Ideas 4 MAPS

[citywokchinesefood]

There's a lot of land at the Zoo which would work to host this site. There's also probably a great deal in cost savings in already having on-site vet and food preparation facilities. Parts of the existing aquarium could be incorporated into an expansion. There aren't any displays left in the area as most of the animals who were housed in the old stalls on that side of the zoo moved to the Asia exhibit or elsewhere. Once you get past the Manta Ray exhibit and the kids zoo, there's really nothing back there except the sea lions, which I would expect to be part of the aquarium.

As much as I would like an aquarium downtown by the river. It would be a huge value added to the OKC zoo and really put the OKC zoo complex into the national spotlight. If you consider the existing infrastructure and a degree of a post MAPS funding mechanism already in place it seems like something to really consider.

[Laramie]

Does OKC need to offer any incentives to bring some hotels to the Adventure District--very scenic area of our city. Just surprised there aren't any hotels to serve an area with hotel filling potential.

It would be advantageous for tourists to be able to stay in the area; enjoy & explore the many attractions the area has to offer OR does the city prefer to drain the tourists dollar with off site hotels.

The Don E. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium IMO could attract more tourism to the area with on site hotels. Tourists will have an an on-site option or to stay on the Meridian Hotel corridor, downtown hotels and use transportation services (Car rentals, Uber, taxis etc.,) available.

IMO some less expensive on site hotel options would allow tourists to explore Remington Park, Science Museum Oklahoma (OmniPlex), Oklahoma City Zoo, Firefighter Museum, Softball Hall of Fame and National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. You add an attraction like an Aquarium, the area and softball events (WCWS & World Cup of Softball) will boom.

[mgharfeh]

If beautification ends up being a large part of MAPS 4, I’d just like to include the idea of converting all the large cracked cement medians north of memorial between May to Western to landscaped. I know it’s not as sexy or exciting as projects in the core but it still adds to the overall beauty of our city in the busiest corridor we have at this time. It’d be a small investment that would IMO go a long way.

[OKC Guy]

Does OKC need to offer any incentives to bring some hotels to the Adventure District--very scenic area of our city. Just surprised there aren't any hotels to serve an area with hotel filling potential.

It would be advantageous for tourists to be able to stay in the area; enjoy & explore the many attractions the area has to offer OR does the city prefer to drain the tourists dollar with off site hotels.

The Don E. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium IMO could attract more tourism to the area with on site hotels. Tourists will have an an on-site option or to stay on the Meridian Hotel corridor, downtown hotels and use transportation services (Car rentals, Uber, taxis etc.,) available.

IMO some less expensive on site hotel options would allow tourists to explore Remington Park, Science Museum Oklahoma (OmniPlex), Oklahoma City Zoo, Firefighter Museum, Softball Hall of Fame and National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. You add an attraction like an Aquarium, the area and softball events (WCWS & World Cup of Softball) will boom.

All great points. However, in my opinion there is not enough there overall for any hotel to invest as of yet. There are not many dining or other options plus Rem Park is seasonal. It may happen if they get aquarium but to make an investment - if I was building a hotel - there are better options elsewhere in metro to keep rooms full. Thats just my opinion and I could be wrong. Most zoo goers are local and don’t need hotel. Same with most other venues.

I think if that area worked with some downtown hotels and helped subsidize free daily van trips to/from would help draw more out of towners. If 6 or more hotels plus Adventure area all pitched in with van and driver expenses it could be done relatively cheap as collaboration.

[Laramie]

OKC needs to be more inclusive with its future MAPS projects to make other areas attractive as well as maintain the previous projects completed like the first project--Bricktown Ballpark completed in 1998 now 21 years old.

Bricktown is Oklahoma City's entertainment district that guides the Core, the nucleus of first impressions about activities within our city. The expansion of the Bricktown Canal completed in 1999 is crucial in new development like residential, restaurants and office mixed-use complexes (must adhere to the Omni agreement about hotels).

An addition mile expansion of the Bricktown Canal toward the new convention center complex will greatly enhance that area where the streetcar exists offering light rail & water taxis.

We need more MAPS 4 ideas for the

Adventure District . . . . . . . . . . Deep Deuce
Arts District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midtown
Asian District. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paseo Arts
Automobile Alley . . . . . . . . . . . Plaza District
Boathouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stockyard City
Bricktown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Uptown 23rd
Classen Curve. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Western Avenue


Creation of a Northeast 23rd development corridor with entrance signage beginning at Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue from 23rd to Bryant or Sooner Avenues: https://pivotproject.com/project/ne-23rd-corridor/

[SouthSide]

The south chamber requested an aerospace training center.

[Quicker]

The south chamber requested an aerospace training center.

