I-44 between SW 74th & SW 104th

[old okie]

Is there a thread about the proposed development that will be going up on the west side of I-44 between SW 74th & SW 104th? We went to Councilman Greenwell's meeting last week and saw the artist's renderings on all the development, but I can't find any posts here about all of that.

Please feel free to move this post if there is such a post already.

[Martin]

arghh... i vaguely remember a thread discussing this but don't remember whether or not it was devoted solely to this topic. -M

[PennyQuilts]

Was that the one that was supposed to go in by the airport?

[Martin]

yes. if i remember correctly, portland will be removed from 74th to 104th and a new frontage road will be put in its place. portland crosses to the east side of i-44 at 104th, so that's definitely going to be the southern extent of the change. i'm pretty sure there are still some businesses that front portland between 59th & 74th, so i don't think they're closing portland north of 74th... at least not yet.

-M

[old okie]

The thread about the airport didn't have any further information, as far as I could tell.

According to what was presented at the meeting, Portland will be moved, but there will be all sorts of commercial development--restaurants, hotels, etc., and office and possibly mfg/repair built in that area, which covers a lot of land. The dirt work is going forward. And perhaps that is why OG&E built the new substation?

One comment made at that meeting was that the I-44 corridor from 74th to the river would be the "new" development area for OKC.

We were just curious if anyone had additional information or had heard about this.

[Martin]

interesting... and i thought that development of that area was being discouraged due to the airport. -M

[MrZ]

There was a pond on the West side of I44 and North of SW 89th that has been filled in and the area around it bulldozed flat. Is this where something is going in?

[old okie]

interesting... and i thought that development of that area was being discouraged due to the airport. -M

We thought so too, but were very surprised to learn at that meeting that the land in question belongs to the Airport Trust, and development can be there; it just must meet the height requirements. A complete surprise to us!

[old okie]

There was a pond on the West side of I44 and North of SW 89th that has been filled in and the area around it bulldozed flat. Is this where something is going in?

Yes. If you drive by on I-44, you will see dirt work being done all along the road from 74th south. While the Airport Trust land apparently ends at 104th [as near as we could discern from the meeting], several at the meeting predicted that additional development would begin occurring along I-44 on both sides as far south as the river. The new medical facility is now open at SW 134th & I-44, so it stands to reason that other businesses will follow, eventually.

[Just the facts]

Is this what you are asking about?

http://flyokc.com/CurrentProjectDeta...f-91c446600935

[old okie]

Is this what you are asking about?

http://flyokc.com/CurrentProjectDeta...f-91c446600935

Yes! That is the drawing that was shown at the meeting. Thank you for finding it and posting the url.

[SoonerDave]

I drive by this dirtwork area every day on the way home from work and was wondering what was going on. I was not aware the Airport Trust had the latitude to release the land to retail/commercial development. I always thought (incorrectly, it seems) that there were legal reasons such development could not go there.

I guess there's nothing firm about what specifically is going in?

As far as the development going as far south as 134th, I do recall quite vividly a discussion here about new construction and shopping going in along SW 134 on the west side of I-44, but that was just before the economy tanked. At one point, there was talk that the new Target that ended up being built in Moore was slated to go in there.

Sure seems to me to be a nice corridor for some good development. Interesting to see how it unfolds.

[old okie]

I drive by this dirtwork area every day on the way home from work and was wondering what was going on. I was not aware the Airport Trust had the latitude to release the land to retail/commercial development. I always thought (incorrectly, it seems) that there were legal reasons such development could not go there.

I guess there's nothing firm about what specifically is going in?

At the meeting, there were a number [5 or 6] hotel chains listed, but the 'restaurants' were non-specific. We didn't know if these were wishful thinking names, or actual clients for the lease space.

The question about the "legal reasons such development could not go there," was raised by several people in attendance, and total assurance was offered by the reps [of the C of C, SOKC C of C, and a couple of other folks] that the Airport Trust could allow these businesses. However, all that land will be leased from the Airport Trust; and the number of years mentioned was 40.

It was a very interesting meeting!

[SoonerDave]

Great info, old okie!

Here's hoping some really nice restaurants and such will be coming into the area!

[Just the facts]

I see a lot of airports with intersecting airstrips (at an angle of perhaps 45 degrees). Does this new development restrict the airport from adding additonal airstrips? It could be a silly question if what I have seen is totally not applicable to our airport. Just curious.

An additional N/S runway is still an option (and is in the long range plan). I think the current crosswind runway 13/31 is also going to be extended. There is also a runway 18/36 that many people do not know about.

[ljbab728]

There is also a runway 18/36 that many people do not know about.

That is directly connected to the prison facility there. It's very unlikey it would ever be considered for commercial flights since it's very short.

[BoulderSooner]

pretty good discusssion of this project http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=24497

[Snowman]

I see a lot of airports with intersecting airstrips (at an angle of perhaps 45 degrees). Does this new development restrict the airport from adding additonal airstrips? It could be a silly question if what I have seen is totally not applicable to our airport. Just curious.

They have space for a proposed third parallel runway in the master plan southwest of the current ones, however we currently do not have the volume of flights to necessitate building it. Land starved major airports can operate several times the number of operations we do without their main orientation allowing simultaneous landings/take offs.

[old okie]

pretty good discusssion of this project http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=24497

Thank you, BoulderSooner. This is what I was looking for and couldn't find.

If the moderators think this thread needs to be moved over to the one you've listed, no problem.