Reimagining a Sanctuary: The Residences at Villa Teresa

Marva Ellard is a longtime resident of the Midtown area in Oklahoma City. One of her fondest memories is seeing the students and staff from the Carmelite Convent and Villa Teresa Catholic School strolling through the neighborhood.

“They would go on walks, or you could drive by and they would be playing on the playground,” Ellard says.

The convent and school had been part of the community for close to 80 years before it went up for sale in 2012. Ellard was interested in the property at the time, but another group swooped in and purchased it. When that group’s plans to tear down the structures and build something else came to light, community members let it be known they were not happy. So the property, which included vacant land next to the school, was put back up for sale.

This time Ellard wasn’t going to let Villa Teresa get away from her. She teamed up with co-managing partner Billy Woodring and came up with a plan to pay homage to the school, but also look toward the future with the Villa Teresa Residences (1200 Classen Drive).

The first decision Woodring and Ellard made was choosing Brian Fitzsimmons of Fitzsimmons Architects to design the residences. Fitzsimmons, a longtime SoSA resident, was sensitive to the original Villa Teresa and included details from the old buildings. With the gables and pitched roofs, the residences mirror the design details of the historic buildings.

Construction started on the residences in August 2019.The first homes were completed in September 2021. Of the 17 residences that have been built, nine have been sold. The residences have three distinct sections. They include six Classen Flats (2,333 square feet); 10 three-story Dewey Townhomes (2,030-2,548 square feet) and a single Lowery Flat (1,321 square feet). While the Lowrey is priced at $660,500, prices for the Classen and Dewey range from $945,500 to just over $1.1 million.

Meanwhile, the original Villa Teresa buildings, erected in the 1920s, that span the rest of the block are going to become a 70-room boutique hotel, whose amenities will be shared with Villa Teresa residents. Renovations will begin later this year and are expected to last 18-24 months.

While the properties offer different and unique features that make them special, it is the neighborhood that is truly the star of the show. Surrounded by restaurants, shops and rail lines, the burgeoning Midtown District is an ideal spot. “One thing we can’t take credit for is that location," Ellard says. "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime location.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN MIERS