Opportunity Zones

[Pryor Tiger]

Did anyone catch the opportunity zone doc that Mayor Holt put out today? It showed the OGE block in the renderings as still reserved for development so maybe they know something we don’t. I’m sure it wouldn’t block it out due to the courts going in.

[Pete]

^

There is absolutely no current plan to develop that property, which is why the are putting sport courts there.

I'd be shocked if we saw anything happen there in the next 5 years.

[Pryor Tiger]

[Pete]

Here's a full-size version:

[Plutonic Panda]

Sorry but if that remotely resembles what they plan, huge fail. Parking garages taking up way too much real estate. Towers are too short. Parking should be either underground or more consolidated so more buildings can be built. Build the parking garages into the buildings. Just having large podiums with retail at the bottom is a fail.

The cox center block, awful. The super block needs to be broken up and pedestrian paseo going straight from the Santa Fe station to the myriad gardens.

That’s very disappointing and I hope looks nothing like that in the end.

[aDark]

The cox center block, awful. The super block needs to be broken up and pedestrian paseo going straight from the Santa Fe station to the myriad gardens.

.

this.

[Laramie]

Am I reading this layout correctly; the cox 4 square block area:

Four - 40 story towers
Four - 10 story towers
7 level 2400 space capacity parking garage

If half of this comes to fruition; great development.

A wish list for sure...

[Dustin]

Here's a full-size version:

What even is this? Someone's dream for the future? Or is this a legit plan?

[baralheia]

It's just a dream. The caption for this slide in the presentation - available here: http://www.acceleratorforamerica.com...ase2_v10_2.pdf - says "Graphic includes artist rendering of potential uses."

[David]

This opportunity to expand the parking garage district will only remain a dream if we let it.

[Plutonic Panda]

This opportunity to expand the parking garage district will only remain a dream if we let it.

We need parking but it can be integrated better.

[Pete]

What even is this? Someone's dream for the future? Or is this a legit plan?

It's just showing what is possible.

Part of a presentation by the Alliance to recruit developers/investors.

[onthestrip]

Kind of a joke to include downtown and innovation district in an Oppurtunity Zone, because the idea behind OZs is to spur investment in areas that need it. I guess its the nature of the beast though, as im sure other states have done the same and it'll be something that many relocating or expanding employers will look for.

[Pryor Tiger]

Yes the whole graphic is just an artist rendering, not necessarily what they are looking to build design wise - but the expectation for height and density is apparent. Here is the whole Document - http://www.acceleratorforamerica.com...ase2_v10_2.pdf

[T. Jamison]

Opportunity zones are based on 2010 census data, so some areas that experienced investment in the last 8 years are still categorized as an opportunity zone.

[Pete]

Kind of a joke to include downtown and innovation district in an Oppurtunity Zone, because the idea behind OZs is to spur investment in areas that need it. I guess its the nature of the beast though, as im sure other states have done the same and it'll be something that many relocating or expanding employers will look for.

The zones have to be lower-income census tracts. So it's easy to come up with that data for the CBD and the NE side because it only counts residents, not the people working there.

So, the whole point of these tax breaks is to encourage development and investment in low-income areas, but the reality it will be used primarily for thriving business areas.

[Pryor Tiger]

http://www.acceleratorforamerica.com...ase2_v10_2.pdf

Thought we needed a new thread for this to keep track of progress in each of the OZ areas.

[Ross MacLochness]

It bothers me that the cox center isn't broken up into 4 separate blocks. I know this is a just a conceptual dream rendering, but it plants a bad seed..

[stlokc]

It bothers me that the cox center isn't broken up into 4 separate blocks. I know this is a just a conceptual dream rendering, but it plants a bad seed..

Ross, I couldn't agree more with you. It would be a HUGE fail if the street grid isn't restored there. It needs to be 4 separate blocks, and the buildings need to be built up to the streets. No plazas, etc. I'm not sure what the curved business is with the trees, but this isn't Memorial Road, this is Downtown OKC. Obviously it's just a sketch but it's so amateur-hour it does make me worry a bit.

[Pryor Tiger]

Well some of the zones Pete I believe are in areas that could use a boost like NE 23rd, I-35 South around 15th street and 59th. Crossroads mall zone extends pretty far East and West.

[Pete]

It bothers me that the cox center isn't broken up into 4 separate blocks. I know this is a just a conceptual dream rendering, but it plants a bad seed..

Particularly because it came from OCURA and the Alliance which will be in charge of redeveloping that property.

[Laramie]

Thanks Pryor Tiger, Pete was most accommodating...

As I looked at this plan; it's simply a plan for what areas could occupy parcels in the opportunity zone. What's more important is how thorough they tied the loose ends together with the plan. The OZ is a suggested-based plan supported by parking that present potential. Don't look at this with funding potential also there are TIFs and Quality Jobs Programs available for investors.

The potential of the streetcar's route to spur development.

Not concerned about parking garages or how they look--it's a parking garage; not a tower or skyscraper. Think about when you leave a parking garage, are you thinking about how it looks.

A parking garage as we have seen won't produce a lot of strip mall type retail because we killed that IMO with the metro underground concourse--which also killed our street life.

So, let's take it from here with comments about the opportunity zone or OZ without the Wizard.

[Laramie]

Did anyone catch the opportunity zone doc that Mayor Holt put out today? It showed the OGE block in the renderings as still reserved for development so maybe they know something we don’t. I’m sure it wouldn’t block it out due to the courts going in.

Speaking of OG&E, many of us would be satisfied if they could get anything constructed like their 1st placeholder--boomeranged shaped building or just one of the 4 Clayco buildings designed.

[Anonymous.]

If half of those conceptual redevelopments take place in my lifetime, I will be thrilled. But until state and city leadership takes a legitimate step forward toward growing and improving our education and as a by-product, attracting out of city and state companies - it all seems like a pipedream. I would add more, but I do not want this to come across as a political post.

Without question, it should most definitely be concerning to everyone in OKC and OK that BOK Plaza is a brand new tower sitting unfinished inside and will still be mostly empty after the planned move in late 2019 by Enable (who will only be vacating another downtown building). The fact we went from a demolished Stage Center site going from 4 planned towers and associated facilities to zero buildings and a basketball court is absolutely a black eye.

[Sooner.Arch]

Why does OKC have the mentality “for every building we build we must include a massive parking garage.... that “dream” is a nightmare