OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
3. Contribute to the creation of new jobs in the downtown area The streetcar was approved in 2009 and the path finalized in 2011. A key measure of the success of the MAPS-funded streetcar is the response of economic activity and private investment along the streetcar line. This section evaluates a range of economic changes that are taking place in the area immediately adjacent to the streetcar line since the announcement of the final path. Employment Growth When narrowed down to the three-block impact zone around the streetcar, employment becomes highly concentrated. Using LEHD employment data for 2015, the most recent year of data available, approximately 41,600 jobs were based within the three-block impact zone around the streetcar path. This represents two-thirds of the 61,123 jobs in the full downtown study area. Employment in the impact zone began growing rapidly beginning in 2009 after reversing a long-term decline. • Downtown employers within three blocks of the line added approximately 8,000 net new jobs between 2009 and 2015, a 23 percent increase. • Approximately eight of nine total jobs created in the full study area between 2009 and 2015 are within three blocks of the streetcar line. • The 23 percent job gain near the streetcar line also outpaced the 17 percent gain across the full study area, as well as the gain for the county (12.4 percent), metro area (12.5 percent) and state (8.0 percent) during the same period. • Since the 2011 announcement of the streetcar path, 5,700 jobs (15.8 percent increase) have been added in the impact zone. This represents approximately 85 percent of the nearly 6,600 total jobs created since 2011 in the full study area. The base of new workers within the three-block zone who are potential daily streetcar riders is expected to increase steadily as the downtown workforce expands over time. Rising Property Values The three-block impact zone is experiencing rapid property valuation gains. • The cumulative assessed market value of all properties located within the three-block zone more than doubled in market value (115 percent gain) from 2011 to 2017. • In tax year 2017, property with a total assessed market value of $2.5 billion was located within three blocks of a streetcar stop. • The 115 percent gain in the three-block impact zone exceeds the 87 percent gain across all census tracts in the full study area from 2011 to 2017. • Market values in the three-block zone also increased at more than three times the rate of total citywide property values (34 percent gain) since 2011. Rising Square Foot Values On a square footage basis, property values in the three-block zone have increased sharply since tax year 2011. • Average property values in the three-block zone have increased from $54 in tax year 2011 to a reported $97 in tax year 2017, a more than 80 percent gain in the period.
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