The mayor mentioned it in talking about possible Maps 4 projects and it caught my attention... I asked a good friend of mine who is heavily involved in the South Chamber and he said there has been a lot of discussion about this...The plan is being developed for the airport trust to give a sweetheart deal on the land in Lariot Landing, Maps 4 to build the facilities, local aerospace partners at both Tinker and WRWA to help develop curriculum and donate training materials and a joint venture between the metro votechs to staff and administrate it...

[David]

That's a neat idea.

[soonerheart]

Maps for schools helped but with so many OKC schools closing soon Storm Shelters for kids seems like a good idea.

On days when severe weather is expected many parents keep their kids at home or withdraw them in the afternoon which can be dangerous if they wait too long. This obviously cuts in to instruction time but many students who stay are very distracted and have anxiety issues... so do some teachers.

OKCPS also has high number of staff who will call in sick or leave before the end of the school day if bad weather is expected. There is not nearly enough learning going on when bad weather is expected.

Storm shelters would protect more than just the kids. Parents wouldn’t feel as compelled to risk driving in dangerous weather.

A secure safe environment with fewer distractions would help learning and grades.

The money could be collected but shelters constructed gradually over time. Most could double for other proposes such a band room. Thick walls help keep sound in and out of other class rooms.

I believe Moore has or soon will have shelters for all of its students and staff.
Norman will vote tomorrow on a package that includes storm shelters and lock down security for all of its schools.

[Laramie]

MAPS IV Projects will probably have a 7.5 year time-line with a budget under $750 million.
How would you rank these 14 projects listed by alpha in the Ideas 4 MAPS:

Aquarian (@OKC Zoo or Core Development) $200 million

Bricktown Canal one mile west extension $30 million
BNSF Pedestrian Bridge development with boardwalk north/south piers $100 million

Caps over I-235 and/& I-40 to Health Science Center Complex $50 million
Cox Convention Center demolition for redevelopment $50 million
Chesapeake Energy Arena (minor renovation & upgrades) $50 million
Community beautification projects; sidewalks, street lights & planters $200 million

Manual Perez Park relocation $10 million
Mental (Behavior) health facility complex $50 million

Oklahoma City Museum of Arts (renovation & expansion project) $25 million

Riverfront Soccer Stadium (soccer specific & American football, 12,500 -15,000 seat starter, on city owned land) - Budget $25 million

State Fair Park (new arena-$100m, new elevated space tower-$20m & grand entrance-$5m on G. Pershing Blvd)
Streetcar: two 1 mile expansions north/south routes - Budget: $125 million

Wellness Center (5th center)

One or more of these projects could be combined to form one development; if an item is missing please add it to the list. Rank your top 10 projects. These are rough budget estimates. Contingency fund: 10% added to total MAPS IV budget.

[Laramie]

1. Mental (Behavior) health facility complex $50 million

2. Wellness Center (5th center)
3. Riverfront Soccer Stadium (soccer specific & American football, 12,500 -15,000 seat starter, on city owned land) - Budget $25 million
4. Aquarian (@OKC Zoo or Core Development) $200 million
5. Community beautification projects; sidewalks, street lights & planters $200 million
6. BNSF Pedestrian Bridge development with boardwalk north/south piers $100 million
7. Streetcar: two 1 mile expansions north/south routes - Budget: $125 million
8. Oklahoma City Museum of Arts (renovation & expansion project) $25 million



9. Caps over I-235 and/& I-40 to Health Science Center Complex $50 million
X. State Fair Park (new arena-$100m, new elevated space tower-$20m & grand entrance-$5m on G. Pershing Blvd)

11. Bricktown Canal one mile west extension $30 million


12. Manual Perez Park relocation $10 million
13. Chesapeake Energy Arena (minor renovation & upgrades) $50 million
14. Cox Convention Center demolition for redevelopment $50 million

15. Creation of a N.E. 23rd Street Development Corridor.

Numbered 1-14 did a copy & paste. Added 15. 23rd Street N. E. Corridor. Here's my results. Hope we can get all 14 projects; most cases these are overestimates; some will be underestimates...

[rte66man]

I realize I'm nitpicking, but is the following your description or is it the way the mayor shows it?

5. Community beautification projects; sidewalks, street lights & planters $200 million

Sidewalks are a safety and livability issue. So are decent street lights that WORK!

I will climb off my soapbox now.

p.s. Half the streetlights that were installed along the new trail along NW 63rd Street are already out of order. How hard would it be for OKC to fix these?

[Laramie]

Don't speak for Mayor David Holt; he has shown that he is very capable of speaking for himself when he addressed this website.

Many of the ideas gathered were from this website. Ideas needed such as an Energy FC Stadium or we will lose USL soccer; also a new State Fair Arena or OKC will lose 'hand down' to Fort Worth's Dixie's Arena second-to-none among rodeo specific arenas.

Agree on the sidewalks, just happen to be one of those raggedy walking people who would trip over a sidewalk regardless of how smooth the surface was.

