Stillwater Oklahoma October 2022 | Page 21

Lakeview Landing

Lakeview Landing , a mixed-use development on the south shore of Boomer Lake , is about to make Stillwater home to a type of development found in few other places . Its centerpiece , the former Boomer Lake power station , will be transformed into an entertainment complex surrounded by a gated community of luxury condominiums .
It ’ s the type of project the people involved see as potentially being transformational , especially when coupled with the draw of OSU athletics and the worldclass entertainment offered by the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts .
Steve Ray , who is working with the developers to market homes at Lakeview Landing that start at $ 750,000 , said the development is getting a lot of interest from the type of people who fly in for football games . Owning a second home in Stillwater , could encourage them to visit more often and take advantage of the university ’ s other offerings . It could be beneficial for the university and the community if successful alumni felt more connected to both .
He ’ s also seeing interest from some local residents who want to be where the action is and some people currently living elsewhere but considering Stillwater as a home base between travel adventures .
The community will offer a worry-free lifestyle with security and no maintenance , Ray said . Three of the six units closest to the lake have already sold .
Careful engineering and site planning means every unit will have its own unobstructed view of the water . Lakeview Landing is one of a small handful of similar projects in the U . S ., although repurposing the vintage buildings that once generated power for residents is an idea that ’ s picking up ( ahem ) steam .
Their cavernous spaces , industrial character and locations near bodies of water that once provided cooling , make them attractive candidates for creative repurposing .
Old power plants in Savannah , Georgia , Baltimore , Philadelphia and Beloit , Wisconsin have been transformed into centers for culture and entertainment .
But transforming a power plant into anything else is a massive and expensive undertaking that requires not just money , but vision .
Primo Facchini , owner of Green Trust Demolition in California , has had that vision since he learned about the City of Stillwater ’ s desire to do something exciting with the plant it decommissioned when its new Energy Center went online in 2016 . He ’ s been working on the Boomer Lake Station project for about four years now . Repurposing old buildings and salvaged materials is kind of his specialty .
Facchini said he was originally going after a different project but once the power plant was brought up , he was interested . While they were still talking , he drew a rough sketch drawn on a napkin and a piece of copy paper .
“ I understood what they were trying to do ,” he said . “ … A lot of people don ’ t look outside the box , but I ’ ve looked outside the box my whole life .”
The power plant itself will house a taproom for Noble Rey brewery , which will have a full brewing operation with about 40 tanks , and a restaurant with a rooftop bar , Facchini said .
The plan calls for leaving about 95 % of the piping and mechanical infrastructure that gives the building its
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 21