OKC approves MAPS3 tax -- streetcar, conv ctr, dt park, more

Golden Eagle · Post by **Golden Eagle** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 1:59 am

MAPS 3 -- $777 million 7-year tax, approved by 54/46 vote margin.

--$130 million for a new 70-acre "Central Park" between I-40 and the Oklahoma River

--$120 million for a new 6-mile downtown streetcar system plus a transit hub

--$60 million for stadium seating, lighting, video screens, and a white water course on the Oklahoma River

--$280 million for a NEW dt convention center to supplement the 1.1 million sf Cox Center

--$60 million for a 400,000 sf expo hall at Fair Park

+ $50 million for senior aquatic centers, $40 million for 57 miles of bike and hiking trails, $10 million for sidewalks at schools and libraries, and a $17 million contingency fund in case anything runs over.

Not bad at all for OKC, especially when you combine it with the other projects, like "Project 180" ($120 million downtown-wide streetscaping project that will redo every downtown street), the $50 million renovations of the Myriad Gardens (downtown's current park), the $800 million new Crosstown Expressway relocation, several new multi-million boathouses on the Oklahoma River, the $750 million Devon Tower going up right now, and all of the other private infill here and there..

Stargazer · Post by **Stargazer** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:58 am

Exciting times (how many days of clear skies do you guys have a year?).

We are going to have a tax like that as well (actually nearly twice that amount)... it just happens we're going to spend it all on one big project.

Linkin5 · Post by **Linkin5** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:13 am

OKC is getting it done. Â Very jealous.

GetUrban · Post by **GetUrban** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:42 am

Exciting stuff!

Also interesting that they're installing 6 miles of Street Car/Light Rail, especially since OKC is even much more spread-out than Omaha.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 5:56 pm

see, why's it so hard for us to get something like that done here? Â I'd love that, except for the big central park thing. Â Not that it's ugly or anything.

Golden Eagle · Post by **Golden Eagle** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 9:47 pm

The C2S central park is actually my favorite concept. It's going to be the OKC equivalent of the Discovery Green in Houston or Millennium Park in Chicago (it is twice as expensive as the Discovery Green, not quite as expensive as Millennium Park). For years we've always had the Myriad Gardens, which was a nice park, but it always needed to be renovated and some parts of it showed deterioration. It's finally getting renovated but that $50 million project won't be finished until 2012 and the Myriad Gardens will still be very small and feel cramped.

This will be more of a large-scale park where you won't feel cramped. And unlike the Myriad, which is pretty to look at but you couldn't really "touch", this will be a much more interactive park where people can touch anything that's in it, you can lay down anywhere, meet anywhere, etc. This will be the kind of park with sidewalk vendors and downtown residents walking dogs, couples out on a date, and stuff like that. So whereas the Myriad is a nice place to hit up on you're way back from a Thunder game or a night in Bricktown, this park will be a destination in itself. It will also give us a dedicated site for the Festival of the Arts, which has outgrown the Myriad Gardens. This is a whole week where 800,000 people come for one of the largest outdoor art shows in the nation, although most of them actually just come for the cultural food..

And frankly, it's hard to see OKC growing into the "next big city" without a great downtown park like the Boston Commons, Millennium Park, Central Park, etc etc.. this is about making downtown more about people, less about the corporations and cars and skyscrapers and other inhuman objects. It's about having a grand gathering place for the entire city.

Here's a video simulation of a walk through the world-class park..

StreetsOfOmaha · Post by **StreetsOfOmaha** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:32 pm

Whoa! Merry Christmas, Oklahoma City!!!!

almighty_tuna · Post by **almighty_tuna** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:58 pm

Stargazer wrote:Exciting times (how many days of clear skies do you guys have a year?).

We are going to have a tax like that as well (actually nearly twice that amount)... it just happens we're going to spend it all on one big project.

Psh, who wants massive center city improvements when you can buy a new sewer system for twice the price. Â I for one can't wait to use the new sewer tunnel for a lightning fast commute from the Riverfront down to Bellevue to visit Master Splinter.

Greg S · Post by **Greg S** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 7:15 pm

This looks really nice. Â My wife is from OKC and we were there last summer. Â One thing I was disappointed in was the amount of storefront/restaurants/bars that had closed in the Bricktown area. Â Both along the canal and the main drag. Â Some of the places that did not make it we had visited in the past and were surprised to see them closed.

Greg

warwickland · Post by **warwickland** » Fri Dec 25, 2009 11:54 am

Very, very nice, I wish we could get similiarly scaled package overlaid midtown St. Louis.

Golden Eagle · Post by **Golden Eagle** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 6:48 am

Greg S wrote:This looks really nice. My wife is from OKC and we were there last summer. One thing I was disappointed in was the amount of storefront/restaurants/bars that had closed in the Bricktown area. Both along the canal and the main drag. Some of the places that did not make it we had visited in the past and were surprised to see them closed.

Greg

Bricktown is one of those areas where bad restaurants come and go so fast they barely have time to change the "grand opening" signs to say "closing week." The Bricktown staples have always been there though, like the Bricktown Brewery, Nonna's, Coach's, Mickey Mantle's, Bourbon, and some chains like Spaghetti Warehouse, Zio's, and Abuelo's that have been there for 10+ years.. those aren't going anywhere. It's your restaurants that I barely remember.. like "Da Boat" or "Mafia Burgers" or "Daddy Hinkle's Steakhouse" or my personal favorite, "Al Eschbach's Sports Hall of Fame Cafe" (Al Eschbach is a local radio personality known for the worst nasely voice ever lol)..those restaurants close a week after they open lol.

I am kinda sad that Daquiri Zone closed. I liked that place a lot..and they had some pretty decent longevity. Another place I mourned closing was the Common Grounds coffeehouse, which at one point was Bricktown's only independent coffee house. That place was great. Evil landlord wanted to raise their rent 50% so they didn't renew..it took him two years to find someone for that space. Moron.. Bricktown property owners are the scourge of OKC. That's where you see so much potential wasted by these idiots who prefer to just sit on property while its land values triple and then double and then triple again due to the hard work of a small handful of people who actually do care.. /endrant

It was really the perfect hole in the wall, tucked behind Spaghetti Warehouse and the Bricktown Brewery.
RIP Common Grounds..