Street lights; we definitely need to address the issue ASAP. Need technology to catch these cooper thieves because they don't know which lights are cooper or aluminum. The damage is devastating for the amount of petty cash they receive from these scrap metal outlets--maybe there needs to be more legislation to impose fines/jail time to curtail the molestation of public safety property thief. With you there rte66man.

[hoya]

What about those poison darts from Raiders of the Lost Ark? Put them in like every third streetlight, randomly. Copper theft problem solved.

[SouthSide]

Where would a fifth senior wellness be located? Each quadrant of the city is already slated to receive one.

[OKC Guy]

What about those poison darts from Raiders of the Lost Ark? Put them in like every third streetlight, randomly. Copper theft problem solved.

Better yet start a drone patrol. Have a place/s to auto launch/recover and they have poison darts or knockout gas. Shoot em with a tranquilizer. Then with camera and alert cops get called. Each drone does a 15 minute section so would cover it in that time. Only in dark hours too.

[Laramie]

What about tennis?

Is there enough interest (corporate sponsors, fans) where Oklahoma City could build an outdoor venue; host a major annual tennis tournament--men, women, singles, doubles, mixed...

[Midtowner]

As much as I would like an aquarium downtown by the river. It would be a huge value added to the OKC zoo and really put the OKC zoo complex into the national spotlight. If you consider the existing infrastructure and a degree of a post MAPS funding mechanism already in place it seems like something to really consider.

I've had the good fortune to reconnect with a zoo I probably hadn't gone to in 25-30 years when it became fun to bring the kid to the zoo. We're zoo members now and probably go twice a month when the weather is decent. I was lucky enough to be a well-travelled kid. I've been to most states. We'd take these three-week vacations in the summer where we'd drive with a camper all over different regions of the U.S. to experience what all they have to offer. I remember being told we were going to the best zoo in the U.S. (this was in the 1980s) at the San Diego Zoo. I recall not being all that impressed.. it wasn't much of a step above the OKC Zoo at the time.

Things have changed greatly since the 1980s, and San Diego is ridiculously successful. The OKC Zoo still punches above its weight, but with the aquarium now being closed, and basically the entire east end of the zoo essentially abandoned past the stingray exhibit, it's getting the feel of an outfit which is struggling. Sure, they added the elephant exhibit--which is a world class exhibit. The Asia exhibit was pretty underwhelming when it finally came online. It seems like they are drastically scaling back on the number of exhibits and that they've made the decision to only do a few exhibits, but do them very well. So certain exhibits in the zoo are new and state of the art. Others were built in the 1950s and before and have some pretty serious maintenance issues.

Unlike a lot of those other items, like sports arenas which will be nothing but money holes, public investment in the zoo is something all of the public can actually enjoy. Tourism is a huge industry, a world class aquarium or other exhibits would bring in lots of dollars and permanently employ a lot of folks.

[Dob Hooligan]

What about tennis?

Is there enough interest (corporate sponsors, fans) where Oklahoma City could build an outdoor venue; host a major annual tennis tournament--men, women, singles, doubles, mixed...

I recall Will Rogers Park has a tennis center that has hosted Virginia Slims tournaments back in the day. I don't know if it is a facility that could be worked over into something modern and effective, but a conversation starter.

[Dustin]

I really think an aquarium somewhere downtown would be awesome. Maybe by the river?

[TheSteveHunt]

Is there something in the charter that strictly forbids us from doing anything unique/original?

[TheSteveHunt]

I recall Will Rogers Park has a tennis center that has hosted Virginia Slims tournaments back in the day. I don't know if it is a facility that could be worked over into something modern and effective, but a conversation starter.

Virginia Slims tournament --- hahhah that just sounds weird. Smoking and tennis don't really mix these days.

[tyeomans]

I wish we could develop something downtown that would strictly be unique to OKC. (Ex: St. Louis arch, Seattle Space Needle, etc.) Something that could define the city to where someone would instantly recognize it and know that it is Oklahoma City. It's just a cool thought I've always had and something that could further enhance our skyline. The Skydance Bridge is cool, but IMO pretty underwhelming.

[TheTravellers]

... The Skydance Bridge is cool, but IMO pretty underwhelming.

Blame that on our crappy city engineers, original design was way better. "Unexpected costs" seems to be a familiar recurring theme with them...

https://newsok.com/article/3508495/s...-be-redesigned

https://newsok.com/article/3508772/c...kydance-bridge

[jedicurt]

I wish we could develop something downtown that would strictly be unique to OKC. (Ex: St. Louis arch, Seattle Space Needle, etc.) Something that could define the city to where someone would instantly recognize it and know that it is Oklahoma City. It's just a cool thought I've always had and something that could further enhance our skyline. The Skydance Bridge is cool, but IMO pretty underwhelming.

had we gotten the original not scaled down version of the skydance bridge, i think it would have been it