Big plans
Leaders hope downtown park will be the project of a lifetime
Redevelopment committee wants to make a final presentation of vision in September.
Leaders hope downtown park will be the project of a lifetime

By John Estus

Published: April 22, 2007

Dreams are nearing reality for Oklahoma City leaders plotting the expansion of downtown.

Plans for a downtown park stretching from the Oklahoma River to the edge of the existing downtown have undergone months of revision. The park, surrounded in working illustrations by homes and shopping, is the heart of what planners hope is a redevelopment project of a lifetime for Oklahoma City — one that will launch it to world-class status.

"It's more exciting than certainly anything I've been involved in with the city so far,” said Russell Claus, the city's Core to Shore project manager.

Much progress has been made since planning began seven months ago, but planners said concerns remain.

The city's homeless population, as well as an unexpected change in the project to relocate Interstate 40 are among issues that are affecting the process.

The Core to Shore committee envisioned a clear path from the core of downtown to the shore of the river. I-40, after it is demolished and rebuilt a mile south in 2012, was originally to be more than 20 feet below ground level so it wouldn't obstruct the view or be an unwanted barrier between north and south downtown.

State Transportation Department engineers recently learned the ground isn't strong enough to hold the new road if it is built more than 6 feet below ground level — news that was called Core to Shore's "lone disappointment” by one committee member.

Many of the city's homeless convene near the existing I-40, where shelters house thousands of people.

"If Core to Shore develops in the way anticipated, the homeless will be relocated out of that area one way or another,” Claus said.

Claus said Mayor Mick Cornett's task force on homelessness is better suited to find solutions for the homeless population than the Core to Shore committee, which originally carried that responsibility.

A requirement that the committee address homeless issues was removed from a contract between Oklahoma City and URS corporation, the consultant guiding Core to Shore planning. Oklahoma City Council members last week unanimously approved that contract revision and others that shift certain decision making authorities from the consultant to city officials.

"I'm not troubled by that removal,” said Dan Straughan, a committee member and executive director of the Homeless Alliance. "Homelessness in Oklahoma City is a community problem that requires a community solution.”

Straughan said the homeless situation can still be addressed as long as there is "crossover” between Cornett's task force and the committee.

The next steering committee meeting is June 27. Until then, Claus and others will hold workshops with URS corporation officials aimed at determining whether development concepts presented so far are possible.

"There is still quite a lot of fluidity to the plan. We want to nail it down so it can be presented to the community,” Claus said.

Core to Shore's goal is to present a final plan in September.

After that, Core to Shore moves into a second phase focusing on how to implement the plan and solidifying ideas presented in that plan.