Big News! Clients, Referral Partners, Friends please read!

After six successful years as a real estate agent in Tulsa, I am excited to announce that I am now in Northwest Arkansas.  I am also pleased to announce that I have affiliated with Alexander, Merry-Ship & Alt Real Estate Group, Inc., a boutique firm that has become the leader in downtown Fayetteville / Dickson Street real estate & development. Most will recognize AMA as the absolute best in downtown condos, but the firm is definitely a full-service brokerage.  AMA has built a solid foundation with its mixed-use developments including its newest project, the Lofts at Underwood Plaza.

As a top real estate agent in Tulsa, I look forward to using my knowledge & experience to help Buyers & Sellers throughout the entire region including Fayetteville, Bentonville, and Rogers.  Although I will serve all of Northwest Arkansas, I have a special affinity for historic & architecturally distinctive properties and the homes near downtown, Dickson Street, the Wilson Park area, and the Washington-Willow Historic District.

As an University of Arkansas alum, and with family in the area, I am familiar with Northwest Arkansas and have stayed "in touch" with the happenings around the region.  I am also committed to networking and have maintained relationships with business leaders, friends, and colleagues, which is integral to successfully marketing homes.  Basically, despite being "new" here, I guarantee I can serve the Buyers and Sellers of Northwest Arkansas with the highest level of service. 

If you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate in Northwest Arkansas, please give me a call at 479-935-6080 or drop an email to anthonyclarkrealtor@gmail.com.  I will maintain my Oklahoma license for a period of time as well, so please keep me in mind when needing a referral for Tulsa or the rest of Northeast Oklahoma.

Day One for the new chancellor at the University of Arkansas

Dr. David Gearhart became the 5th chancellor of the University of Arkansas today.  His office released a video introduction.

Dr. Gearhart is most notably recognized for directing the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century.  This fund-raising effort was the largest in UA history raising over $1 billion and growing the endowment from $119 million to $900 million.

For more information about Dr. Gearhart please visit the Chancellor's Office.

Photo Tour :: Downtown Tulsa restaurants

As Tulsa continues its efforts to revitalize downtown, I thought it would be great to highlight some of the fantastic restaurants within the IDL.  Most of these great places are open late nights & weekends to accommodate patrons of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, Jazz Hall of Fame, and BOK Center which is set to open this fall.  Keep scrolling down for more photos and be sure to check out my other photo tours of Tulsa attractions.

The Brady Arts District is home to some of my favorite hangouts including:

Lola's at the Bowery

5 E. Brady Street

918-592-4995

Caz's Chowhouse

18 E. Brady Street

918-588-CHOW

Gypsy Coffee House

300 N. Cincinnati Avenue

918-95-2181

Spaghetti Warehouse

221 E. Brady Street

918-587-4440

The Blue Dome District, also home to a number of clubs & bars, has several restaurants including:

Tsunami Sushi Bar

2nd Street & Detroit Avenue

918-582-4100

James E. McNellie's Public House

409 E. 1st Street

918-382-PINT

El Guapo's Cantina

332 E. 1st Street

918-382-RITA

There's a number of other great downtown Tulsa restaurants including:

SoChey

3rd Street & Cheyenne Avenue (Arena District)

Baxter's Interurban Grill

717 S. Houston Avenue

918-585-3134

Kokoa Kabana

510 S. Boston Avenue (The Philcade)

918-742-4069

Topeca Coffee

115 W. 5th Street (The Mayo Hotel)

918-592-9090

 Billy's on the Square

5th & Main Streets (Bartlett Square)

918-583-8703

In addition to numerous cafes & snack shops that serve the public inside office buildings, downtown Tulsa is also home to these restaurants:  the Blue Dome Diner, Boston Avenue Grille, CFC Chocolatier, Coney Island, Elote Cafe, Felini's, Fortune Chef, Impressions, Mexicali Border Cafe, New Atlas Grill, Petroleum Club, Phat Philly's, Summit Club, Tabouli's, and the Tulsa Press Club.

There are, of course, a number of fast food & chain options as well - Arby's, Domino's Pizza, Mazzio's Pizza, Quizno's, Starbucks, and Subway.

