Expansion of OKC and the Metro in the next 20 years

[ChrisHayes]

Something I've tried to to a bit of research on is the projected expansion and population increase of not only Oklahoma City, but the metro area in general in the coming decades. I read something by Steve Lackmeyer where he said that in 20 years he sees the gaps between OKC and Yukon, and El Reno being filled in as the metro continues to expand. I was wondering if anyone had seen any population or growth projections for the city. On a related note, considering that El Reno is fairly close to Oklahoma City, I'm surprised it's growth hasn't picked up much. I know it's got a lot of beautification to do, but it would still be an appealing city to live in for some who don't want to live in the inner part of the metro.

[bchris02]

Something I've tried to to a bit of research on is the projected expansion and population increase of not only Oklahoma City, but the metro area in general in the coming decades. I read something by Steve Lackmeyer where he said that in 20 years he sees the gaps between OKC and Yukon, and El Reno being filled in as the metro continues to expand. I was wondering if anyone had seen any population or growth projections for the city. On a related note, considering that El Reno is fairly close to Oklahoma City, I'm surprised it's growth hasn't picked up much. I know it's got a lot of beautification to do, but it would still be an appealing city to live in for some who don't want to live in the inner part of the metro.

Suburban expansion largely depends on school district. Right now, there really isn't a lot of incentive to live out in El Reno if you work in OKC when you can get into good suburban schools closer in. Personally I think sprawl will continue north and south and not so much out west. The OKC metro area is already extremely sprawled for its size and I would like to see more infill prior to expanding further outward.

[Bellaboo]

Suburban expansion largely depends on school district. Right now, there really isn't a lot of incentive to live out in El Reno if you work in OKC when you can get into good suburban schools closer in. Personally I think sprawl will continue north and south and not so much out west. The OKC metro area is already extremely sprawled for its size and I would like to see more infill prior to expanding further outward.

If you go back 10 or 15 years, Canadian County has been one of if not the fastest growing county in the state.

[bombermwc]

Im pretty sure Mustang/Yukon are the majority of why that is.

[Bellaboo]

Im pretty sure Mustang/Yukon are the majority of why that is.

True, but if you look at the actual city boundaries, OKC dominates the county.

[rezman]

Something I've tried to to a bit of research on is the projected expansion and population increase of not only Oklahoma City, but the metro area in general in the coming decades. I read something by Steve Lackmeyer where he said that in 20 years he sees the gaps between OKC and Yukon, and El Reno being filled in as the metro continues to expand. I was wondering if anyone had seen any population or growth projections for the city. On a related note, considering that El Reno is fairly close to Oklahoma City, I'm surprised it's growth hasn't picked up much. I know it's got a lot of beautification to do, but it would still be an appealing city to live in for some who don't want to live in the inner part of the metro.

My wife's family lives in El Reno. She couldn't wait to get out of there. And I worked out there for several years in the late 80's -early 90's. Not much has changed. They don't call it El Ghetto for nothing.

[oklip955]

True, but if you look at the actual city boundaries, OKC dominates the county.

I'm wondering what Edmond will look like in another 20 yrs. The east of I-35 area will most likely be built out, as fast as new subdivisions are being planned. I'm also thinking of what is going to happen with all the land that is now within the 100 yr flood plain. Would be nice if it winds up as park land.

[adaniel]

My wife's family lives in El Reno. She couldn't wait to get out of there. And I worked out there for several years in the late 80's -early 90's. Not much has changed. They don't call it El Ghetto for nothing.

Sadly I agree. I did a lot of work in El Reno during my last job...that town is rough around the edges, to say the least and their school system is subpar compared to a lot of suburban OKC districts closer to job centers. All hope is not lost, however. I could see El Reno growing independent of the immediate OKC urbanized area. There's quite a bit of oil and gas activity out there and the Cheyenne Arapahoe Nation is headquartered there. I know the Chickasaws and Choctaws have been a huge boon for Ada and Durant respectively; C&A is not a "civilized tribe" and is limited by the BIA, but it has room to grow.

[Bellaboo]

The C&A is actually HQ'd in Concho about 5 miles North of El Reno, but their tribal membership mostly resides in points further West. They also have 2 Lucky Star casinos, one in Concho and the other in Clinton across the street from their cultural center.

[mugofbeer]

I'd add NE OK county to the high growth areas. Those forested and rolling hills are quickly losing their stigma and are seeing a LOT of small developments.

[Snowman]

I'd add NE OK county to the high growth areas. Those forested and rolling hills are quickly losing their stigma and are seeing a LOT of small developments.

The north east of the county stigma? The NE corner of the county is just as far out from downtown as ElReno, it's main issues for growth rate seems to be there are closer options and sprawl tends to continue to move in the directions that started in the 40s.

[rezman]

The north east of the county stigma? The NE corner of the county is just as far out from downtown as ElReno, it's main issues for growth rate seems to be there are closer options and sprawl tends to continue to move in the directions that started in the 40s.

Mugofbeer may mean the stigma of being out there towards the Welston area.... dilapidated singlewides, thieves and methville. The very eastern part of Okla county and western Lincoln county has had and still has some not so savory areas.

[adaniel]

Mugofbeer may mean the stigma of being out there towards the Welston area.... dilapidated singlewides, thieves and methville. The very eastern part of Okla county and western Lincoln county has had and still has some not so savory areas.

If we are talking about this area then yeah I tend to agree. I actually thought he was referring the Oakdale/Apple Valley area east of Frontier City for whatever reason. Simply put, it is not in the best school system, not a lot of jobs out that way, and the only way to commute to OKC is a toll road with only one or two exits. I think you'll see development pick up more in eastern Edmond before Luther and Wellston start growing in any meaningful form.

The C&A is actually HQ'd in Concho about 5 miles North of El Reno, but their tribal membership mostly resides in points further West. They also have 2 Lucky Star casinos, one in Concho and the other in Clinton across the street from their cultural center.

You are right...I think I'm getting my wires crossed with the BIA office in El Reno, which is in some random strip mall on the edge of town.

[rezman]

[QUOTE=adaniel;829439]If we are talking about this area then yeah I tend to agree. I actually thought he was referring the Oakdale/Apple Valley area east of Frontier City for whatever reason. Simply put, it is not in the best school system, not a lot of jobs out that way, and the only way to commute to OKC is a toll road with only one or two exits. I think you'll see development pick up more in eastern Edmond before Luther and Wellston start growing in any meaningful form.

I got you. Having lived out southeast of Arcadia, ..to me, from there to Potawatomi Road is eastern Okla County. But I see what you're saying. I guess anything east of I-35 could be considered Eastern Oklahoma County.

[Plutonic Panda]

2014?s Fastest Growing Cities | WalletHub®

[cxl144]

Having lived in Westbury (SW 29th and Morgan Rd) area for the last 4 years, the growth in residential housing has accelerated in the last 12 months. The gaps of farmland are quickly being filled in. Castlebrook Crossing at SW 29th and Sara started on Phase III late last year and its nearly full, about 60 houses in that phase with a handful of lots left. One issue that has affected OKC in its growth trajectory I believe is the lack of homebuilders. As our growth accelerated in the late 2000's, a lot of the lending froze up cooling off the housing market. In the last 3 months now the commercial lending is finally opening up. The biggest problem right now besides crumbling roads in the WOKC/Yukon area is that retail and restaurants are virtually non-existent. As the commercial money starts to flow back into the market a lot of retail and dining options will hopefully start opening up on the west side.

[ChrisHayes]

Eventually all the residential development in Mustang and Yukon will spur the development of commercial areas. I'd like to see one along the routes between the two towns. We're already going to see one on the west side of Yukon along 40.

