What are the plans for the Oklahoma River?

[ETL]

What plans do they have within the next 20 years? I heard that next summer there will be diner boats, and there will be that Native American Museum/Hotel. Will there be things like business, retail, condos, hotels, casinos, restaurants, or even a mall on the river soon??????:tweeted:

[writerranger]

I'm big on the idea of a retail-restaurant boardwalk complex - complete with big Ferris Wheel and the whole bit. I truly think that could be incredible. The whole thing could almost blend into lower Bricktown and make downtown Oklahom City a destination place.

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[Nixon7]

when will the boats be in there? A cool idea would be for someone to open a place where you could rent kayaks, canoes, and stuff like that for recreation on the river...

and a some kind of place with RETAIL, some kidn of mall. I love thinking about what could become of the river development. I just wish it would get going.

[Patrick]

The Oklahoma River will contain a mixture of developments and parks. The Rivertrust doesn't want to take away from Bricktown, so you probably won't see any entertainment complexes. But, office parks, condos, apartments, a few restaurants, etc. are in the works. The master plan calls for more parks and boat docks.

[ETL]

Why don't they extend Bricktown to the OK River???

[Luke]

I think a boardwalk would be a great idea.

[TStheThird]

I am all for office and condos, but I think that they need to place a four story minimum on the buildings.

I like the idea of having a lot of living spaces and parks. I rather keep the office concentration in the central business district, but would not mind a nice mix of office space. Sprinkle in a restaurant here and there and it could become a great urban neighborhood on the fringe of downtown. That is just one man's opinion...

[BricktownGuy]

Is the master plan available online???

[metro]

when will the boats be in there? A cool idea would be for someone to open a place where you could rent kayaks, canoes, and stuff like that for recreation on the river...

and a some kind of place with RETAIL, some kidn of mall. I love thinking about what could become of the river development. I just wish it would get going.

You can already rents kayaks, canoes, and dragon boats, it's called the Chesapeake boathouse. They rent by the hour. There should also be some more vendors on the river soon renting out them as well and possibly paddle boats. As far as what developments will be on the river in 20 years, that guess is as good as anybody's. That's the beauty of free enterprise. If anybody knew exactly, they'd bet on it and be filthy rich. Of course, there are guidelines and a master plan, but nothing is set in stone in the private sector.

[Nixon7]

any hopes for a boardwalk?

[Luke]

Unfotunately, I think a lot of people are waiting for the I-40 relocation until doing much with the majority of the river.

I know the Stockyards have started some development to tie-in with the river.

I would imagine that when the big boats begin transporting people from Bricktown to Meridian with stops in between, we'll see more incentive for people to develop on the river.

In the meantime, I feel like we have to wait for the first big developer to get his feet in the water ... so to speak.

[Nixon7]

is the OK river swimmable? Why not just rope off an area in the summer and have some cool slides and stuff for recreation and swimming and set up some convenient stores/concessions/restaurants built up around that? after all, it is, pretty much a lake

[jbrown84]

Hmmm. I don't know that I've heard either way on that. I would assume it's no swimming allowed just like Hefner and Overholser.

[traxx]

I'm big on the idea of a retail-restaurant boardwalk complex - complete with big Ferris Wheel and the whole bit. I truly think that could be incredible. The whole thing could almost blend into lower Bricktown and make downtown Oklahom City a destination place.

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Good idea. I think a board walk would be great. I have the same feelings about the river as well, tie it in with the rest of the downtown entertainment and make the entire downtown a destination instead of just going to bricktown for dinner. Somehow, though, I have a sinking feeling about it that we'll get screwed again and have something like lower (read inferior) bricktown.

[wsucougz]

Something like this would be cool: www.ionvillage.com

Lessons on historical development from Charleston
by Max Nichols
7/29/2002

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Imagine developing a whole new Heritage Hills addition on the shore of the redeveloped North Canadian River -- with homes designed similar to the 1920s Heritage Hills and Mesta Park homes and a small business district in the style of a 1920s downtown.

Sound ridiculous? You think it would never sell?

Well, they are doing something like that in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., a suburb of Charleston. Two-story frame homes with large porches, piazzas and columns are being developed around two man-made lakes. They are patterned after gracious 18th and 19th century homes on the coasts of Charleston, Beaufort and Savannah.

It's a place called I'On Village, named after a landowner named Jacob I'On. My son Karl, who recently retired from the U.S. Air Force in Charleston, has seen I'On Village homes listed for $500,000 and up. The homes around one lake appear to be virtually full, and new ones are under way around the second lake. The idea is a traditional pedestrian-oriented neighborhood that fits today's lifestyles.

