The Norman Planning Commission approved development plans Thursday evening of the proposed Rock Creek Entertainment District Project Plan to send the project to the Norman City Council.
The vote was approved by the planning commission 7-1.
Planning Commission member Michael Jablonski said he supports the project and the development but feels there’s still questions regarding the development.
“I heard too many times tonight ‘Oh, we need to think about it and study that more,’ but those people shouldn’t say that tonight. So if I had more information, I feel like I could support it,” Jablonski said.
Planning Commission member Doug McClure said he’s in support of the project because he believes it would bring more visitors to the city.
“I believe that with this type of setup, this type of a setup that is going to stop people from coming from the south and going well past us, is (now) going to stop here in Norman,” McClure said.
Sean Rieger, a representative for OU Foundation, which owns the land the proposed project would be on, and Danny Lovell, CEO of the project’s developer firm Rainier Companies, presented a finalized plan for the proposed entertainment district project in the University North Park area.
New renderings of the proposed entertainment district and arena were shown during the meeting.
Rendering of the arena at the proposed University North Park entertainment district.
The proposed Rock Creek Entertainment District Project Plan would divide the district into two TIFs. A TIF is used to support redevelopment, infrastructure and community-improvement projects within a certain area to stimulate private investment in the area in need of economic revitalization.
The proposed entertainment district would host concerts and events as well as OU basketball games and women’s gymnastic meets. It would also include a hotel, family and residential areas, retail spaces and offices.
During Tuesday’s city council meeting, the council approved a special election allowing residents to vote on the TIFs for the proposed entertainment district project. This vote would not be legally binding on council, but Ward 7 councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman said during the meeting it would impact the way he chooses to vote on the project, if it comes to council.
A Wednesday statement to OU Daily from OU President Joseph Harroz Jr., regarding the council’s Tuesday decision read:
“We are extremely disappointed in the City Council’s decision to further delay progress toward the proposed Entertainment District. The long-term vitality of our community rests in the City Council’s decision to do the right thing. This project, including the proposed new arena, represents a tremendous opportunity for the mutual benefit of both the city of Norman and the University, promising enhanced quality of life for all residents. Despite last night’s stall tactics and watching members of the City Council vacillate on the approval process going forward, the project’s benefits remain unwavering: new jobs, enhanced housing options, and economic growth. This delay will not change that, and we are confident City Council members will vote accordingly.
Regardless, the University of Oklahoma—and all the project’s supporters– are going to press forward because the broad support demonstrated by various sectors of our community underscores the shared vision we have for Norman’s future and the transformative impact this development will have for our community.”
The $1 billion entertainment district, announced in September 2023, would include an arena to succeed Lloyd Noble Center as the home of OU basketball and women’s gymnastics programs as well as a district for businesses and residences. A statutory review committee approved the Rock Creek Entertainment District Project Plan on May 23.
In May, Team Norman and representatives of University North Park LLC requested the postponement of the Norman Planning Commission discussion regarding the proposed University North Park entertainment district for a fifth time.
Rieger said postponements were not made because OU was “shying away” from giving more information, but done because it was needed for the project.
Lovell said the arena’s total cost would be $330 million, with $230 million proposed to come from public funding and $100 million from OU. The estimated amount the city would pay for the broader entertainment district is $600 million. However, Lovell said $540 million is probably what would be needed from the city. 80%, or $800 million, of the total $1 billion project is what Lovell’s investment company is helping fund.
Lovell said with the TIF districts, there won’t be new taxes, or any risk to the public or the city.
“There are obviously pros and cons on how finance (the project). There’s 109 active TIFs in the state of Oklahoma right now,” Lovell said.
As for the arena, OU will only use the arena 41 nights per year, according to Lovell. Community events are expected to use it for the majority of time.
Lovell said the proposed project plan would have 140,000 ft of retail, an 8,000 seat arena, 180,000 sqft of offices at minimum, 150 key hotel crew, 758 units of multi-family and 37 residential units.
“We will not be building speculative offices,” Lovell said. “We had a fair amount of meetings with local stakeholders and city council, bank commissioners, and one thing that’s been consistent is that we will not build a bunch of speculative office space.”
