Workforce training, housing for chronically homeless proposed as part of Bricktown project

Plans revealed Thursday for a $736 million multi-tower development in Lower Bricktown show the project will include a workforce development center and 126 subsidized apartments operated by a nonprofit seeking to assist chronically homeless and jobless residents.

Scot Matteson, CEO of Matteson Capital, is working with Lower Bricktown developer Randy Hogan to build The Boardwalk at Bricktown, which will consist of 924 apartments, 80,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment, and two parking garages at the northwest corner of Reno and Oklahoma avenues.

Matteson is asking for a record $200 million in tax increment financing for the project, which will include two twin 28-story apartment towers and a third tower to be built when the first two are leased.

A tax increment review committee consisting of representatives of the county, city, the city-county health department, the Metropolitan Library System, Metro Tech, Oklahoma City and Crooked Oak school districts unanimously voted to recommend approval to the Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust and Oklahoma City Council.

'This is something that will change the nature and character of our city'

Kenton Tsoodle, president of The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, told the committee the tax increment financing, if approved, is structured to ensure no property tax increment is paid to the developer until after the project is completed and property taxes are paid in advance.

“This is something that will change the nature and character of our city,” Tsoodle said. “It will change the skyline of our city. … And without this package, it won’t happen. There is no financial risk to the city. Nothing gets paid out if nothing gets built.”

The proposed assistance would be paid based on the garage, apartment towers, restaurants, retail and entertainment totaling $550 million.

The total development cost will be $736 million with the addition of a 348-room Hyatt Dream Hotel, which is not included as part of the tax increment financing request due to a moratorium of city incentives for hotels within a radius of the nearby Omni Hotel.

“I had some preliminary discussions with them (Omni) several months ago to let them know this is what we’re doing,” Tsoodle said. “Originally, they did not express any opposition and we made it clear we won’t be subsidizing this hotel, and they were fine with that.”

Joanna McSpadden, the city’s economic development programs manager, said the proposed tax increment financing arrangement would work like a rebate where the developer would get back 90% of annual property taxes after they are paid to the county. The developer also is asking for $5.5 million in construction-related use tax increment that would require submission of invoices to be reviewed by the city.

Matteson’s development experience dates back 40 years with projects that included The Residences at Little Nell and other residential projects in Aspen, Colorado; the Icon Hotel in Houston;, the Saphire Tower developments in San Diego and Miami, Florida; and a 5,000-acre master plan in Tuscany, Italy, that included a hotel, villas, a winery and culinary school.

Former Oklahoma resident Kent Lucas, a mutual friend of Matteson and Hogan, was credited by Matteson with introducing the pair and suggesting they work together to develop what is currently a 500-space surface parking lot.

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Matteson said Lower Bricktown, the nearby Paycom Center and Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark reminded him of L.A. Live, a Los Angeles entertainment district cited by Hogan as an inspiration for his development when it started 20 years ago.

“I felt this had a lot of similarities, and this is an underserved market,” Matteson said.

Financing package to include subsidized apartments

Matteson hopes to start construction early next year, beginning with underground parking and a retail podium building that will then be topped with two towers that, with the podium, will total 28 stories.

Construction of the hotel, which would connect via a skybridge to the apartment towers, would start soon after the towers. A third tower would be built based on leasing success of the first two towers, with the developer saying in a “worst case scenario” the project would be completed within six years.

In addition to the tax increment financing, Matteson is working to obtain Opportunity Zone assistance, tax-free bonds related to the nonprofit subsidized apartments, and matching sales tax reimbursements from the state’s leverage act.

Joanne Carras, CFO of Aspiring Anew Generation and also a financial adviser to Matteson Capital, said the subsidized apartments and workforce development center will include case workers and addiction counselors, job training and personal finance education.

Rent for the subsidized apartments will range from nothing for clients starting out to $1,834 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. In comparison, the remainder of the 900 apartments will have an estimated average monthly market rent of $2,783 based on amounts being charged at First National Center and properties in cities like Houston.

“The goal is to get them to the $1,800, which is a workforce housing HUD number so they can live a sustainable life,” Carras said. “It’s a two-year on-site in-home program. They can avail themselves of as many resources as is offered at the Workforce Development Center. We're going to team up with as many people as possible within the development to help on job skills.”

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Carras said the program is funded through a SoonerCare program aimed at assisting vulnerable people. Carras said her nonprofit is licensed in other states and will get licensed in Oklahoma. She said participants hitting the end of the two-year program will then be transitioned into a third-year of case management where they move into longer-term housing.

“If they follow the program, they should be self-sustaining individuals in two years, and then we follow them a year longer off-site,” Carras said. “We don’t just say, ‘See you later, you’ve graduated.’ And they can still avail themselves of workforce center services.”

Carras said The Boardwalk is expected to create 900 jobs, some of which may end up being options for those living in the subsidized apartments.

Dan Straughan, executive director of the Homeless Alliance, said he was unfamiliar with Aspiring Anew Generation, but added he hopes to learn more as the project proceeds.

“It's new to me,” Straughan said. “Just based on our experience working with chronically homeless individuals, I would have some questions. A significant fraction of that population can become absolutely self-sustaining through employment and rental assistance. But there is also a fraction of that population that will never be self-sustaining and will need services, case management and addiction support, none of which are inexpensive.”

The Boardwalk to be designed for density

The project will add hundreds of apartments, multiple restaurants, retailers, entertainment venues and a hotel to what is a four-acre parking lot. The project site is located to the west of Lower Bricktown, east of the arena, south of the Bricktown Canal, and within walking distance of the Omni and a planned eight-story Boulevard Place apartment tower.

The property also is located along the Oklahoma City Streetcar line and within walking distance of Santa Fe Station, which could be a regional transit hub if a proposed commuter rail system is approved by voters.

New renderings and plans released Thursday show the development will include two garages; one consisting of underground parking topped by the two towers, and a second garage to be built with the hotel that also will provide parking for nearby Harkins Theatres visitors and others dining and shopping in Lower Bricktown.

The hotel and a three-level restaurant will look out onto a small lake surrounded by a boardwalk in the heart of the development. Matteson said letters of interest have been signed for 100% of the restaurant, retail and entertainment space.

“These will be new to market, national tenants,” Matteson said. “They are names people will recognize.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Multi-tower Bricktown development in OKC to include help for homeless