Oklahoma River : Strategic Development Plan
Overview
During the next 20-30 years, the Oklahoma River Corridor will be at the center of urban renaissance that will breathe new life and vitality into the heart of Oklahoma City.
I-40 Meridian Gateway
The I-40 Meridian Gateway today is distinguished by its low-density, suburban commercial character. The Meridian Avenue Corridor is home to over 5,000 hotel rooms and numerous restaurants and serves as a primary launch pad for visitors to Oklahoma City due to its proximity to Will Rogers International Airport.
It will be a new mixed-use neighborhood (commercial, office, and residential) that anchors the west end of the corridor and serves as a magnet for visitors and residents alike with its access to the river and varity of amenities. Key features include a riverfront town center that will provide a variety of retail services as well as a multi-modal transportation hub for water taxis, trolleys, and other modes to provide access to other activity and employment hubs throughout the city.
OKC Stockyards / Stockyards City
Once the nation's primary source for meat processing and packaging and the world's largest market of stocker and feeder cattle, Stockyards City and the Oklahoma National Stockyards Exchange have long been Oklahoma City landmarks. Today, Stockyards City is known for the western flavor of it's Main Street, which is home to a number of unique business geared towards meeting the everyday needs of Oklahoma's cattlemen and horsemen.
River Park will be redeveloped as a mixed-use interpretive center focused on the history and evolution of Oklahoma's roots in the cattle industry and on the businesses that have emerged from it over the years.
Farmers Market District
The Farmers Market District today is anchored by the historic Farmers Market Building.
The Farmers Market District will be an active center for neighborhood commercial services that retains the historic flavor of the market's earlier days. Residents from the river corridor, downtown, and beyond will travel to the market to browse thought its indoor and outdoor booths offering a variety of fresh produce, baked goods, and crafts. Additional day-o-day needs of resident will be met at a neighborhood grocery or natural foods store, dry cleaners, coffee shop, copy center, or pharmacy.
Riverside / Downtown Airpark
The Airpark is bordered by residential neighborhoods on two sides, and the river and Western Avenue on the other two sides, limiting future expansion opportunities. Due to these limitations, the Airpark is planning to relocate its operations during the next five years. The future relocation of the Airpark will provide one of the most significant redevelopment parcels on the riverfront due to its size and proximity to the river and Downtown.
The Downtown Airpark will be transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood, with a variety of housing options, neighborhood retail, and office uses.
Urban Waterfront
The Urban Waterfront will be a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood which offers the best of urban waterfront living to its residents. Key elements of the neighborhood include a variety of higher-intensity housing options (rowhouses, townhomes, mid-rise condominiums, apartment, attached single-family), spectacular views of the downtown skyline and the river, access to boating and other recreational pursuits, and accessibility to the downtown employment and Bricktown restaurants and entertainment.
I-35 / I-40 Gateway
The Eastern Gateway area will be anchored by the proposed Native American Cultural Center (NACC), which is intended to serve as a national venue for the study and understanding of Native American history and culture.
The NACC will contain exhibits on tribal history and Native American Art and will also feature a commercial component that will feature:
A Festival Marketplace
A lodge and conference center (over 75,000 sq ft of retail)
Restaurants
Teaching and learning facilities
An amphitheater