Rieger said the TIF district would cover a larger area than what the project area would be. The entertainment district is proposed to be located east of Interstate 35 between Tecumseh and Rock Creek roads in the UNP area.
According to the meeting’s agenda, the commission has been requested to rezone approximately 90 acres as a new Planned Unit Development or PUD.
The PUD regulations are designed to provide for small and large scale developments incorporating a single type of residential, commercial, industrial and related uses, which are planned and developed as a unit.
The new PUD would allow for single-family residential, townhomes, multi-family and commercial uses, including a multipurpose event venue and live outdoor entertainment.
According to the agenda, the proposed site plan shows six access points from Northwest 24th Avenue, three access points off Corporate Centre Drive and two off Rock Creek Road. Three more are proposed off Interstate Drive.
University North Park entertainment district Planned Unit Development. In yellow, Development Area 1; in blue, Development Area 2; and in red, Development Area 3.
The northwest corner of the development, shown as Development Area 1, is designated for single-family or townhome residential; the area shown as Development Area 2 is designated as multi-family residential and the area south of Radius Way and north of Rock Creek Road is the commercial area, which includes the proposed arena.
Development Area 1 would contain approximately 37 residential lots and the Development Area 2 would have a density of 758 multi-family dwelling units and 24 townhomes.
The agenda also states that a parking structure is proposed northwest of the arena in Development Area 3.
The construction of the entire project would take around eight years, Rieger said.
The construction would be divided in three phases. The first phase would be the construction of the arena, entertainment district and garage, and a part of the multi-family units; phase two would be hospitality, hotel and offices; and phase 3 would include the additional residential construction.
A breakdown of the costs was presented to the planning commission by Cathy O’Conner, president of the Coalign Group hired by the City of Norman to evaluate revenue estimates associated with the creation of a tax increment finance district for the project.
According to O’Conner, the estimated, broken down project costs are:
-
Multi family unit: $291 million
-
Single family units: $68 million
-
Offices spaces: $172 million
-
Retail: $137.7 million
-
Hotel: $50 million
-
Parking garage: $27.5 million
-
Weather museum: $81 million
-
Festival plaza: $3.8 million
-
Service parking: $17 million
-
Arena: $230 million
-
Total: $1.1 billion
Phases of construction for the proposed University North Park entertainment district project.
Joe Castiglione, vice president and director of OU Athletics, said this project is an opportunity to get more people in Norman as it brings more housing and jobs to the city, especially as OU moves to the Southeastern Conference in July.
“We need a new venue for our sports program,” Castiglione said. “But the idea of having something that could be put together but benefiting rather than building some venue somewhere else, that’s very important.”
Castiglione said OU thought of the idea of moving the arena to an off campus area depends on students, as the athletics department wants students to attend the games. While a closer area would be easier for students living in the dorms, he said that many students actually live off campus and would drive to the events.
The university has plans to continue high school activities and other activities at the Lloyd Noble Center, Castiglione said.
“The athletic department’s commitment is to excellence,” Castiglione said. “It excites us to put a shoulder into this factor, because everybody has this change to work enhance the quality of life for all the people who choose to live here permanently.”
Rendering of the arena at the proposed University North Park entertainment district.
In response to a question from the planning commission of project transparency, Kathryn Walker, city attorney, said that every document has become public on the city’s website since April 5.
K.J. Kindler, OU women’s gymnastics co-chair, Jennie Baranczyk, OU women’s basketball coach and Marcus Bowman, deputy OU Athletics director for business strategy and chief financial officer, all remarked on the benefit the new arena in the proposed district would have on OU Athletics as OU moves to the SEC.
“One of the things that was extremely important to me was also moving to a city where I could be somewhere where the flagship institution, university and the city work together and intertwine in their goals To be able to move the place forward. And what better example in this entertainment district, it really is a win win for everybody,” Bowman said.
Cynthia Rogers and Stephen Ellis, both OU economics professors, said at the planning commission and the Tuesday city council meeting that the district would take business away from other areas of Norman and also not pay for itself following its construction.
“We do have facts of what the projections are, the projections of what might possibly happen, what could possibly be built, what those market values might be. Those are not facts of what will actually happen,” Rogers said.
Rieger said there’s no date set for the city council to consider this plan but anticipates it would be sometime in July.
