The Lucy is a five-story office building planned as part of phase I of the Strawberry Fields development just west of Scissortail Park. (Rendering by MA+ Architecture)
OKLAHOMA CITY – As construction costs and interest rates climb, developers of several commercial and residential projects are seeking funding assistance from the city.
Developers presented plans ranging from affordable housing to a downtown grocery store to the City Council last week, along with their funding requests.
“It’s hard not to marvel at the list of developments we were just presented,” Mayor David Holt said. “This is really remarkable and just a testament to how far this city has come.”
Public hearings and final consideration of the requests are scheduled for Sept. 27. The allocations have been approved by the Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust.
Strawberry Fields
The largest allocation recommended is up to $16 million in tax increment financing for underground infrastructure to support the Strawberry Fields project, a mixed-use urban neighborhood just west of Scissortail Park.
Water, sewer, storm sewer infrastructure and relocation of an ONG gas line are needed. The request is for Strawberry Fields to be reimbursed by the TIF allocation for the cost of building the infrastructure.
Cathy O’Connor with COalign Group said the master plan estimates $1.5 billion in investment in the area with an estimated total increment of about $262 million.
“We estimate that the investment total from just phase I is about $104 million and the annual increment for that would be $1.2 million, which would more than satisfy this initial $16 million allocation,” O’Connor said.
The area – generally bounded by Oklahoma City Boulevard to the north, Hudson Avenue to the east, SW 7th Street to the south and Shartel Avenue to the west – is to be developed in three phases. Strawberry Fields owns a substantial portion of the property but not all, so other property owners also will benefit from the improvements, O’Connor said.
Projects lined up for the first phase include The Lucy, a five-story office building at SW 3rd and Walker Avenue that will be about 55,000 square feet and cost $25 million.
The Marketplace at SW 3rd and Lee Avenue involves the renovation of existing buildings plus new construction at an estimated cost of $7 million. It will be mostly retail and restaurant space.
Ten condominium units are planned at SW 6th and Dewey Avenue at an estimated project cost of $11 million.
The Abbey, a $61 million multifamily residential development between SW 6th and SW 7th at Lee, will have 266 units. The goal is for 20% to be workforce housing for people earning 80% of area median income, O’Connor said.
Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon said she wants a way to guarantee “truly affordable housing … My worry is that we’re really not thinking of this area as true community development,” she said.
O’Connor said it will be easier for developers to build affordable units to the west and to the south of the area.
“It’s a problem everywhere, it isn’t just in Oklahoma City or even just in downtown,” she said. “It’s getting more and more difficult. Just as interest rates and construction prices go up it gets more difficult to do affordable housing projects.”
Fairground Flats
TWG Development is seeking a $2 million loan toward the construction of affordable housing just east of the OKC Fairgrounds for residents making up to 60% of the area median income.
Fairground Flats will be a 216-unit development with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and amenities including a pool, playground, fitness center and business center, said Marisa Conaster, a development director at TWG. The total capital investment is expected to be $47 million.
“There is about a $2 million gap that we really need to fill to make this project as successful as possible,” Conaster said.
The $2 million loan – from bond proceeds designated for the support of affordable housing projects – would be forgiven upon meeting certain obligations within the economic development agreement.
The Nova
The historic Chevrolet Motor Co. building at NW 6th Street and Broadway will become The Nova, a mixed-use development that includes a 19,000-square-foot grocery store and loft apartments.
“We’re proposing to bring a full-service grocery experience to Auto Alley. We’re partnering with Urban Agrarian to do that, and they’ll occupy about half of the square footage (on the first floor),” development partner Brandon Lodge said.
The other half will be leased to individual tenants like a bakery, coffees shop, counter-service restaurants and a full bar. All the services will be in one open design, Lodge said.
“Grocery stores operate on razor-thin margins. It’s very difficult, and so this project really is built around that idea and how do we make them a sustainable business and a viable full grocery for downtown Oklahoma City,” he said.
The second and third floors will have 20 residential loft units. A building to the north will be a parking garage that will service those units. A greenhouse on top of the garage will hydroponically grow leafy greens, tomatoes and cucumbers to be sold in the grocery store and at other sites, Lodge said.
The project will cost about $30 million. Developers are asking to be reimbursed up to $765,000 of the ad valorem tax increment they pay.
The Citizen
JRB Citizen LLC is seeking nearly $1.1 million in TIF financing toward the construction of a 12-story mixed-use tower to be built at the northeast corner of Robinson Avenue and NW 5th Street across from the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
The 160,000-square-foot high rise primarily will be office space, but it will have a mix of retail, restaurant and hospitality venues on the first three floors and lobby.
Project spokesman Sean Donahue said 75% of the building is preleased and the groundbreaking is set for November or December. The project currently is projected to cost $70 million.
“Everything has outrun our projections over the last few months,” Donahue said. “The final piece of the puzzle to help us get … through stabilization of the project and set it up for long-term success is what we’re talking about today, which is a partial property tax abatement over two years of about $1,080,000.”
