will still be here .”
Philips believes that preserving these old buildings helps people understand their history and gives a sense of place and identity .
“ History is a wonderful teacher if you ’ ll just sit back and listen to it . I think having historical lessons to learn from to move society forward is an important one . To understand what things were done well , and maybe some things that weren ’ t done well , and how you can improve just how the human race works with one another , deals with one another and enriches one another ’ s lives . I think that ’ s important to understand the history of the place that either you come from , or the place in which you ’ re living or perhaps both . And perhaps you can take something from the place that you come from and enrich the place that you are ,” Philips said .
Once a building is on the National Register , it becomes eligible for state
BIG PLANS
Williams , his architect , and contractors will have to work with the State Historic Preservation Office throughout the design and building process .
“ We ’ ll get the initial design approval through SHPO . And then I will go out and do my capital stack based off of the estimates that a contractor gives me . I anticipate it ’ s probably going to be a five to seven million dollar project .” Williams said . “ Those historic preservation tax credits are a big portion of it . You can get 20 % federal , 20 % state . The state is transferable , so you can actually sell those to banks and insurance companies to monetize them up front in order to help finance the project . Now it ’ s not dollar for dollar or a 40 % thing . So real savings is probably 27 to 25 %, but that ’ s still a decent , healthy injection that you wouldn ’ t otherwise have .”
Although plans are still in the early stages of development , Williams envisions the first floor as a restaurant with a leather and mahogany craft cocktail bar . Possibly giving the bar a name inspired by Otto Gray and his Oklahoma Cowboy Band .
The second and third floors will combine high-quality apartments and short-term rentals with a flexible design , adaptable to changing trends and needs .
“ I believe in downtowns . And so I want people down here . I want this to last for another a hundred years , because it can go the other way . I mean , if you look around here at the amount of vacancy that we have in this immediate area … I ’ m hoping that because we take on this thing which hasn ’ t been anything in 40 plus years , that the rest of the dominoes will also fall and people will be walking down here and enjoying things .” Williams said . “ The more people I can get living down here . The more I can save restaurants , the more I can save retail , the more I can help the businesses that are down here thrive for a long time . And so that ’ s my focus .”
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STORY & PHOTOS BY Chris Peters chris @ stillwaternewspress . com
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE