By Katherine Field

(September 25, 2009) As both coasts continue to battle the effects of the recessionary climate, America’s heartland is heating up its development and leasing activities.

Oklahoma City's major downtown redevelopment project is starting to gather major momentum.

At the center of the action is Oklahoma City, although local officials are quick to say that Oklahoma’s capital city may well be the country’s best-kept secret in terms of its offerings.

“Oklahoma City is a bit of a sleeper,” said Robbie Kienzle, urban redevelopment division director, City of Oklahoma City. “We’re not on everyone’s radar.” At least not yet.

The city has unveiled big plans for a major downtown redevelopment project that is starting to gather major momentum. Called “Core to Shore,” the 750-acre urban area is currently comprised of underutilized and vacant land, but it will become part of downtown Oklahoma City as a master plan launches that pulls together major infrastructure improvements, creation of an urban neighborhood, and a comprehensive mixed-use project that combines residential with retail, entertainment, hospitality and civic uses.

The existing elevated Interstate 40 is being demolished and moved south, thereby expanding downtown from the business district to the shore of the Oklahoma River.

“When the new I-40 opens, it will be the major gateway to the downtown,” said Kienzle. Visitors and residents who traverse that gateway will find a pedestrian spine leading north from the river to downtown, with an elaborate park system along the way. The mixed-use project will be on the north side, a civic park on the south, the Ford Center arena where the Oklahoma City Thunder professional basketball team plays on the east side and, just south of that, a new hotel and convention center.

The new I-40 will open in 2012, and will immediately be followed by the construction launch of the Core-to-Shore park system, located just south of the planned retail.

The mixed-use project, featuring up to 550,000 sq. ft. of retail, will launch construction in that same timeframe, with a planned completion for 2014.

According to Alison Oshel, director of community redevelopment for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, retailers would be well-served to look closely at the opportunities presented by the Core-to-Shore project.

“We are really pushing urban development to enhance our downtown offerings,” said Oshel. “And with our tremendous disposable income -- No. 1 in the nation in terms of percentage of increase in per capital income -- and a cost of living that hovers below 90% of the nation, there is a lot of money to spend here,” she added.

Hobby Lobby is based in Oklahoma City, as are Sonic Corp. and Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores. On the horizon are the arrival of a major restaurant chain and a specialty grocer (“tops on my wish list,” said Oshel, “followed by a downtown bookstore and specialty retailers such as Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters.”).

Concepts that are not well-suited to urban development will have plenty of suburban site ops as well.

“We have a major department store waiting for one of our lifestyle projects to come out of the ground,” said Oshel.

“Now is a great time for developers to look at Oklahoma City,” added Kienzle. “We are rolling out major streetscapes, and we have the largest project in ODOT (Oklahoma Department of Transportation) history running through our downtown.” The city has allocated $35 million in general obligation bonds and $28 million for streetscapes. The area is also in a Tax Increment Financing district.

For more information on Oklahoma City’s Core-to-Shore project, visit http://www.okcchamber.com/coretoshore/index.html or http://www.okcchamber.com/media/PDFs/core2shore_redevelopment.pdf.