Health Sciences Center

[Plutonic Panda]

Until some residential and commercial developments are done in and around the center, I wonder how much walking between the various clinics, hospitals, etc. really is going to take place. Seems like most visitors don't go to the area to spend the day visiting various medical offices. The school itself has a nice pedestrian area and their buildings are connected by walkways. If the area develops with more offices like the research area W of Lincoln, along with more suitable residential for health workers, then maybe the emphasis will change to pedestrians. Right now it is built to serve those in need of medical services and their families, and medical students.

Usually I don’t agree with Ross, but more can be done to make the area inviting to pedestrian as well.

[stlokc]

What medical center do you hold up as a model?

The Washington University School of Medicine / Barnes-Jewish Hospital campus in St. Louis might be one model:

https://medicine.wustl.edu/about/medical-center

Of course, it has been urban from the beginning of its life, so it would be nearly impossible to replicate. But in other ways it's similar to a larger version of the OKC Health Sciences Center, in that it includes a huge general hospital, a full medical school, a Children's hospital and many assorted clinics and research facilities.

[jonny d]

Usually I don’t agree with Ross, but more can be done to make the area inviting to pedestrian as well.

My thing is, how many pedestrians are hanging out in the medical district, even in an ideal, urban setting? Most bars are not wanting to open near hospitals, and same for retail stores. Just my opinion. I see what you guys are saying, though.

[stlokc]

My thing is, how many pedestrians are hanging out in the medical district, even in an ideal, urban setting? Most bars are not wanting to open near hospitals, and same for retail stores. Just my opinion. I see what you guys are saying, though.

The way the campus is currently designed, not many. But how many students are there in that campus? Might they not like the idea of living nearby in high-quality apartments? How many high-level faculty and staff are drawn there from other parts of the country that are used to urban environments? How many young doctors practice there that would appreciate living nearby? How many patients come from other parts of the state/world and have families that stay nearby in a hotel? How much of their lower-paid staff could use new workforce housing nearby? Granted the Wash U campus in St. Louis is already urban, I get that, and there are other reasons to be there, but it is driven largely by the med school and hospitals and it is filled with residences, hotels, bars, restaurants, even other types of retail. It's not that way in OKC because it has never been that way. But it could. There is absolutely precedence in other parts of the country, if that is a goal for OKC. And it doesn't have to be.

[Urbanized]

Anyone who has ever lived in downtown apartments knows that they are chock full of medical students, pharmacy students, nursing students, dental students. Apartments in the Health Sciences Center would be a massive success, and with that should come some services-type retail and some walkability.

[Plutonic Panda]

Anyone who has ever lived in downtown apartments knows that they are chock full of medical students, pharmacy students, nursing students, dental students. Apartments in the Health Sciences Center would be a massive success, and with that should come some services-type retail and some walkability.

Why has no one built apartments closer to there? Not zoned for it?

[Rover]

Was a housing demand survey done for the Innovation District?

[warreng88]

Why has no one built apartments closer to there? Not zoned for it?

My guess would be because you have DD one mile away with a ton of housing.

[Rover]

OKC has a history of having too many areas trying to develop at once. I think this area will naturally fully develop once BT, DD and AA are all fairly saturated. Right now, if you were considering developing in this area or one of the others, which would you choose? I think this is why the cap over the expressway is being considered.... to try to make it just an extension of AA and DD. Otherwise, the choice is one side or the other instead of just an expansion of what is being developed into urban areas.

[hoya]

Yeah, I agree with Rover here. There's no real economic reason to start pushing into the HSC area until Deep Deuce, Bricktown, and Automobile Alley are full. Once those have hit max capacity, people may start looking to build in the next-closest area.

The biggest barrier to development is probably going to be large businesses and/or the state, who own the land on 4th, 10th, and 13th streets. Do these guys want to give up their big nice lawns so that more development can go in? As you cross under the interstate on 4th street, you could fit in another Aloft hotel on the south side of the street (where the OIPA parking lot is), and another LEVEL on the north side of the street (where there's... well, a big lawn). That's before you even hit Lincoln Blvd. That's not very far to walk before you're back in Deep Deuce, with all its amenities. Done right, it could really feel like an extension of that neighborhood. But whoever owns that land would have to decide it's okay to part with it. I'm not sure that they're on board.

