progress in northeast oklahoma city

OKLAHOMA CITY – Environmental issues at 23rd Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue have slowed the King’s Crossing development. Originally expected to start construction in winter 2014, that plan was abandoned when developer Susan Binkowski of Esperanza Real Estate Investments learned more about the 22-acre site. The property was once home to a filling station and a dry cleaner, leaving contaminants in the ground. Ten acres of the site was once dumping grounds, said Oklahoma City Councilman John Pettis Jr. of Ward 7, where it is located.

“There were buildings that were originally downtown that were demolished and then buried on the site,” Pettis said.

He said the last environmental tests were recently completed, so the site plan will have to be redrawn to accommodate the concerns. He said a new look will be completed in the next 60 to 90 days and then presented to the Tax Increment Finance Committee.

“I don’t believe that the developer has ever lost faith in the development,” Pettis said.

King’s Crossing is expected to have an Uptown Market, a major national retailer, an education space and an 18,000-square-foot medical complex. Michael Owens, community development director for the city’s Alliance for Economic Development, said the group, which is spearheading the retail changes, is seeking input from the community through the Northeast Renaissance Stakeholders Committee...

Read the full story at The Journal Record.