One major reason is that hundreds of homes from as early as 1721 have been restored in Charleston alone. It takes a bus tour of an hour-and-a-half or more to see all of them. These restored 18th and 19th century homes often sell for $1 million or more, and you rarely see one for sale. I'On Village is on the Internet at www.ionvillage.com

While it's doubtful that a new addition patterned after classic homes from the 1920s would be developed in Oklahoma City's near future, the I'On Village reflects a whole new significance to preserving our heritage. The preservation districts of Heritage Hills, Mesta Park, Crown Heights, The Paseo and others already have given new life to Oklahoma City's 20th century version of classical developments.

The Oklahoma City metropolitan area still tends to expand to cheap land in outlying areas and suburbs, but the successful redevelopment of Bricktown, Deep Deuce and inner city apartments indicate a yearning for part of the population to live near downtown. The North Canadian redevelopment will provide a whole new potential for that.

Charleston, obviously, is much older with a history that includes survival of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, slavery, the Civil War and the Spanish-American War as well World Wars I and II. It also has the advantage of one of America's most important harbors. The port of Charleston continues to have a huge impact as one of the four leaders in bringing ship containers of goods into the country.

While shipments into the port have led to tremendous industrial growth with major firms such as Bosch of Germany, Charleston has grown toward inland cities such as North Charleston for middle-class homes. At the same time, tremendous preservation efforts have led the restoration of classical homes on the coast and near downtown.

Touring the preserved areas and the numerous historical landmarks was my goal when I went there to visit my son and his family. I had no idea that an addition such as I'On Village existed, so we set out to visit the downtown area and historic Fort Sumter.

While I expected to see a few blocks of well-preserved homes near the coast, I was surprised at the age of the homes and the extent of the preservation district. Charleston was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, named after King Charles I of England. Plantation owners Henry Hughes and John Coming donated half their land in 1672 for the city on Oyster Point between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, which flow into the harbor. Lord Ashley Cooper designed the lots and streets.

These streets now have names such as Murray Boulevard and East Battery facing the harbor, plus Church Street, Legare Street, Broad Street and South Battery. Church Street, named for St. Philip's Church, was part of the original 1672 design, and it features several pre-Revolutionary War 18th century homes.

A three-story stuccoed brick home at 71 Church was built as early as 1721 by Col. Robert Brewton, a wealth wharf owner and member of the Commons House of Assembly. Thomas Rose, a planter, built 59 Church in 1733. Richard Caper built a classic double house in 1745 with two homes divided by a central hall and grand staircase at 69 Church. George Washington stayed at 87 Church in 1791 while visiting the city.

These are just for openers, of course, but I was impressed at how well the city of Charleston markets its history. The Visitors Center is housed in a former train station. Visitors can choose from a variety of bus and horse-drawn buggy tours to visit parts or all of the preserved area. The Charleston Museum of History presents a vivid story of the city with maps, artifacts and photos.

Visiting Fort Sumter is another story. It requires a drive to Patriot's Point, where visitors can tour the aircraft carrier Yorktown to take a boat to the Civil War fort out in the harbor. The fort was started in 1829 on a shoal that was covered with 74,000 tons of rock over the years. It was still being completed on orders from President Abraham Lincoln when South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860. From the fort, it's easy to see how the first shot of the Civil War was fired from Fort Johnson across the harbor in 1861 -- a shell that burst over Fort Sumter.

After 34 hours, the Union surrendered Fort Sumter to the Confederates, and the Civil War was under way. The fort later was reduced to rubble by cannon fire from Union ships.

Charleston's military history, however, goes back much further. Fort Moltrie was built to protect the city during the Revolutionary War, and a victory over a British fleet kept the city free of the British for years -- until the British landed farther south. Fort Moltrie originally was built with palmetto logs, which were soft and tended to absorb cannon shots from British ships.

Fort Moltrie survived through the Spanish-American War, and it is by far the most interesting historic military post to visit. Much of the fort is still intact with separate rooms for firing big guns, a well-protected powder magazine and a tower for overlooking the harbor. It was the first of five forts that protected Charleston at one time or another for more than 200 years.

Visitors approach Fort Moltrie by land through Mt. Pleasant, and it was on the return to Charleston that we stopped at I'On Village. The homes looked like the historic structures we had seen facing the coast in Charleston, but they were new. It's something to think about for the future of Oklahoma City.

[keving]

when will the boats be in there? A cool idea would be for someone to open a place where you could rent kayaks, canoes, and stuff like that for recreation on the river...

Check out the Chesapeake Boathouse. You can rent kayaks and canoes there.

Also, look for a whitewater course within 2 years.

[traxx]

Unfotunately, I think a lot of people are waiting for the I-40 relocation until doing much with the majority of the river.

When is the relocation project supposed to begin?

[shane453]

It has begun.

[BricktownGuy]

When is the relocation project supposed to begin?

IF my memory is good, its been discussed on the forums. Just use the search feature.

[Pete]

Believe it or not, the I-40 relocation project is supposed to be finished by 2009.

It will certainly help that they won't have to work around existing traffic for the huge majority of the proect.

[BDP]

I'd like to see it be a world class civic park, with neighborhoods and commerce restricted to outside and along the rivertrust area.