Oklahoma City Council To Vote On Game-Changing Development Project; More Apartments, Jobs Anticipated

The Oklahoma City Council heard plans this week for a massive project that could change the city's skyline.

If the council approves the Boardwalk at Bricktown project, it is expected to bring more than 900 new apartments and more than 1,800 new jobs.

The plans were in the works long before it was introduced to the full council.

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3. Developer Proposes $700 Million Bricktown Development
4. Proposed Bricktown Development Would Include High-Rise Apartments, Hotels, Restaurants

“We’ve been meeting with the staff for over a year,” Vice President of Better Commercial Real Estate Mortgages Joanne Carras said.

Carras works on the financing side of the project in partnership with the California based development company. She believes Oklahoma City is ripe for growth and the $731 million investment.

“It’s still that very friendly small town that is growing up,” Carras said.

Growing up is literally what is being proposed.

The plans include three high-rise apartment towers standing between 28-30 stories tall.

There are plans to build a hotel along with amenities such as restaurants, retail space, entertainment venues and rooftop bars.

In total, more than two million square feet in four acres of Bricktown.

“Any kind of additional development downtown is going to complement and help grow our city,” OKC’S Economic Development Program Manager Joanna McSpadden said.

She sees this as a potential catalyst for future growth. “We’re always excited when people are here to invest in our city and want to help us grow,” McSpadden says.

The investment will come in part from Tax Increment Financing or TIF funds.

It is tax generated in a designated district with the purpose of incentivizing development.

“As they come online and they’re paying their taxes the city will receive that in the TIF fund,” McSpadden said. “Then, we’re able to rebate that back to them in a portion.”

For this project, the portion is capped at $200 million over the next 25 years.

As Carras sees it, it was the last 25 years that made a project like this possible.

“The arena, the convention center, all that work the city has been putting into the area - this is the next right thing,” Carras said.

She also believes that such amenities are what the city needs to attract large corporations in the future.

The city council will vote on the proposal at its next meeting, Aug. 15.