Oklahoma City Projects List

[ironchapman]

It seems like OKC is becoming quite a city. I am interested to hear what is being built there

Post any comments or updates on what's being built, renovated, etc. in the city here.

[fromdust]

a $100 mill. native american museum and cultural center (will be the largest of its kind in the world) should begin construction next year and be completed bt '08.

this might have been mentioned already' but i'll post it again. full renovation of the 21 story citizens tower in the asia district (north of downtown) into upscale condos called the classen.

$70 mill sate history museum under construction in the capitol complex.

best picture i could get

this may or may not be enteresting. new boldt construction HQ ( i think its hq for the southwest operations, not 100% sure, though.) along lake hefner parkway in nw okc. building is leed certified.

i-40 relocation south of downtown. this will be located about 5 blocks from existing site. will be widened from 6 to 10 lanes. old i-40 will be turned into a lanscaped boulevard into dt/bricktown.

dell is building a sale center. once that is complete they will add another building. when all is said and done dell will have built 8 buildings in the same area with up to 5000 employees.

i will add anything new to this later.

Edited July 8, 2005 by fromdust

[fromdust]

By Scott Coppenbarger

NEWS 9 report

Today, a city committee approved $54 million worth of projects along the riverfront.

Here's what you could see in the five year plan:

A $9 million dollar water taxi system.

A $6.5 million extension of the Bricktown Canal.

Links to Fair Park and the Riverside neighborhood, plus public boating and fishing facilities.

Scott Coppenbarger tells us the stockyards are planning a revival for the first time in about 100 years.

Gone are the glory days of the Oklahoma City Stockyards, a bustling business community that built a city in its own right.

Today, in a quiet meeting of the Riverfront Redevelopment Authority, members adopted a $54 million wish list of river projects that could make stockyard dreams come true.

A boat dock would bring in tourists from water taxis who would walk the streets and spend money in a $3 million retail project built by the Oklahoma National Stockyards Company.

The city manager says projects like the boat dock aren't guaranteed.

Even so, the uncertainty is met with progress."

Penn Square Mall:

1. As most of you know, Coach and Apple will be sharing the old Lane Bryant space on upscale row. LB has now moved to their temporary facility near JC Penney. They will be locating on the Foleys wing, upper level!

2. Elephant Bar signed a lease for the old Wards Automotive space on the southeast outparcel. They will be starting construction later this year.

3. Management is talking with Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano's for the parcels over off Penn by UMB Bank. If this happened, they wouldn't open until 2007 or 2008.

4. Penn Square Mall requires remodels every 5-7 years. So over the next few years, you'll be seeing remodels of some of the older stores. Kirklands was recently remodeled. The Body Shop is currently reing remodeled. Eddie Bauer will be next.

5. At the mall, sales are up 9% so far this year! Penn Square stillleads the state as the highest profit-making mall, and has sales per square foot way higher than the national average. This is the reason we keep getting upscale stores there.

__________________

Patrick

shots from an elephant bar.

the skirvin is being renovated and will be open in 06. the city intervened to save the hitoric landmark from being demolished. a grand hotel in dt.

this is the 75 year old montgomery ward building in dt okc. it has been renovated and simpley called the montgomery. low end starts at $800 and top of the line is $2050/month for a two bedroom 2000+ sq ft.

constuction is to start soon on the legacy summit at arts central in dt.

[fromdust]

Current projects include a Starbucks, 240 Penn Park and a 65,000 square-foot YMCA

Edited July 15, 2005 by fromdust

[jdsplaypin]

According to the OKC mayor, he's against the building of a bricktown casino... As if it's not an entertainment district. Perhaps his beef is with the gambling side of it not being a good moral promotion for the area. Then again the Hooters went in without any hesitation. quite ironic. drooling over a waitress or making profits off people with addictive behavior to be transfered towards state needs. I tell you what the Native Americans who are involved in this casino boom should be thanking their ancestors for making them a "comfortable living" too bad it had to come with a disturbing past.

[fromdust]

According to the OKC mayor, he's against the building of a bricktown casino... As if it's not an entertainment district.  Perhaps his beef is with the gambling side of it not being a good moral promotion for the area.  Then again the Hooters went in without any hesitation.  quite ironic.  drooling over a waitress or making profits off people with addictive behavior to be transfered towards state needs.  I tell you what the Native Americans who are involved in this casino boom should be thanking their ancestors for making them a "comfortable living"  too bad it had to come with a disturbing past.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i heard the real reason the mayor does not want the casino is because the city will not be able to collect tax, ya know it being owned by indians.

