We’re catching a glimpse of downtown OKC, version 3.0
At Sweets & Eats, 110 N Robinson Ave., regulars were disappointed Monday to find the restaurant’s lasagna blue plate special ran out early, as did their supply of hamburgers. Food trucks, meanwhile, lined up along Sheridan Avenue to provide relief to downtown restaurants scrambling to meet the demand of thousands of new patrons.
The crowd caught Sweets & Eats by surprise, but they’ll be ready for the rest of the week with up to 25,000 people attending the National Baptist Convention USA at the Cox Convention Center.
On Monday, I saw members of the country’s largest black denomination throughout downtown, planning somber visits to the National Memorial, taking in the sights in Bricktown and at the Myriad Gardens, riding Water Taxis along the Bricktown Canal and buying clothing, gifts and souvenirs.
Starting Tuesday, test rides of the new Oklahoma City Streetcars will begin running through Bricktown. Just south of the Chesapeake Energy Arena, construction has started on the new convention center while the neighboring Scissortail Park is well underway.
On Wednesday, it is possible the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority will choose a developer to build affordable housing around a garage to be built adjoining the new convention center and 17-story Omni Hotel.
Expect new details soon on the seven-story headquarters to be developed along Automobile Alley for Global Payment Systems. The wait is almost over for learning the company that is set to move into the former SandRidge Parkside Building overlooking Kerr Park.
Demolition has started on the 1971 Broadway First National office annex, which is being replaced with ramps that will be attached to another building in the complex that will include parking and retail. Building permits were filed this week for converting the historic 1931 First National tower into housing and a hotel.
So, yeah, we’re in the middle some important changes downtown.
This is the week that we get a glimpse of downtown Oklahoma City, version 3.0. We’ve had a good run with version 2.0, which was triggered with the 1993 passage of the sales tax funding for the original Metropolitan Area Projects. Indeed, much of what we’ve seen to date fits into that vision of a new downtown launched at a time when the city council had declared it dead. But have no doubt, 2018 is the year when we’ve clearly passed into a new vision that moves the city into a new competitive tier when it comes to attracting conventions, visitors and even new corporate headquarters.
More entertainment venues and housing are popping up throughout the greater downtown area and gaps between the various districts are quickly disappearing. And yes, we’re getting noticed.
This isn’t booster talk. Just consider that the Baptist conference is the sort of event Oklahoma City couldn’t even attempt to attract 20 years ago. But yet here it is with delegates filling up most downtown hotel rooms and occupying more than 25 hotels throughout the city.
The Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the group is booking up 15,000 room nights through Friday and their economic impact will top $11 million.
Expect a healthy sales tax and hotel tax June report at City Hall. Restaurant servers, business owners and, yes, the food truck operators should all be smiling (and exhausted) by this weekend.
According to the convention and tourism folks, this is the kind of conference we can expect to fill up the Omni Hotel when it opens. They are people who spend money at our restaurants, shops and hotels and all they ask is for friendly hosts and quality big city accommodations.
And as noted by Mayor David Holt at the new convention center groundbreaking last week, Oklahoma City is getting the job done.