OK House Approves Plan To Revitalize Downtown Building

The State House of Representatives approved a $15-million tax incentive plan to help revitalize the Oklahoma First National Center in downtown Oklahoma City. 

The plan is to give the Oklahoma First National Center a roughly $200-million makeover, with taxpayers helping to foot part of the bill.

Backers say it's worth the investment. Right now, the 1-million square foot building sits empty. Developers say when it's done it will have two restaurants, a 150-room hotel, 200-apartments and thousands of square feet of retail space.

Rep. John Echols says the renovation will also create jobs.

"This project alone, if it's one that were to happen, it would create 1,585 new jobs," said Echols.

Most of those jobs, about 1,300, would be temporary construction jobs, but developers envision another 285 permanent hotel and commercial jobs. They hope to have the project complete in the next two years.