overcoming obstacles

Extensive planning has taken place to finalize the downtown Oklahoma City Convention Center. Despite obstacles, the city has narrowed the potential sites down to two through planning and research.

To identify possible sites, the city hired a consultant to evaluate all suitable locations. Sites were considered for their ability to accommodate the convention center, a hotel and parking. So far, there are several development teams interested in building a hotel that would include a meeting space.

Complementing the convention center, the hotel will further help to bring events and conferences to Oklahoma City, and allow the city to host a large number of attendees. Construction for both the hotel and convention center would occur along the same timeline. In addition, about 2,000 parking spots will be needed in order to accommodate visitors.

After the consultant study was completed, the final two sites were chosen. The final selections are east and northwest of the planned MAPS 3 central park. The area west of the new downtown park was crossed off the list because it was too far away from major attractions and future plans for a mix of residential, retail and office development would not be compatible with the convention center.

Read the full article here in the August 12th edition of The Journal Record.