Mid-Century Modern in Tulsa

The Lortondale neighborhood has begun steps for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.  You surely remember Lortondale from my previous post about mid-century architecture.   If you surf over to the neighborhood's website (the neighborhood is on myspace also), I read a few really interesting facts about this unique area.

• Lortondale was the first neighborhood in the nation with central H&A in every home.
• Lortondale was the first neighborhood in Tulsa with a neighborhood pool.
• The developer & architect of Lortondale built four "prototype" homes to test public opinion before beginning the first tract. 

I wish the Lortondale neighborhood much luck in their quest for placement on the NRHP and thank them for their efforts to preserve & promote this chunk of Tulsa history!

Tooting my own horn - it's mine to toot.

Tulsa Business Journal published its annual "Tulsa's Top Residential Real Estate Agents" list in the June 9th edition.  I am proud to say that out of 4,111 members of the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors, I ranked number 72 for 2007!  The list is compiled each year for individual agents based on sales (total closed volume).

This ranking places me in the top 2% of all agents in our local Board.  I am so honored to be among this group of professionals and could not have done it without the loyalty & support of my fantastic customers & clients.  Thank you, thank you!

Photo Tour :: University of Tulsa campus

One of Tulsa's greatest treasures is its namesake university.  The University of Tulsa is a private, nondenominational institution founded in 1894 by the Presbyterian Church.  Its undergraduate, graduate & law programs have enrollment of  just under 5,000.  One in ten undergrads is a National Merit Finalist and the average ACT/SAT score is 27/1270. 

Keep scrolling down for more photos and be sure to check out my other photo tours of Tulsa attractions.

McFarlin Library is at the center of the University overlooking a huge lawn.

Collins Fitness Center is a fairly new facility that compliments the campus while integrating intramural fields.

Donald W. Reynolds Center is the home of Golden Hurrican basketball.

Mabee Legal Information Center is a modern building with stacked stone similar to existing structures on campus. 

University United Methodist Church saw great expansion during the 20s, 30s, and 40s to become the beautiful structure that it is today. 

Even with distinctive architetural design, the Muslim Students Association building uses stacked stone to incorporate this modern building into the campus environment.

BOK Center :: 30 Great Tulsa Attractions

To attract world-class entertainment you need a world-class facility.  Enter the BOK Center.  The 18,041 seat arena is the City of Tulsa's new $178 million dollar sports & entertainment venue scheduled to be completed September 2008.  The project is funded in part by Vision2025 and corporate sponsors such as OneOK and Bank of Oklahoma.  The facility in downtown Tulsa was designed by the internationally renowned architectural firm Pelli Clarke Pelli.  You can watch construction progress on the Vision2025 live web cam. 

The BOK Center will be the new home of Tulsa Talons football and Tulsa Oilers hockey.  The Center's inaugural event will be Kenny Chesney with LeAnn Rimes on September 10, 2008.  Other events already scheduled include the final stop of the American Idol tour, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Rascal Flatts with Taylor Swift, Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, Celtic Thunder, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

For ticket or venue information visit the BOK Center website.

The exterior is almost complete as you can see in this photo.  The signature feature of the design is the glass "icon" wall.

View the post with all 30 Great Tulsa Attractions. 

Photo Tour :: Downtown Tulsa Churches

One thing that makes downtown Tulsa a beautiful place is the quality of architecture in the religious structures within the inner disperal loop (IDL).  Regardless of your faith or belief system, I think you can agree that these are some incredible buildings.  Keep scrolling down for more photos and be sure to check out my other photo tours of Tulsa attractions.

Let's just start with one of the most recognizable buildings in Tulsa.   Boston Avenue Church is a wonderful example of art deco that was designed by architect Bruce Goff.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

First Baptist Church 

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

First Church of Christ (Scientist) is celebrating 2008 as the 100th year of Christian Scientists worshipping in Tulsa.

First Presbyterian Church

First United Methodist Church

Holy Family Cathedral is the parish cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa. 

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Trinity Episcopal Church

Let's not get too comfortable... at least not yet

The economy. The real estate market.  Gas prices.  Although gas prices went up again (to $3.69/gal for regular unleaded in Tulsa) last week, we have it pretty darn good, right? 

