OKC MAPS PROJECTS – 25 YEARS
expanded cultural, entertainment and recreation options are all desired outcomes of the placemaking process underlying MAPS. The additional factors of improved downtown transportation, expanded educational offerings and more diverse demographics further enhance the attractiveness of the area to future residents. All these changes were anticipated outcomes of MAPS and are visible in ongoing trends. 5. Many anticipated demographic and economic changes are taking place downtown . Downtown residents are now increasingly younger, more educated, higher earning and more racially diverse than at the city, county and state levels. Job growth among downtown residents is also outpacing growth in the total number of jobs downtown (regardless of where workers live). 6. The MAPS process maintained momentum through a two-year energy-driven downturn at the state level . Concerns over sustainability and the potential to overbuild typically accompany all efforts to expand public infrastructure and revitalize a region. The continued momentum in the region during the recent two-year oil-and-gas recession in 2015 and 2016 suggests that the MAPS process continues to progress largely independently of activity in the broader regional economy. 7. Increased investment has produced a long-run uptrend in overall property values . Along with increased total investment, property values in the downtown study area have increased sharply since 2009 on a square foot basis. Rising values per square foot are significant across both the office and residential housing sectors. Similarly, a group of selected properties in the Bricktown district more than doubled in taxable value between 2009 and 2017. 8. Visitation to the downtown study area has broadened to include a diverse range of venues . Increased tourism to downtown from outside the region was a key goal of the MAPS projects. Relative to the pre-MAPS era, the tourism market has now broadened to include recreation, entertainment, cultural and arts attractions, dining, sporting events, outdoor events and more. The increased employment base and rising number of business establishments continues to attract increased business-related visits as well. 9. The core of a comprehensive downtown public transportation system is now in place . The vital role of public transportation in a city’s urban core underlies much of the MAPS process. The completion of the downtown street car coupled with the redevelopment of Santa Fe station have positioned the city to provide comprehensive intermodal transportation to residents downtown and throughout the region. 10. Oklahoma City as a convention and events destination is on the verge of rising to a higher tier nationally . The long-standing objective to enhance the city’s standing as a convention and events destination is near realization. The upcoming completion of the new convention center and Omni Hotel, along with the remarkable growth of the downtown hotel sector, will provide the infrastructure needed to compete for far larger conventions than possible in prior years. The remaking of downtown as an entertainment destination and the completion of the streetcar system further enhances the conference potential of downtown.
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