"the forthcoming public and private developments are like Maps x 10"

[kbsooner]

Just heard on Channel 9 - Kelly Ogle referring to Steve's comment when discussing the upcoming downtown developments... NEED INFO SOON!

Steve's OKC Central ‏@stevelackmeyer 1m
Wow. Thanks @kellyogle for such wonderful mention tonight. Nice recollecting w/ you our early days as reporters....
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8:25 PM - 18 Jul 13 · Details

[Plutonic Panda]

I heard that too!!! Someone please enlighten us

[dankrutka]

Is the clip posted online?

[UnFrSaKn]

My 2 Cents: Detroit Goes Bankrupt - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[bchris02]

My guess is he is referring to the mystery tower(s) which should be announced at any time now.

[Pete]

The 8th & Oklahoma announcement today is $45 million alone, and we've got tons in the pipeline, like the Mosaic, the East Bricktown development, Maywood Park Apartments II, whatever Nick Preftakes is up to... All the MAPS 3 stuff about ready to pop... The Boulevard... Lots of things in process in Midtown... And the little matter of a tower or two or three.

All that adds up to some really big numbers!

[Praedura]

The 8th & Oklahoma announcement today is $45 million alone, and we've got tons in the pipeline, like the Mosaic, the East Bricktown development, Maywood Park Apartments II, whatever Nick Preftakes is up to... All the MAPS 3 stuff about ready to pop... The Boulevard... Lots of things in process in Midtown... And the little matter of a tower or two or three.

All that adds up to some really big numbers!

Well, MAPS 3 itself is about $770 million. Make that times 10 and you get $7.7 billion.

I don't know how much all this stuff will add up to, but I'm pretty sure that if you pour 7 bil into OKC, the results are likely to be pretty noticeable (if not spectacular).

[Pete]

I would bet the comment was referencing the original MAPS and probably includes things already under construction on maybe even recently completed.

We could get to several billion pretty easily, especially if you add in Devon which was $750 million alone.

[Praedura]

I would bet the comment was referencing the original MAPS and probably includes things already under construction on maybe even recently completed.

We could get to several billion pretty easily, especially if you add in Devon which was $750 million alone.

Yes quite likely. And the 'times 10' comment could just be figurative language meaning 'a lot more than', not an exact multiplicative factor. But I'm just having fun with the quote.

Hey, I'd be quite happy with a couple billion in total investment dollars for recent and upcoming projects. As someone else once said, "a billion here, a billion there... pretty soon you're talking real money".

[Teo9969]

With non-tower, non-MAPS development, Downtown is probably approaching $250M - $500M under construction/in the pipeline. If 2 $500M towers are announced and you factor in $750M Maps, you're already talking $2B in, what, 5 years?

[soonerguru]

Is everyone getting the sense that this city is about to explode as the next great American city? I do.

[Just the facts]

Is everyone getting the sense that this city is about to explode as the next great American city? I do.

The only thing that would make me say No to that question is that this type of development is not unique to downtown OKC. Every city in America has been re-urbanizing for going on 15 years now (with a short slow down after 2008). If anything, OKC was late getting out of the starting blocks and who knows if it can run fast enough to catch up with other cities. Even here is Jax where we took a serious hit to our real-estate we already managed to build 3 high-rise residential towers downtown on the Southbank.

[adaniel]

Yes quite likely. And the 'times 10' comment could just be figurative language meaning 'a lot more than', not an exact multiplicative factor. But I'm just having fun with the quote.

Hey, I'd be quite happy with a couple billion in total investment dollars for recent and upcoming projects. As someone else once said, "a billion here, a billion there... pretty soon you're talking real money".

If you want to extrapolate everything from MAPs in 1993 onward, 10x is probably a bit conservative.

[Pete]

Is everyone getting the sense that this city is about to explode as the next great American city? I do.

Yes.

I've said for a while I thought OKC would be the next American city to move into boom town territory, i.e. 20% population growth in a decade (we are off to a good start since 2010) and lots of new construction everywhere.

You can just feel the momentum building and now that the financial markets are out of the toilet and there is actually money to be loaned, I think the dam is getting ready to break.

Like anything, so much about a city is perception and as the perception grows that OKC is hot, it will only become hotter.

[soonerguru]

The only thing that would make me say No to that question is that this type of development is not unique to downtown OKC. Every city in America has been re-urbanizing for going on 15 years now (with a short slow down after 2008). If anything, OKC was late getting out of the starting blocks and who knows if it can run fast enough to catch up with other cities. Even here is Jax where we took a serious hit to our real-estate we already managed to build 3 high-rise residential towers downtown on the Southbank.

True. But there is a vibe here that is incredibly optimistic and our economy is rocking.

[Spartan]

Is everyone getting the sense that this city is about to explode as the next great American city? I do.

Definitely. As long as oil stays up.

