Tax increment funds could turn Bricktown Canal extension plan into a reality

By Steve Lackmeyer

Published: September 2, 2008

Some news gets lost when it is paired up with something as big as a new 54-story skyscraper. And that's just what happened last week as I reported on how construction of the new $750 million Devon Energy headquarters might affect the downtown tax increment financing district.

The district, which uses increases in property taxes downtown to support infrastructure and new development, could end up seeing $7.5 million a year from the project. And how could that money be spent? Well, let's just look at the latest expenditure approvals, which include $1.05 million for a small extension of the Bricktown Canal south to Reno Avenue.

The project will create a major new entryway for the canal for people walking to and from Ford Center.

However, some readers have asked on my blog, www.okccentral.com, "why stop there?”

That's a good question. The city's master planning during the Metropolitan Area Projects program actually suggested extending the canal around what is now the Centennial Building in Lower Bricktown, under the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks, beyond the Ford Center, and west to the Myriad Gardens.

And when The Centennial was being planned, developer Randy Hogan was reminded of that potential growth and encouraged to leave a pathway — something he did.

And to do this, the city would be fulfilling the vision of someone who was one of the earliest proponents of a downtown canal — Dean A. McGee. Back when the canal opened, Jack Money and I heard several differing versions on the inspiration for the canal. That inspired us to write our book "OKC Second Time Around” — and during that journey we learned that the canal was first proposed in the early 1980s as a way to attract federal funding for the Myriad Gardens.

Intrigued? Let's continue — McGee and then city engineer Merle Medley were looking for ways to keep the Myriad Gardens project on track.

And it was then that they looked at creating a canal, lined with shops that would connect the gardens with the Oklahoma River. More importantly, they believed the proposal could win the city some federal economic development grants.

Could the city find any better way of better connecting Bricktown with the Arts District while also spurring on interest in the Myriad Gardens?

With construction of a new downtown boulevard and additions planned for Ford Center, will there be any better time to go ahead and get this job done?

Thanks to the pending windfall from the Devon Tower, the money will be available. And the city is about to extend the canal anyway. The plan has been in place for a decade.

The only real question in my mind is whether such an extension will actually enter into the conversation as downtown Oklahoma City strives to reinvent itself as a tier two tourism and convention destination.

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