Plans proceed for Oak complex
Mixed-use development to start with apartments
Plans are moving forward for a first phase of construction at The Oak, an ambitious mixed-use development that is designed to include housing, offices, retail, restaurants, entertainment and a hotel across the street from Penn Square Mall.
The application to the Oklahoma City Planning Department indicates construction will start first with 322 apartments, a pool and courtyard and garage parking that will be fronted by 20,848 square feet of retail.
The 20-acre development is at the southwest corner of Northwest Expressway and Pennsylvania Avenue and its name is inspired by the 60-yearold oak trees that anchor the property. A master plan approved by the Oklahoma City Council in 2019 showed more than two miles of sidewalks weaving together retailers, restaurants, offices, residences, a hotel and a central
greenspace.
The Oak has been a long play for developer Ryan McNeill, principal of Veritas, who started assembling land on the corner a decade ago.
“There have been some natural delays as part of the pandemic,” McNeill said. “Our job is to make sure this project is successful and is done on a solid footing. Part of that is timing. We want to make this project has much impact as possible for our city.”
The designs submitted to the city are schematic and could change.
“While we’ve filed plans, there are still a lot of contingencies in pulling this off as we want to, including continuing conversations with the neighborhood, the city,
and our future retail tenants,” McNeill said. “We are doing everything we can to move forward. Our vision for this to be a mixed-use project remains intact.”