[fromdust]

Do NOT post copyrighted material, especially without a link. Read the Rules.

Edited July 16, 2005 by Spartan

[Spartan]

i heard the real reason the mayor does not want the casino is because the city will not be able to collect tax, ya know it being owned by indians.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I could be mistaken, but the non-taxable thing only applies to reservations. Anything they they do outside of there (like residencies and businesses) are taxable.

[Mith242]

a $100 mill. native american museum and cultural center (will be the largest of its kind in the world) should begin construction next year and be completed bt '08.

i will add anything new to this later.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I heard a lot about the Native American Museum that was built a year or so in DC. So this will be bigger than it?

[Mith242]

i-40 relocation south of downtown. this will be located about 5 blocks from existing site. will be widened from 6 to 10 lanes. old i-40 will be turned into a lanscaped boulevard into dt/bricktown.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Great more traffic problems for when I'm going through. Although I am sure it probably does need to be done, if we're talking about the section I think we're talking about. I visit family in Albuquerque a couple of times a year. I remember some of the traffic nightmares when they were doing some I-40 work a while back. Guess I'll have more to look forward to.

[fromdust]

I could be mistaken, but the non-taxable thing only applies to reservations. Anything they they do outside of there (like residencies and businesses) are taxable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the tribe would actually buy land in bricktown which would make it indian land. the city would get no tax from it.

[Spartan]

the tribe would actually buy land in bricktown which would make it indian land. the city would get no tax from it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then what is stopping them from buying up alot of land and expanding their reservation? That just doesn't sound right to me. I admit I don't know that much about the laws regarding Indians, but I am farily certain that their tax free status only applies on the reservations themselves.

[fromdust]

Then what is stopping them from buying up alot of land and expanding their reservation?    That just doesn't sound right to me. I admit I don't know that much about the laws regarding Indians, but I am farily certain that their tax free status only applies on the reservations themselves.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

if they buy land for a casino then they do place in reserve and technically it is a "reservation". any land that they buy is a "reservation" its just things are done a little differently here where we have a lot of indians but no reservations the way most people think of.

[Mith242]

if they buy land for a casino then they do place in reserve and technically it is a "reservation". any land that they buy is a "reservation" its just things are done a little differently here where we have a lot of indians but no reservations the way most people think of.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah it's sorta weird, especially if you compare Oklahoma and say New Mexico. Both have large Native American populations. But New Mexico has a lot of reservations where Oklahoma doesn't. Since I'm on the subject has Oklahoma ever considered doing more like New Mexico? Later this month is the Santa Fe Indian Market. It averages around 80,000 people and brings in around $18 Mil for the city of Santa Fe. I'm pretty sure many people from Oklahoma show off their wares there. Just seems like Oklahoma should try to develop something similar.

[fromdust]

do you mean we should do the reservation thing? i dont know if that would go well. indians have thier own cities and capitals here. those reservations always seem really bad.

i dont know if there is any kind of any indian fest here to show off thier work. but im sure there is. we do have the largest native american gathering anywhere here each year. so im sure it has art there.

[Mith242]

do you mean we should do the reservation thing? i dont know if that would go well. indians have thier own cities and capitals here. those reservations always seem really bad.

  i dont know if there is any kind of any indian fest here to show off thier work. but im sure there is. we do have the largest native american gathering anywhere here each year. so im sure it has art there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No I wasn't referring to reservations. I guess I just find it odd that living right next door to Oklahoma I seem to hear more about some of the festivals in New Mexico than in Oklahoma.

[Karried]

From the Red Earth website:

Red Earth has been voted in the Top 100 events to see in the United States and is the largest cultural festival of its type in Oklahoma.

Many of the most talented Native American dancers on the continent gather each year to compete in different dance categories at Red Earth.

250 Indian artists or more will display their creations in the Art Market area.

More than 40 vendors offer cultural food, books, craft items, etc. to Red Earth visitors

[Mith242]

From the Red Earth website:

Red Earth has been voted in the Top 100 events to see in the United States and is the largest cultural festival of its type in Oklahoma.

Many of the most talented Native American dancers on the continent gather each year to compete in different dance categories at Red Earth.

250 Indian artists or more will display their creations in the Art Market area.

More than 40 vendors offer cultural food, books, craft items, etc. to Red Earth visitors

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess maybe Oklahoma goes more for the cutural side of the festivals where as the Santa Fe Indian Market just focuses on artwork. Now that I think about it it also seems the Native Americans out west are more known for their artwork. Maybe it's because many of them still live on reservations and have to rely on their artwork to make a living.

