A casino at OKANA? Surface parking instead of development? Your questions answered

The Oklahoman’s Steve Lackmeyer fielded reader questions during his recent weekly OKC Central Live Chat. Each week, Steve hosts a live chat, giving readers a chance to ask questions about Oklahoma City development and growth as well as an opportunity to ask direct questions of OKC newsmakers like Mayor David Holt and Dan Straughan, the executive director of the Homeless Alliance. You can join Steve most Fridays at 10 a.m. to add your comments and questions about downtown development. A live chat, however, is not scheduled for Friday, Oct. 20.

To be able to ask questions and interact with Steve or special guests, you must have a digital subscription to The Oklahoman and you must be logged in. Right now, you can get unlimited digital access to all of our content for $1 for six months.

Oklahoma City could see arena and stadium construction on similar timelines

Q: If the new arena for the Thunder is approved, will it be completed before the MAPS 4 outdoor stadium? And will those two arenas be likely be located near each other? 

A: The answer should be that the outdoor stadium would be built first since that tax pre-dates any potential new arena tax. But I can guarantee the new arena, if approved, will be put on a fast track. And we've yet to see a site even selected for the stadium. It wouldn't surprise me if they end up getting built at the same time.

If I were a betting man, I'd bet the stadium gets built on the site of the former oil cotton mill south of Lower Bricktown and that the arena is built on the current home of Prairie Surf Studios (originally the Cox Convention Center).

More: Cost, timeline, and more: 6 things to know about OKC's proposed new Thunder arena

Campaign renderings rarely reflect final outcome of a capital project

Q Do you think we will see anything about the lease for the new arena, or any detailed renderings? Or will we be left 100% in the dark with a sword of Damocles over our heads (the Thunder threatening to leave)? 

A: A rendering would mean nothing at this point. You can't do designs and renderings until the project is funded. Look at the above rendering done with the original 1993 MAPS campaign. Other than the location, the rendering is hardly a hint of what followed with Paycom Center. You have a good question about the proposed lease. Even if an official lease isn't written up, surely there is a term sheet for the public to review.

Robinson Avenue offers the best views of downtown Oklahoma City

Q: If you wanted to take out of town visitors on a drive to see Oklahoma City, but you could only use one street, what street would that be and why? 

A: It's a tie between Robinson Avenue and Sheridan Avenue with Robinson Avenue getting a slight edge. With Sheridan Avenue you get a view of Bricktown, the Myriad Gardens and Film Row.

With Robinson Avenue you get a view of Heritage Hills, a part of Midtown, Oklahoma City National Memorial, the heart of the central business district, the Myriad Gardens, the Omni, the convention center and Scissortail Park.

Design work continues on Boardwalk at Bricktown towers

Q: What’s the current status of the potential Dream hotel in Bricktown? 

A: The Boardwalk at Bricktown developer was approved for a rebate-style, record-setting $200 million tax increment financing package. Design, I'm told, is ongoing. I suspect the next step we see will involve design review by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority.

OKC and Norman are looking at simultaneously making record-setting investments

Q: I know it’s a bit premature, but what are the odds that both the Norman Arena/Entertainment District and a new arena in OKC break ground within the next three to five years? Did you think it possible that the OKC metro could possibly see, not one but two, billion dollar developments in the same or similar time frame? 

A: I did foresee the arena. I thought would be another few years, but yeah, I saw this coming. I also am not surprised the arena district proposal in Norman was revived. But did I think about it in terms of two $1 billion projects occurring at the same time? Nope. And this will pose some challenges when it comes to available construction labor.

I think the odds are high that both proposals become a reality and are built within five years.

OnCue is proceeding with construction of station at NW Expressway and May Avenue

Q: There's been some activity at the future site of OnCue at May Ave and United Founders. Sidewalks have been installed along Founders on the property's north side. Is OnCue ready to build, or is the sidewalk part of the City's 'Better Streets Safer City' program and separate from the new store? 

A: OnCue is building sidewalks prior to building its new station at 5613 N May Ave. I've not been able to reach OnCue this morning, but the company did file building permits and got them approved last year.

Restaurants won't stay empty for long

Q: With several Midtown cafes closing, what is the plan there? Some staff think that McNellies is next and the building owners in the area look to scrape the building and add more upscale condos to the area. That would be a pity, that two-block area just north of the traffic circle has nice character. I'd hope that other local eateries would be in line to open there. 

A: I'm going to discount the McNellie's staff's worries about closing considering they also think the historic Plaza Court is going to be scraped to add more condos. That is NOT going to happen. Midtown Renaissance Group, Bob Howard, Mickey Clagg and Chris Fleming, appreciate the value the historic landmarks bring to the area. There is plenty of vacant land to building condos, including the former EMSA headquarters across from the Plaza Court building.

