Community Meeting Planned for Core to Shore Plan

Citizens are invited to provide input on Oklahoma City’s Core to Shore planning process by attending a community meeting at 6 p.m. on April 10. The meeting will be held in rooms 16-18 on the second floor of the Cox Business Services Convention Center in Downtown Oklahoma City.

The Core to Shore plan encompasses a 1375-acre area impacted by the realignment of Interstate 40, south of downtown Oklahoma City. Boundaries include the area from Reno to the Oklahoma River and from Western to Interstate 235.

“We expect to nail down the major elements of the Core to Shore plan in the next few months, thanks to input from Steering Committee members and these public meetings.” Project Manager Russell Claus said. “Over the past six months, the Steering Committee has discussed some exciting prospects in the areas of public transportation, downtown housing and retail, and expanded convention center facilities. Discussions to this point have also yielded a strong desire for a boulevard and neighboring park capable of being respectively called the City’s signature street and great public gathering place.” Claus added.

A major portion of the plan includes the development of a three-quarter mile long boulevard that extends from Walker Avenue to Oklahoma. It calls for major retail development to the north of the boulevard and an expansive community park to the south. The boulevard and parkland is hoped to function both as a pristine gateway into downtown and an economic catalyst for Oklahoma City.

Construction on the boulevard is targeted to begin in 2012, after the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) completes construction on the realignment of Interstate 40.

“Core to Shore is a strategic planning process that requires creative vision and forethought. The ramifications of this plan will impact economic development and quality of life in the next century. We aren’t planning for the City that is, but the City that will be,” said Mayor Mick Cornett.

This is the second of three public meetings. The last meeting will be held this fall.

A steering committee made up of 35 stakeholders and community leaders has been meeting monthly since October 2006 to discuss their vision for the area.

For more information, go to www.okc.gov or email ideas to www.coretoshore@okc.gov.