Tulsa was just ranked fifth in RelocateAmerica's America's Top 10 "Great Places to Live" report.  Tulsa has a great reputation for affordability and quality of life.  It has one of the nation's most generous philanthropic networks.  Downtown is under major revitalization.  Unemployment is much lower than the national average.  So, yeah we have it pretty darn good.  Well, let's not get too comfortable.  As we bask in the greatness of our little utopia, let us remember that it all could change overnight.

Did you know American Airlines is Tulsa's largest employer?  That's right, Tulsa International Airport is home to the world's largest aircraft maintenance base.  You've probably seen the news that AA announced it will start charging $15 to check your first bag for most tickets purchased after June 15th.  United, among other airlines, is considering a similar fee.

Although AA has been pretty transparent about its decision - an attempt to decrease its forcasted multi-billion dollar loss this year - that does't mean consumers like it.  It's too early to guage how consumers will react.  Will they suck it up and pay the fee, choose to fly the competition, travel with less stuff, what?  Regardless, investor & consumer confidence in this big player will decline at least a little. 

Hopefully American will survive the heat and come out on top, but only time - and consumer willingness to shell out a few extra bucks - will tell.  The local real estate market is still strong, but Buyers should make less risky decisions right now.  Make sure your Realtor is plugged into the local market and is giving you the freshest comps available.  Admittedly we have it pretty darn good, but let's not get too comfortable... at least not yet.

The Memorial Day 2008 Super MEME by Anthony Clark

First of all, Memorial Day was days ago, so I feel like I have the right to overlook being tagged.  For 18 months I've escaped the dreaded MEME.... but I will play along just so I don't get kicked off of the playground by some of the bullies around A|R.  I was tagged by my new pal Steve Shatsky.  Many of the MEMEs I've read lately somehow trace back to Jason Sardi, so he is to blame at least in part.

Update:  Tagged again by Jennifer Dahl.

1. Who is your favorite musical artist?  This is impossible just like naming my absolute favorite book, movie, or food. However, Nina Simone can bring me to tears with Ne Me Quitte Pas, and I don't even speak French.  Some of my other favorites include Beth Orton, Morrissey, the Beatles, and Whit Smith of the Hot Club of Cowtown.

2. Who is your favorite artist?   Mark Rothko.  I also like Jackson Pollock and numerous other modern artists.

3. Who is your favorite blogger?   That's an unfair question for a blogger on a blogsite.  I have to say I don't follow anyone so closely that I can call them my "favorite," but there is a lot of talent here on ActiveRain.  Traditional journalists beware!

4. If you could meet anyone (alive or dead), who would it be and what is the most interesting thing about them?  Nelson Mandela.  I would love to have the compassion for humanity that he possesses, and to learn first hand about the trials he's had to endure.  His compassion has to be contagious, right?  I wouldn't pass a chance to have coffee with a lot of people including  The Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, JFK, Parker Posey, David Sedaris, Tom Brokaw.

5. What did you want to be when you grew up?  I always wanted to be an architect or a car designer.  I had dozens of notebooks full of sketches.  I haven't doodled in years, but that may change some day  ;)

6. What is the most interesting piece of trivia you know?  The nation's youngest billionaire is the 23 year old who created Facebook - proof that if you have the right amount of motivation the sky is the limit.

7. If you could live in any point in history what would it be and why?  There's no time like the present, baby.  I think we live in the greatest time in history.  We literally have the world at our fingertips.  Technology & global media allow us to experience things that our grandparents never imagined.

8. What is the most interesting job you have ever held?  Paying or non-paying?  I'm not sure "interesting" is the right word, but I worked at a golf course in high school.  It was the greatest job ever - riding around a beautiful course, taking in the sun & fresh air, getting rainy days off, free golf.... 

Whew.  That wasn't so bad, but I feel compelled to tag some folks:

Bo Buchanan

Terry Haugen

Eric Kodner

Ray Nellum

Kevin O'Shea

Stewart Penn

Joshua & Kathy Schmidt

Donna Schoby