[BG918]

Availability of existing infrastructure, proximity to downtown OKC and existing and growing retail corridors have driven the high growth along the I-35 corridor from OKC to Moore and Norman. Increasing gridlock though will have to be addressed, even after the widening and interchange work is finished. You have the 1st and 3rd largest cities in the state basically sharing one major corridor.

My hope is that commuter rail could be seen as a viable alternative and that growth continues in the south metro but more clustered around the rail stations in Moore and especially Norman (downtown/campus area).

[corwin1968]

We live in the far NW OKC area it is growing by leaps and bounds. New subdivisions in the Deer Creek district, closely followed by more commercial development. If whoever is responsible gets off their duff and expands 74 to match Hefner Parkway, that area will probably grow even faster. Or maybe it works in the opposite direction.

I'm fascinated by all of the what I consider "new urban" thinking on this board. It seems to me that if that's what people wanted, that's what we would have. Instead, urban sprawl shows little signs of slowing down which is a good indicator that people DON'T want to live in a dense and urbanized environment.

[Plutonic Panda]

We live in the far NW OKC area it is growing by leaps and bounds. New subdivisions in the Deer Creek district, closely followed by more commercial development. If whoever is responsible gets off their duff and expands 74 to match Hefner Parkway, that area will probably grow even faster. Or maybe it works in the opposite direction.

I'm fascinated by all of the what I consider "new urban" thinking on this board. It seems to me that if that's what people wanted, that's what we would have. Instead, urban sprawl shows little signs of slowing down which is a good indicator that people DON'T want to live in a dense and urbanized environment.

well, there is growing population that wants to live in urban areas, but the sprawl does show the majority of people still want to live in the suburbs.

NW OKC is starting to resemble what Frisco did back in 2005 to me when I was there except this state is extremely slow to widen roads and build new highways and will probably wait until traffic is an absolute nightmare until anything gets. This place has no clue about staying on top of things and it's a joke.

[bchris02]

We live in the far NW OKC area it is growing by leaps and bounds. New subdivisions in the Deer Creek district, closely followed by more commercial development. If whoever is responsible gets off their duff and expands 74 to match Hefner Parkway, that area will probably grow even faster. Or maybe it works in the opposite direction.

I'm fascinated by all of the what I consider "new urban" thinking on this board. It seems to me that if that's what people wanted, that's what we would have. Instead, urban sprawl shows little signs of slowing down which is a good indicator that people DON'T want to live in a dense and urbanized environment.

I agree with this. As PluPan pointed out, there is a growing population that wants to live in the urban core and that is a great thing. It is NOT the majority of OKC however and this city needs both the core and the suburbs to be successful. I think its way, way too early for OKC to be developing this urban vs suburban rivalry that seems to be developing. The city doesn't yet have a large enough urban population in its core and at this point if the suburbs fail, OKC fails.

Also, one only has to look at the political leanings of this board compared to the city as a whole to see that OKCTalk is definitely not a microcosm of OKC.

[shawnw]

SOME of the Yukon/Mustang/West OKC growth may be attributable to the growth in jobs at FAA/MMAC...

[adaniel]

I feel like now is a good time to point out the vast majority of growth in the metro in these past few years has been in Oklahoma County, and OKC itself is growing at a faster rate than the MSA as a whole.

[Plutonic Panda]

I feel like now is a good time to point out the vast majority of growth in the metro in these past few years has been in Oklahoma County, and OKC itself is growing at a faster rate than the MSA as a whole.

I'm sure a huge part of that is in NW OKC

[bchris02]

I feel like now is a good time to point out the vast majority of growth in the metro in these past few years has been in Oklahoma County, and OKC itself is growing at a faster rate than the MSA as a whole.

I am sure you are aware of this, but much of what constitutes the "suburbs" in OKC is actually in the city limits of OKC itself. The standards that apply to most cities don't apply here. It would be interesting to compare the growth of OKC within the I-40/I-44/I-235 loop with the rest of the city limits outside of that loop.