[Spartan]

The only thing that would make me say No to that question is that this type of development is not unique to downtown OKC. Every city in America has been re-urbanizing for going on 15 years now (with a short slow down after 2008). If anything, OKC was late getting out of the starting blocks and who knows if it can run fast enough to catch up with other cities. Even here is Jax where we took a serious hit to our real-estate we already managed to build 3 high-rise residential towers downtown on the Southbank.

Yeah, but Jax is still at a point where everything hit and new is in the burbs. There are a few Mesta-like neighborhoods but the downtown, while building vertical still, is hardly seeing our level of development.

The difference between us and other peer cities is the downtown is no longer a cool novelty. It's the fastest growing part of the city.

[bchris02]

Is everyone getting the sense that this city is about to explode as the next great American city? I do.

We'll have to see. What OKC needs is so much development happening at once that it causes the rest of the nation to rethink the stereotypes they have of OKC and give it a second look. That's the only way OKC will ever become the "place to be" like Charlotte was in the 2000s and Austin and Portland currently are. Things are setting up so just that may be a possibility.

[Bellaboo]

Definitely. As long as oil stays up.

I doubt Oil will ever get below $ 65.00 again.

[Bellaboo]

We'll have to see. What OKC needs is so much development happening at once that it causes the rest of the nation to rethink the stereotypes they have of OKC and give it a second look. That's the only way OKC will ever become the "place to be" like Charlotte was in the 2000s and Austin and Portland currently are. Things are setting up so just that may be a possibility.

Let 3 major towers be under construction at once and we'll be there.

[Thundercitizen]

We'll have to see. What OKC needs is so much development happening at once that it causes the rest of the nation to rethink the stereotypes they have of OKC and give it a second look...

In an indirect, yet unmistakable way, the Thunder add an allure to the city in various ways. It helps they're turning out to be a perennial contender.

[Teo9969]

I think it depends on what you mean by the next "Great American City".

OKC is not passing the growth rate of Austin in the next 15 years, and Seattle/Portland will likely continue to be more desired locations as well. OKC still needs to diversify it's economy more.

That being said...I think OKC's most basic infrastructure is possibly the strongest in the country to sustain rapid growth. And if the City can find a manageable way to implement comprehensive public transportation in the next 25 years, then I think 30 years from now, the sky is the limit.

[bradh]

I just never got the allure of Austin (coming from someone who grew up in Texas).

OKC will never be Seattle. Can't surpass a place with a physical location like that (and the seafood...yum).

[HOT ROD]

I'm sure OKC don't want to be Seattle either. But there are striking similarities if you look beyond Seattle's impressive setting.

It hasn't always been rosy Posey here either; Seattle had their dark moments too back in the late 1980s when people were fleeing the place since there was nothing here but Boeing, which was struggling. but as Pete said, Seattle has been a great alternative to LA and to a lesser extent SF, and the city had a visionary black mayor who made the city pro business and local bank's gave business a chance. The fruits of that are Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Nordstrom, The North Face, REI, Nintendo, Costco, Drugstore.com, Expedia, Bank of America/Meryl Lynch, and Real Networks among other high tech startups that have diversified the mfg intensive Boeing and Warehouse and the Ports.

Does any ofmthis sound familiar? Isn't OKC having a boom in its core industry but is surely diversifying due to great civic leadership and homegrown businessmen willing to give the city a chance? I'd argue that OKC is a lot like Seattle just that it happened faster there and SEA had more to start with, but I totally see OKC capitalizing on the weaknesses of DFW and especially Houston. Infrastructure goes a long way and OKC's is better than most major cities, including Seattle. So I wholeheartedly expect OKC to be a Portland as long as the renaissance doesn't stop and it could be here within 5 years.

OKC isn't Seattle but does share similarities not in geography but in civic leadership and industrial turnaround due to diversity and nourishment of homegrown talents. OKC needs to use OU, OSU, and OCU as the knowledge engine much like SEA has the UW, SeattleU, and to a lesser extent WSU. I think a little bit more of the build it and they will come couldn't hurt, particularly regarding the airport as that is the ONLY piece of OKC's infrastructure that doesn't compete well with other major cities IMO. I think, instead of resting on the fact that so many recent hubs have closed due to consolidation that they would be picked if any airline was looking, OKC should see its airport as infrastructure that it wants to be ready to immediately capitalize on When the chance happens (a la the NBA). With the airport at least built out and reconfigured like is planned, I don't see how OKC couldn't compete well with its peers going forward.

[bradh]

I forgot you lived there, great post. I freaking love Seattle. Always wanted to visit and finally had a chance last summer for a wedding, amazing place.

The thing that is tough with airports is that it's extremely dependent on attracting an airline to make it a hub or focus city. We have a great airport, but without being a hub for a major airline it will always lag. I agree that we could be a focus city for some airline out there, it's poised to do so.

In speaking to the weaknesses of DFW and Houston, I'm from Houston, and even though their infrastructure is horrid, it's not slowing down there any. The growth there is absolutely insane.