Olympics crowds in OKC? SEC fans coming to downtown? 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. Live chat, however, is not scheduled for Friday, Sept. 29.

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.

Plans continue to evolve along the Oklahoma River

Q: With the potential for the slalom at the whitewater rapids in OKC for the 2028 Olympics, what is to come of the plot of land northwest of Bar K? I felt like years ago there was a plan to build a hotel and parking garage on that spot, but nothing has happened since. I am sure OKANA has something to do with it. 

A: Building, opening and maintaining a water rapids and these other events is not cheap or easy. The economic hits to cities building all this infrastructure has been devastating to host cities. It makes sense to spread the fun out at existing venues.

There is still a chance for a hotel or housing on the north shore of the river. I look to OKANA as just the start of the river becoming more of a hospitality corridor. The plan to get a Great Wolf Lodge style hotel and indoor waterpark at RiverSport is obviously out of the question with that concept now a part of OKANA. I have been told the grove of trees northwest of Bar K is more likely to be retained as part of any future development compared to the clear-cutting we saw during the earlier years of development on the north shore.

Duplicating Classen Commons desired but not easy to pull off

Q: Classen Commons Apartments are designed for Seniors and the rent is on some kind of affordability scale. Is this development successful enough to stimulate similar projects? 

A: Absolutely. But keep in mind the project was doable because Neighborhood Services contributed their former headquarters to the overall development. The costs have to line up and that's a challenge right now. Our best and most immediate opportunity is redevelopment of the old Towers public housing on Robinson Avenue.

OKC can capitalize on Edmond's resistance to affordable housing, but does it want to?

Q: A few weeks ago, a study was published stating 75% of people working in Edmond, can't afford to live in Edmond. The new average home price is $429,000. Jack Money's article stated similar issues with the growing suburb but issues with housing. 

According to Zillow, the average home price is more than $335,000. You also have people in Edmond who don’t want to see a bunch of affordable housing built that would diminish Edmond. Do you think north OKC can do anything to capitalize on this dilemma? 

A: Yes, but keep in mind, housing is not really helpful to the city's coffers. The more we sprawl with neighborhoods, the more we pay for infrastructure and public safety. Oklahoma is the ONLY state where cities are not allowed to use property taxes for their general fund. So the residential property taxes benefit the county and schools, but not the city other than when it comes capital improvement bond issues. The question is not about the necessity for more affordable housing, but should it be a part of ongoing sprawl or built closer to the urban core where infrastructure and services are already in place.

Pedestrian bridge could benefit from partnership with Chickasaw Nation

Q: On the pedestrian bridge, you state "the addition of amenities could be added at a later date and funded through private sources." Since it is so close, could the city partner with the Chickasaws as it would benefit the OKANA development as a whole? 

A: We will see one of the most short-sighted self-inflicted wounds if we go cheap on such a visible project, especially when we are more likely than not to win the Olympic hosting gig. Go bigger than the best-case scenario and add covered crossing. Maybe doing so will require help from the Chickasaws. Or maybe a corporate sponsor like OG&E can get involved.

The city has used different approaches to allocating surplus MAPS funds

Q: Reading the article about pedestrian bridge and damn on the Oklahoma River being bare bones, you state in the article "The city also saw MAPS sales tax collection exceed projections, allowing some project budgets to be increased." How does the city go about decide which projects get more money than others? 

A: Different constituencies lobby behind the scenes. City staff sort through the demands and they try to strike a balance that is then submitted to the MAPS citizens review committee and city council. That said, on the last allocations of extra money with MAPS 4, the funding was distributed fairly among all the projects regardless of need.

Sooners switch to SEC likely to bring more visitors to downtown OKC

Q: With OU's move to the SEC, the City of Norman is realizing they can capitalize on the increased demand of hotels, retail, restaurants, etc. There is a potential plan in place to do a new arena and a master development in north Norman. Do you think in the short term, Oklahoma City, particularly downtown, will see an increase in activity due to people coming to visit before and after games prior to the Norman development being completed? 

Q: I am surrounded by folks from Downtown OKC Partnership along with Chad Huntington, owner of the Bricktown Water Taxis. Chad points out they see a lot of traffic from when "teams travel well." Alabama, Oregon and Washington bring a lot of fans to Oklahoma City. With the addition of the SEC as part of the Oklahoma world, we'll see a lot from the SEC because they travel, their fans travel. It's an opportunity and the city needs to rise from the occasion.

I doubt we will see actual development of Norman's proposed arena district any earlier than 2028. The politics, the design, financing and site preparation will probably take a couple of years, and that's if the Norman City Council agrees to using tax increment financing for the development. In the absence of the district, I suspect SEC fans will choose to spend much of their free time in Oklahoma City, likely in Bricktown.

Design, shade makes or breaks a restaurant patio

Q: Although it has gotten better, it seems the patio seating at restaurants is lacking. There are a lot of great restaurants that have great patios (Barrios, Halls, Collective, Guyutes, The Pump, Social Capital, etc), but there are a lot of restaurants that don't either. I understand weather is a bit of an issue, but there are places like Dallas, Austin and San Antonio that have hotter summers than we do and better patios for the most part. What do you attribute that to? Money? Lack of use? Or am I just plain wrong?  

A: I am sitting on a packed outdoor patio at Neighborhood Jam in Midtown. But I agree, our patio scene is hit or miss. I think part of the trick is critical mass. I see a lot more patio use in Midtown and Plaza District, and both have a large number of outdoor dining. So that's part of it.

Design, shade and visibility is another big factor. Bricktown has some great patios along the canal and they get used when the district is busy. Jimmy B's in the Benz building at NW 11 and Broadway is another great used space. And we can't forget the patio space at the Jones Assembly. Deep Deuce Grill is a constant draw.

It's about design, about shade and about vibe. I think we've made great progress. I think that will continue.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Olympics crowds in OKC, SEC fans coming to downtown discussed