Lexington, KY visits OKC
Lots of outside city leaders visiting OKC for ideas! Never would've seen this in the early 1990's.
What floats Oklahoma City's boat?
By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman
In what may be the largest delegation yet to examine Oklahoma City's downtown development, 175 civic and business leaders from Lexington, Ky., arrived Wednesday in Bricktown for a detailed, three-day look at how the city was transformed by the Metropolitan Area Projects.
"A lot of people across the country know of Oklahoma City and speak highly of it since MAPS went into effect," said Robert Quick, president of the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce. "You're talked about as a community and a region a lot."
Oklahoma City is drawing such scrutiny with increased frequency. But the Kentucky delegation is by far the largest to hit city soil, said Dave Lopez, president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc.
The Bricktown Canal, one of the most popular of the nine MAPS projects, was the first on the group's tour Wednesday. They followed the canal ride with lunch at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar and Grill, with visits by former Mayor Ron Norick, Lopez, and Cliff Hudson, Sonic CEO.
Other visits are scheduled with Mayor Mick Cornett, City Manager Jim Couch and heads of arts organizations and downtown businesses.
Their stay, which began Wednesday, will include tours of Bricktown and the Arts District and meals at downtown restaurants.
Organizers estimated each person in the group is spending about $1,100 to learn how Oklahoma City redeveloped downtown, and how it is trying to improve schools through MAPS for Kids.
Oklahoma City joins a list that includes Austin, Baltimore, Nashville and Portland as examples of progressive development researched by Lexington leaders.
"This is our 67th year doing this," Quick said. "We have found that when we visit places like Oklahoma City, what we take away is incredible. We learn from your folks, on what they did well, and what they might have tweaked or done better."
Oklahoma City's issues, and how it dealt with those issues, mirror challenges Lexington faces, Quick said.
"We do very extensive research, based on issues and challenges we're dealing with, and then we look at possible places to visit all across the country," Quick said.
Harold Tate, president of Lexington Downtown Development Authority, said Oklahoma City is gaining notice not just for MAPS, but also MAPS for Kids, State Fair Park improvements and overall economic development.
"People traveling have come back and told us what is happening here," Tate said.
Tate's first reaction to Oklahoma City? "Wow."
"The buzz among all these people is just great," Tate said. "I'm hearing from one after another, 'We need to do this, we need to do this.'"
Among those participating in this year's trip are Kentucky's State House Speaker, Jody Richards, and executives from Lexington-based companies including Lexmark and Columbia Gas.
Delegates paid close attention to Norick as he gave an accounting of MAPS that included triumphs and failures. He spoke of low points in the urban revitalization program, including when construction bids for the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark were $5 million over budget, and designs had to be redone.
Joe Kelly, chairman of Columbia Gas, urged fellow delegates to take careful notes of how MAPS was not easily accomplished.
"It's an incredible plan," Kelly told fellow Lexington residents. "They've done so much good work here."
Kelly said Oklahoma City was an easy choice, as Lexington looked for a city that is achieving world-class qualities without having a large population.
"Oklahoma City stood out," Kelly said. "Oklahoma City was being mentioned time and time again."
Originally Posted by Karried
Bookmarks