‘Cozy, intimate experience’: These historic-buildings-turned-homes are winning over renters

Story by Rebecca Heliot, The Oklahoman

At The Montgomery, potential renters eyed one of the last units available in the building, taking in the high ceilings and distinguishably large windows. The nearly 100-year-old property still charms visitors with exquisite downtown views and antique-styled detail, like dark wood floors and plastered columns.

Robert McGee, a leasing professional at The Montgomery — a 70-unit apartment building at 500 W Main St., built in 1929 — said safety and comfort are what residents love most about the serviced apartment building.

“People love the cozy, intimate experience we offer. It has been very curated,” McGee said of the property, once known as the Montgomery Ward Department Store building. “It offers a very relaxing space.”

One of several old buildings reinvented into living spaces, The Montgomery alludes to what brings revitalized historic buildings to full capacity.

During the recent 2025 Downtown Home Tour, the Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership showcased several properties aiming to spotlight the most desired apartments in the city.

The event proved that renters are interested in historic properties, which were featured along with other residential options such as Deep Deuce at Bricktown, Steelyard Apartments, The Metropolitan, West Village Apartments and the luxury townhome complex called The Spaniard.

Many potential renters flocked to renovated vintage buildings, like the Sieber Hotel Apartments at 1305 N Hudson Ave., where Robert Sieber and his wife, Nora, built the grocery store and apartment hotel building in the 1920s, according to the apartment’s website.

Prospering through the 1930s, Sieber built the six-story hotel to accommodate short- and long-term stays in Oklahoma City. Many of his own family members lived in the building, said Marva Ellard, one of the apartment building’s owners and a managing member.

“He ended up hiring a lot of his own family, so they lived here,” Ellard said.

In 2005, several years after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, The Sieber Hotel Apartments was added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the building’s website. Then, it was developed into housing.

“[The Siebers] were before the bombing, and then we didn’t open until 2008. We were really the first apartment to locate to this part of town,” Ellard said. “I think it encouraged people to develop the area.”

Today, the 56,538-square-foot apartment building features 30 apartments and eight loft-style units.

Three properties featured in the tour included reinvented banks: The Harlow, The First Residences and Park Harvey.

Once the Tradesman’s National Bank, The Harlow kept the features of the old financial institution alive, according to the apartment building’s website. Walking through the lobby doors, visitors can still make out the teller windows and offices lining the exquisitely designed main entrance at 101 N Broadway.

Developers at Gardner Tanenbaum constructed the highly anticipated rental property by combining the former bank and the Medical Arts building, which dates back to 1923. They kept the city’s underground tunnel system intact, giving residents full access to the passageways underneath the 100 Park Ave. location.

The 12-story building at the intersection of N Broadway Avenue and W Main Street, named after the famous actress Jean Harlow, has 265 units and 4,300 square feet of retail space, according to Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership.

A short distance away, one of the most historically significant buildings in Oklahoma City was turned into The First Residences. Built in 1931 as the First National Center, Northeast Property Management reinvented the 32-story building as a hotel and residential space, according to the property’s website.

Residents of the First Residences at 140 Park Ave. have access to a pool with views of Oklahoma City’s tallest towers — the Devon Tower and BancFirst. Some of the apartment units include lighted shelves, large windows and downtown views. Little tokens of history can be found throughout the building’s hallways, such as an antiquated U.S. mail cutler system.

For over 50 years, the building at 200 W Park Ave. stood as a Fidelity Bank office after being erected in 1957, according to Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership. Developers at Gardner Tanenbaum remodeled the property in 2006, then opened a 162-unit apartment building the following year.

The spot, designed with modern conveniences, such as an instagrammable photo area, offers a plethora of amenities at one of the most affordable prices in the heart of downtown.

The reinvented historic buildings, like Park Harvey and The Montgomery, are often serviced with security personnel and front office workers available to tenants at all hours of the day every day of the week. McGee said these services are appealing to potential residents.

“They feel very safe and comforted when they come in,” McGee said. “A lot of people say when they come step in the building, there’s just this calm energy that washes over them.”