New developments are on the horizon in downtown Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Exciting new developments are in the works for downtown Oklahoma City.
Three state of the art apartment complexes and a hotel could find their way in the heart of downtown.
From housing to entertainment, the Boardwalk at Bricktown would add a little bit of everything.
After approval from the Alliance of Economic Development today, the developers are one step closer to making their blueprint become a reality.
It is nearly a $1 billion project that will feature three apartment towers around 27 stories tall as well as new dining and entertainment experiences, but that isn't all.
"The hotel is a upscale lifestyle brand, full service 348 rooms, which we have figured out from our analysis," Joanne Carras, Financial Advisor for Matteson Capital said. "They're short on hotel rooms to get that convention center flowing more, so this will help since it's adjacent."
They also plan to add top notch amenities.
"Then we have the other amenities that people seem to enjoy with rooftop bars pools, and we will have a boardwalk given the name around the lagoon, which will have active fountain and lighting digital experience," Carras said.
The project is expected to add more than 1800 jobs.
"With this size of project, we're looking at at least 900 permanent jobs and then 900 temporary," Carras said. "The temporary are actually construction trades and design, which are great jobs, and we're talking about two, three, four years."
They will also have workforce housing available to help get people off the streets.
"We've got approximately 130 residential units that will be available to those that face economic hardship that need either a new job, maybe skill sets, but there is something that in their life that could have triggered a problem where they're not sustaining a job," Carras said.
The workforce center will also be open to anyone in the community that needs a helping hand.
City officials have approved tax incentives to get the ball rolling, but they say with time, Boardwalk at Bricktown will pay for itself.
"And really the incentives are coming out of taxes that are generated by the development," Kenton Tsoodle, President of the Alliance for Economic Development in OKC said. "So if the development doesn't happen, there are no taxes generated, so really, it's being funded by its own taxes."
"I just think this is something that will transform our skyline," Tsoodle said.
The boardwalk project is still in the early stage Over the next month they will present it to the city council for their approval. If approved, construction can begin as early as next summer.