Making, remembering Oklahoma City predictions in 2009

It’s time to look back and ahead with the annual downtown predictions column.

We started last year with predictions that two more hotels would be announced for Bricktown, and that the district might see the closing of a major veteran restaurant.

I got half of that right. A Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Inn Suites were both announced in ensuing months and are now on the drawing boards.

But the restaurants I had in mind proved to be quite resilient and are both doing better than they were a year ago.

More hits, a few crystal ball misses

I predicted more retail related to downtown’s growing residential population and that the mix would include banks (Fidelity Bank opened a branch on Broadway) and cell phone stores (Cricket opened on Broadway).

I missed on predicting the mix might also include a daycare center and a big box retailer.

The Core to Shore plan is also quietly gaining traction as suggested, with Grant Humphreys moving his offices to S Walker and the city buying several key properties this past year.

Recession recovery coming in ’09?

So, what’s next? Looking ahead at 2009 is a difficult task simply because the national economy is so unstable and is clouding an otherwise healthy local economy. But some definite area cliff-hangers promise to make the year anything but boring.

Regardless of whether the economy shuts everything down in 2009, I feel safe with one prediction: downtown Oklahoma City will continue to be a source of surprise and hometown pride.