Thought I'd add a thread about OKC's infill development boom outside downtown, recognizing that a lot of Midwestern cities have urban development in other neighborhoods, however neighborhoods have traditionally been a weakness of OKC. I think it just speaks volumes that OKC is seeing this explosion of upscale infill, even in a lot of areas that have been pretty rough until lately. This is just continuing a trend of sharp improvement being targeted in inner-north OKC, which is made up of a lot of really cool historic "streetcar suburbs" that scream redevelopment potential. As hard as it is to believe for someone who remembers what OKC was like in the 90s, this is becoming a city of very strong neighborhoods.
Here's an incomplete map to show where the developments are. Some of these are smaller restorations, some are mid-scale new construction, others are very large 8+ figure developments, such as anything on Chesapeake's campus.
Here is a link to a recent blog post which ran through each of these projects, almost all of which are currently underway. Unlike downtown projects which usually go through several media cycles and planning review boards before actually breaking ground, many of these projects break dirt under the radar and surprise people the next morning on their commutes.
Here are some select renderings. It's hard to tell with Chesapeake though, because the majority of their activities are shrouded in secrecy, which adds a lot of fun for the OKC message boards. Everyone in OKC is convinced that they are planning a total redevelopment that would stretch into the adjoining enclave suburb of Nichols Hills. They seem to be trying to create a Buckhead, County Club Plaza, or Galleria in the midst of North OKC.
Chesapeake mixed-use development (think Midtown Crossing)
Chesapeake headquarters development
Example of Chesapeake's new paper clip-inspired prototype, which contrasts drastically from their mostly Collegiate Georgian-styled campus (many think they're trying to emulate OSU)
The area around Chesapeake's mixed-use area has seen a lot of condo developments pop up such as:
Other select north side developments:
North OKC development boom
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