Old Town Moore revitalization plan, What Ever Happened to it

[TornadoKegan]

What ever happened to the Old Town Moore Revitalization Plan that was featured in the Envision Moore 2040 Plan, I Guess we still have 15 years but still, haven't heard anything


For those that don't know what i am talking about
https://www.cityofmoore.com/sites/de...0405152614.pdf

[bombermwc]

Well unless they have some magic wand that makes people want to dump a bunch of money into building new structures in the area, i'm not sure how you even start this.

I do agree that there are some stupid road paths in the area. MPS should have built the new Jr High gym on the actual Jr High Grounds or moved Central Elementary around by doing some land buying in the area. The stretched out mess they have where kids walk all the way between the buildings is a security issue. They already screwed the pooch on that one though. There's no going back to fix it. Unless you want to build some sort of people tunnel, it's just going to always be this way now.

There are a handful of places that have done some work. But they are few and far between. But other than streetscaping and creating new rules for new construction (which can be prohibitive for attracting new business) what do you do? It's not an economic area honestly. It's a handful of small businesses that people go there specifically for those. Meaning, no one just wanders around. Our downtown is not big enough to create that kind of foot traffic and unless the city buys up half the land next to the main roads and creates some commercial corridors and then wants to be the landlord too (which they shouldn't), then this is really going to struggle to find footing.

Midwest City had the same idea with their "Original Mile". There are a lot of similarities in the areas, but in MWC it basically is hidden being all internal to that neighborhood mile. All the big commercial stuff is on the outer edge (29thst/AirDepot/15th). They just covered up the yards on Midwest Blvd so you didn't have to see them...again just to hide them. They threw some signage in at the area entrances to try to make it look like it was a "district" or whatever. Basically, it failed to do anything but put lipstick on the pig.

What would be nice, is if there was a fund that residents of a targeted area could tap to help with home renovations/beautification. The city could put sidewalks in all of those residential portions. The area is super flat, so getting the roads lowered (with curbs) to create some drainage would be nice.

It's the same struggle very city has with their older areas. How do you encourage re-development and create a "brand" for the area? How do you entice developers with money to spend it in that particular (low traffic) area?

[Jeepnokc]

What ever happened to the Old Town Moore Revitalization Plan that was featured in the Envision Moore 2040 Plan, I Guess we still have 15 years but still, haven't heard anything


For those that don't know what i am talking about
https://www.cityofmoore.com/sites/de...0405152614.pdf

LOL. Looked through the proposal and saw that my building downtown OKC is pictured on pg 31 as one of the desired building character types they want, I was like....that building looks familiar

[bille]

I attended every one of the Old Town Revitalization townhalls. The group was made up of city council and other city leaders of course but there were a lot of residents and business owners too. The collective process was fun and exciting considering the possibilities but my question throughout the meetings and something that was ultimately covered at the final briefing (and also in this document) is "How?" does this get started. The answer isn't an easy one.

The revitalization plan sets a road map for a future envisioned plan and paves the way for the planning commission and city council to make necessary zoning changes (which were/are a mess) but the biggest thing is funding. Essentially this will take some investors willing to bet on the Old Town area. There is certainly potential but it really doesn't come without some risks either.

Since sitting in on these town halls the idea of revitalization within the area has been near and dear with me so I speak about it often, to anybody that will listen but especially to city council members and business owners in the area. I learned several years ago that John Ireland owns a lot of the real estate in Old Town and really doesn't have much desire to do anything with it, at least not currently. I haven't spoken to him directly so I'm not sure if he's just sitting on it hoping investors will approach him or not. One of the reasons I really was hoping Arvin would get elected mayor is he's been associated with many of the boards in the city, including the chamber of commerce, for years. He heads a bank in the Old Town area (or the edge of it) and really wants to see some revitalization happen in the area. I spoke with him at length about this very thing specifically back in January and he had ideas on what it would take to spark some action. I haven't heard Hamm mention Old Town at all.

On a positive note, there will be some street updates done in the area eventually, at least on Main street and that will bring a new look, add walkability and so on. Also, along with the underpass there will be a pedestrian bridge over 4th with a trail running along the tracks north that will connect Central Park with the scheduled Old Town park that will go in at Main and the RR tracks and include a replica of the old Moore Depot. Finally you have MPS dumping a boatload of money into the old school on Broadway. My hope is these things will help spark some new interest in the area and either bring some investors in and/or prompt John Ireland and other property owners in Old Town to invest some back into their properties. #fingerscrossed

[bombermwc]

I'm with you. I think closing some of the streets are one way to make this work better. 1st and 2nd to Broadway , for example. There is WAAAY too much grid to create any sort of contiguous "downtown" row commercial space. Or Howard and Chestnut against Main...same idea. If we routed traffic to fewer, more concentrated intersections, then you create more contiguous and walkable spaces for the commercial corridors. That means Moore may have to buy out some properties and that's just reality. They probably want to try to minimize how much disruption happens, but frankly, it's going to have to happen or you're going to continue to get the same ole nothing out of the area.

I am disappointed to hear Ireland owns land. That family obviously has little interest in doing any improvements. Look at their own business. At least a few other businesses along the path have made an effort to spruce up their metal building facades. While Ireland is still in the 1970's. That will be the type of business person that we'll be fighting against. The only way to get them to get on board, is to force it through some sort of compliance path.

I'll say it again, I think the city is going to have to take the lead with some sort of effort to buy out some properties to get is started. Maybe the section west of Broadway on Main. It's very disjointed and net well kept. Maybe buy up the old medical building next to 35 and the Jr high field to "clear" it out.

This is an urban renewal project, so lets be clear. There's nothing historic in this area so the Pei Plan may be the way we have to go. And maybe some bonds are the way to start this. They need a poster project to show it works. Bond to buy out some properties to show what could be possible.

And if someone doesn't want to sell, maybe they partner with that person on the new development instead of outright buying them out. We'll take ownership of your building and doze it. When we build the new one, you get 5% (or whatever) of the income from it (whatever is near what their profit margin is today). Then when the city sells the building later (because they shouldn't stay in the landlord business), the new owner can renegotiate to buy them out if they want but otherwise include in any future contract that the person must maintain that percentage. If it's making money, they keep making money. If it sits empty, they don't get income either. I think see what i'm saying even though there are countless rabbit holes that conversation could go down. My point, whatever it is, is going to have to be drastic and big. And I'm not sure the city has it in them to push that kind of vision.