On the north side of 13th, it looks like it's probably a lot of private owners, so I doubt there would be any problem there. But on the south end, and all along 10th, you've got the OSSM. They have a huge amount of land they're doing jack crap with. But getting the state to sell some of that for private development is going to be like pulling teeth. Not to mention GE.

The Page Woodson area might develop into something on its own, but they're starting from scratch there. But until BT, DD, and AA are completely mature districts and have nowhere else to go, I don't think it makes economic sense for most developers to want to look too far afield.

[T. Jamison]

O’Connor: Progress in the Innovation District
By: Cathy O'Connor June 19, 2018

Two recent milestones in the Innovation District indicate that we are well on our way to creating a premier global destination for innovation in Oklahoma City.

After an extensive national search, Oklahoma City resident Katy Evans Boren has been named president and CEO of Oklahoma City’s Innovation District. Her entrepreneurial experience and legal and governance expertise will help to cast a vision for this area, establish and promote the Innovation District to the world and encourage the collaborations and connections that will define the district.

Boren earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver and a law degree from the University of Oklahoma. She has served in private legal practice, at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and as regional vice president of Cox Communications. Most recently, she was chief of the utilities regulation unit in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. Boren is scheduled to begin her new role July 9.

The second milestone is the kickoff of the creation of a strategic development and land use plan by a talented team led by the planning firm Perkins + Will. This is a critical step in further defining how this important space will look and feel, how it will encourage connections and collaboration among innovation businesses and how it will integrate with area neighborhoods and businesses.

The land use plan will contemplate the ultimate locations for commercial and residential uses that will lead to a more vibrant hub where people can live, work and play. The plan will inform placemaking efforts such as lectures, festivals, recreational activities, food truck activity, pop-up shops and markets.

One key attribute to successful placemaking is accessibility. The plan will indicate how we can improve pedestrian and bike access on key routes between the Health Center and Automobile Alley as well as within the district.

Connection is a theme for the Innovation District. The land use plan will create a blueprint for how we design, create and interact within a connected, vibrant space. Katy Boren’s roots in Oklahoma will no doubt be an asset in attracting and creating human connectivity. She understands and exemplifies Oklahoma values – working together, helping others and welcoming new and better ways. Leadership sets the tone and direction for an organization and we now have an innovative leader to steer the course.

[shawnw]

American Cancer Society plans to build Hope Lodge providing free lodging for cancer patients
https://oklahoman.com/article/566943...ancer-patients

[HOT ROD]

Omaha's Hope Lodge

[Laramie]

OU Health Science Center's Campus.

OU Medical Center, Stephenson Cancer Center & McGee Eye Institute

Doesn't look like a huge facility, however if anyone can get lost in a building yours truly is notorious.

Just wanted to say thanks to the staff & employees in this facility. They are trained to look for lost souls as they read
the looks on our faces.

Thanks again to the health professionals who train here and those professionals and employees who are permanent residents.

[bombermwc]

OU Health Science Center's Campus.

OU Medical Center, Stephenson Cancer Center & McGee Eye Institute

Doesn't look like a huge facility, however if anyone can get lost in a building yours truly is notorious.

Just wanted to say thanks to the staff & employees in this facility. They are trained to look for lost souls as they read
the looks on our faces.

Thanks again to the health professionals who train here and those professionals and employees who are permanent residents.

It's a weird place. The physician floors are almost like a food court of doctors the way the "front desks" all connect to the same common areas. It's like a strip mall of doctors where you find the sign for your specialty. I've never seen a physician's building laid out like this before.

[Edmond Hausfrau]

It's a weird place. The physician floors are almost like a food court of doctors the way the "front desks" all connect to the same common areas. It's like a strip mall of doctors where you find the sign for your specialty. I've never seen a physician's building laid out like this before.

Mercy at I-35 in Edmond does it the same way. Open floor plan with kiosks for each speciality. It's akin to airline gates and does allow for less clustering. Took me a while to get used to it but now I prefer it.