[Spartan]

if they buy land for a casino then they do place in reserve and technically it is a "reservation". any land that they buy is a "reservation" its just things are done a little differently here where we have a lot of indians but no reservations the way most people think of.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The Osage Reservation is pretty huge. Could you elaborate on your statement? How are the different?

[Mith242]

The Osage Reservation is pretty huge. Could you elaborate on your statement? How are the different?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Now that I've finally looked it up maybe I simply didn't think there were any reservations because I didn't generally see any on a map. Except for the Osage I forgot about them. But on this map while you do see the Osage there is a another map with more detail showing other small reservations in Oklahoma. Maybe I've never noticed them because they were so small in size. I was just always under the impression the Native Americans in OKlahoma had been influenced the most from 'white' culture. And that they were more likely to own land privately than many of the Native Americans out west.

[swake]

The Osage Reservation is pretty huge. Could you elaborate on your statement? How are the different?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Quit looking at the map, that

[fromdust]

the tanenbuam company, which opened the montgomerey and is working on the classen, will brake ground on phase 1 of a $51 million project called the lincoln at central park. this 276 unit village- like multi family style unit will be located in mid town okc between i-44 and broadway extension on lincoln ave. the floor plan will cover 659 to 1,516 sq. ft. prices will range from $610 to $1,050 per month. its scheduled to open in spring of '06 with phase 2 to follow.

[fromdust]

. Downtown Brownstones LLC. It's their picture of the Central Avenue Villas shown in the Daily Oklahoman. It's located on the southeast corner of Northeast 4th and Central. It's where the old Luster Hotel stood (last a florist) and was torn down four years ago. The corner is a prominent unfinished piece to the Deep Deuce Apartments that were built four years ago. And the picture shows where the old apartments end and the new ones begin. The face: Anthony McDermid, the architect who designed The Montgomery and has been aspiring to play the role of downtown residential developer in his plan with Bert Belanger and Pat Garrett. The preliminary plans won approval. The project consists of 30 for-sale units ranging from 800 to 2,500-square-feet with prices starting at $125,000. The units will have rooftop terraces and underneath parking. Groundbreaking set for this fall.

2. The Hill at Bricktown LLC. We've heard of this LLC before - that's the one led by William Canfield, the Novazyme founder and major player in the nearby Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park. This group was selected in February for the high profile Deep Deuce hill that overlooks Bricktown, Deep Deuce and the downtown skyline. Nice property. Very nice. Urban Rneewal even left some big old trees standing on it when they cleared it of debris.

Canfield's selection drew some criticism from supporters of McDermid, who felt the architects proposal was better, but that he lost out due to Canfield's association with urban renewal commissioner Stanton Young.

The story doesn't say it, but apparently there was an effort to give McDermid a second chance. It didn't work: commissioner Larry Nichols, CEO of Devon Energy, explained changing redevelopers for the area at this point could delay the project for years. Canfield's design for 171 town homes was approved.

3. Urban Form LLC was approved for Northeast 4 just west of Interstate 235. This is the proposal by Grant Humphreys, son of former mayor Kirk Humphreys. Nobody seems to be alleging politics on this one. Grant Humphreys has been seen at various downtown events and gatherings, learning and watching, making plans to join in on downtown's revival. It appears as if he's been doing some more number crunching, and may be decreasing the average unit size to make sure the project is a success. The project current has 36 units ranging from 1,100 to 2,800 square feet.

4. Nobody seems to be reproting on the latest with Legacy Summit at Arts Central. It's still scheduled to begin, and it's being said the only delay left is by Urban Renewal, which didn't get utilities moved as quickly as one might expect.

[fromdust]

okc seems like it is becoming call center central. many call centers are located here most recently dell has brought in thousands of jobs. as of today walgreens has announced it will add at least 300 jobs for a new call center which will be located in the presbyterian health research park. no word on when construction will begin but costs are expected to be $3 mill.

a statement released by walgreens says "Because of the health care-related services we provide, we sought a location that would support staffing that would be primarily professional (pharmacists, nurses, and certified pharmacy technicians) and engaged in patient care.

"We selected Oklahoma City because of the strong medical community and the availability of skilled pharmacists and nurses, combined with the strong work ethic of the local community," the company said.

[fromdust]

the founders tower has been sold again. the 20 story building was sold for a mere 4.6 mill..and it seems it will be converted into condos. i hope with this switch of hands that the high class restaurant at the top remains. this has to be one of the most unique restaurants in the state as it is the only one that rotates, giving an awesome view of the city.