This is huge news for central Norman.

http://www.oklahoman.com/article/5415689&headline=State%2C%20Norman%20officials%20look%20to %20move%20Griffin%20Memorial%20Hospital%20and%20se ll%20the%20240%20acres%20it%20sits%20on%20for%20de velopment


NORMAN — Some 240 acres of prime property near downtown, untouchable since the 1880s, will be developed in a huge long-term project to move the state hospital.

The plan is to relocate Griffin Memorial Hospital and related state health services from 900 E Main St. to state-owned land less than a mile east around Norman Veterans Center. That will free up the hospital site for development and redevelopment by a combination of private and public interests.

The idea is for a combination of high-density housing, retail, office and entertainment space with “walkability” to foster a live-work-play environment, but with plenty of green, open space.

Good for the hospital and other groups on the grounds no doubt on that. I hope the critters on the grounds get gone safely before buildings come down. And I will miss Hope Hall. Though it was only home away from home for three years, those really were fairly good years.

(hmmm, to clarify, I was working for a state agency that (somewhat) renovated and leased out space in Hope Hall for use as offices.)

I got a lot of good memories there. Most of which I've forgotten. It just won't be the same.

Finally! This has been in the planning stages for awhile but good to finally hear it's happening. I'd like to see it redeveloped similar to Stapleton in Denver by having a different builder for each residential block so you get a variety of housing styles with some similarities: alley garages like the surrounding neighborhood, front porches, sidewalks with an 8' tree lawn on each street and mix of single family homes and rowhomes. Some of the older Griffin buildings would make good apartments or senior housing. Maybe the old Chapel can be restored into a community church.

Wish I could have seen the inside of the chapel when it was in good shape. From the outside it really reminds me of someplace else from my childhood but I'm not sure where.

ULI's plan for this redevelopment which hopefully sees some major changes.
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/normantranscript.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/5d/95da2409-3371-5bcc-b214-d2f8796a1799/5544291abfbb5.image.jpg?resize=760%2C570

I would like to see less commercial development along Robinson and 12th (maybe just at the corner) and more higher density residential. Focus more of the commercial development along Main east of the roundabout with pedestrian-oriented businesses and any parking lots small and behind the buildings. Needs better connections to the street grid and existing neighborhoods to the west. I do like the idea of creating an open space/greenbelt along the existing creek and developing trails along it to connect to Griffin Park and the Sutton Wilderness.

Why would they not preserve all the buildings? I just don't understand that.

They have a laundry list of public subsidy programs they think they can leverage. Good luck with how competitive some of those are, especially without really offering anything that the public gets that is wonderful. What I see is development for development's sake, and not a transformative project that can preserve history that is so central to Norman and connect the poorer east side to downtown.

Like others have said, a good start, just needs to be taken a little further.

Hopefully they get the community involved in planning this redevelopment and seek additional input from other successful infill neighborhood projects. I also hope more of the existing buildings are saved and repurposed into either apartments or offices. That's my biggest complaint with the ULI plan along with not activating Main with mixed -use and too much what appears to be commercial development on 12th & Robinson. I realize there needs to be some but keep it at the corner of that intersection and get more residential density in the other areas.

Also like I said a great opportunity to build a trail along the creek through the development that connects to Sutton to the north and could continue along the creek all the way to just east of OU. I believe this is one of the greenbelts Norman has identified for a trail along with Imhoff Creek.

Agreed on the roundabout.

The city needs to add value to what ULI has recommended by informing that process of the city's own goals. If a trail is in the comp plan, that needs to be revisited. Similarly, there had to be a reason for that really nice roundabout in the first place... Now develop around it, not in a vacuum.

Given the dire scarcity of public resources for planning and development in Oklahoma, I find it hard to believe the goal was for a random roundabout between a disenfranchised neighborhood and the back of a new PUD. I mean it would be typical execution, but atypical planning.

That would be a perfect spot for a Whole Foods or TJ's.

Is that site plan a joke?

ULI's plan for this redevelopment which hopefully sees some major changes.
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/normantranscript.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/5d/95da2409-3371-5bcc-b214-d2f8796a1799/5544291abfbb5.image.jpg?resize=760%2C570

I'm having a hard time reading this map. I'm guessing the dot at bottom center is the roundabout, but which way is north? To the left?

Are they sure they have enough parking? I actually thought a Lloyed Nobel image got posted by mistake.

I'm guessing the dot at bottom center is the roundabout, but which way is north? To the left?

yep... east is up, north is left. -M

Are they sure they have enough parking? I actually thought a Lloyed Nobel image got posted by mistake.

are you talking about the space aligned on a diagonal in the center of the development? that looks like residential lots instead of parking, to me. -M

are you talking about the space aligned on a diagonal in the center of the development? that looks like residential lots instead of parking, to me. -M

Those are residential lots for single family homes. Individual builders would then actually construct the houses. Hopefully it's not just one builder but several to get a variety of homes. Also more home sites connecting to the existing neighborhood to the west should be added where they show a park. In this plan Main and Hughbert are the only streets that connect, I would want to see Frank and Oliver also extended to the east.

Thank goodness.

I was looking at the Norman city website for a different reason and ran across the larger presentation that the map above is from.

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE ADVISORY SERVICES PANEL FOR THE GRIFFIN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL SITE (http://www.normanok.gov/cm/urban-land-use-advisory-services-panel-griffin-memorial-hopital-site)


The City of Norman and the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) hosted a five-day Advisory Services Panel conducted through the Urban Land Institute (ULI).

Nationally renowned land use and urban planning experts conducted a five-day process from April 26, 2015 through May 1, 2015 of evaluating the redevelopment potential of the Griffin Memorial Hospital site in Norman, Oklahoma. The advisory panel, convened by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), will help create a plan that sets the stage for future growth, determining which types of public investment and incentives will best catalyze private investment.

The 7-member panel spent the week examining the 240-acre site, located in Ward 4 of the City. The ODMHSAS is seeking to redefine the site’s future operations and has asked ULI for advice on determining how the city can bring together public and private interests for creating a vibrant mixed-use development at the Griffin Memorial Hospital site. The land is currently owned by the State of Oklahoma, which must first sell the land in order to realize the goal of the new facilities and create the greatest overall value for ODMHSAS, the City of Norman, and the community at large.

The panel spent the week touring the subject study area as well as meeting with stakeholders and members of the local community. After carefully analyzing the area and interviewing up to 100 individuals, the panel then spent two days framing their recommendations and drafting a report that will be presented to the public.

The advisory panel was chaired by Glenda Hood, founding partner of triSect, LLC in Orlando, Florida. Hood previously served as Florida’s Secretary of State and as the City of Orlando’s first female mayor. In addition to Hood, other panelists include: Dick Galehouse, principal emeritus, Sasaki Associates, Lexington, Massachusetts; James Lima, president, James Lima Planning + Development, New York, New York; Nancy T. Montoya, principal, TAA, New Orleans, Louisiana; John Orfield, principal, BOKA Powell, Dallas, Texas; Zane Segal, project director, NorthGulf ZSP, Houston, Texas; and Tamara Zahn, president, Zahn Associates, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Norman Advisory Servic Panel (http://www.normanok.gov/sites/default/files/WebFM/Norman/City%20Manager/Norman%20Advisory%20Service%20Panel%20-%20Draft%20Presentation%20Final.pdf)

The presentation is available at that final link (their funny spelling, not mine), it's a 60+ page pdf.

What is a realistic time frame for the State to act and demolition to begin? (I have a feeling I shouldn't expect shovel ceremonies anytime soon--am I wrong?)