We will see new restaurants opening. And my semi-frequent visits to McNellie's (three to four times a month) do not lead me to believe the business is in any danger of closing.

Surface parking, not development, set for Urban Renewal property

Q: I noticed dirt work beginning on the SE corner of I-235 and NE 10 Street. Could this be the Chipotle or Panera Bread restaurant that the area badly needs? 

A: Nope. Such stores were actually engaged in looking at stores in that area a dozen years ago. Urban Renewal did a deal with Public Strategies to use the property at NE 10 for surface parking. This is not exactly in alignment with downtown framework plan and I can report I know of at least two parties that hoped to get a shot of developing the property just west of the Metropolitan Apartments. But to my knowledge, the Urban Renewal Authority did not do a competitive request for proposals for the land before doing the deal with Public Strategies, which is renovating old warehouses on NW 9 into the firm's new headquarters.

Bus rapid transit for Christmas

Q: There seems to be a flurry of BRT-related construction going on along the northwest route. It looks like most of it has to do with Signal Prioritization and dedicated lanes for the BRT buses. I think this is kind of "late in the game", and should've been completed weeks ago. As far as you know, is the bus rapid transit still on schedule to begin by the end of 2023? 

A: Everything is coming together. Service is set to start on Sunday, Dec. 3 with a ribbon cutting on Monday, Dec. 4.

With construction cranes hovering in the skyline, Midtown is doing just fine

Q: Can you list new projects in Midtown, including what might be replacing vacated Louie's, vacated Cafe Do Brazil, Browns Bakery, and any known retail or restaurants coming with new construction? In general is Midtown desirable for investment? 

A: Every district goes through these changes. People panicked when Chelino's, West (formerly Nona's), Spaghetti Warehouse and TapWerks closed in Bricktown all within a relatively short period of time. But Bricktown is doing fine and is about to see another wave of new development.

Midtown is seeing closings not due to the district's health but rather retirements (Cafe do Brazil and Brown's Bakery) and the typical life span of restaurants (1492 and Louie's). Potential new restaurant tenants are looking at most of the properties and I hear deals should be announced soon. If I had money and there was a good buy in Midtown, yeah, I'd do it. But when it comes to buying property, I'd argue it's always smart to buy where others aren't buying but where the area has future potential.

Casinos are not part of the plan at OKANA

Q: The OKANA Resort along the River is coming along fast. The mayor has indicated that there will be no casino associated with OKANA because a casino cannot legally be located inside city limits. With the power that Tribes have within the State and potential profits associated with a casino there, are you not surprised that they have not challenged this city ordinance? 

A: The casino question was dealt with at the very beginning of negotiations that led to the deal between Oklahoma City and Chickasaws to finish the First Americans Museum and for the tribe to take over development of the surrounding land.

Both sides were clear: the land is not sovereign tribal land and is not a legal spot for a casino. The Chickasaws promised they would not try to build a casino on the site. And if you think about it, a casino next to the museum could be seen as disrespectful of the other 38 tribes represented at the museum.

The Chickasaws are way too professional and sophisticated to break their promise. I truly don't think we will see a casino built at OKANA or anywhere near it.

Political influence and highway projects

Q: I liked your article about I-35 and the expansion happening from OKC to Texas. It looks likes there is a huge need to expand from OKC to at least south of Norman and from Ardmore down to the Red River, but I would have guessed the 75 or so miles between the two wouldn't be as important. Do you think we will see a preference of the most needed areas of expansion first, cheapest to most expensive or some other way? Or does it have anything to do with the state reps of the area and what they push for? 

A: Maybe I’m being naïve, but I’m not seeing overt legislative influence over where major highway improvements are scheduled. That’s not to say there isn’t any lobbying, but I’m not aware of projects put on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s eight-year list that looks like a boondoggle or an outright gift to developers. I’m not so sure of this when it comes to turnpikes and obviously this is a concern voiced by Norman-area residents opposing ACESSS Oklahoma.

On the middle stretch of I-35 between Oklahoma City and the Texas border, I’ll be watching this study closely. Is the traffic level on some of the more rural stretches really in need of being widened to six lanes? Are there other ways to address future growth without adding lanes? What cities and towns along the corridor are showing the most population growth?

Growing trails system will require changes the more they get used

Q: Really enjoying the new Greenway Trail from the boathouses to the Katy Trail, however the crosswalk light at MLK/Eastern doesn't work, creating a dangerous crossing. How would one go about getting someone to look into that?

A: As the trails continue to expand throughout the city, I suspect we will see more of this from time to time and it’s important that folks like you stay vigilant in spotting problems and reporting them to the city. Fortunately, there is the city’s Action Center, where problems like this can be reported to (405) 297-2535. Learn more about the Action Center at https://www.okc.gov/residents/action-center.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: A casino at OKANA, arenas in OKC, Norman discussed in live chat