The following projects represent some of the recent Brownfield redevelopment projects in Oklahoma City.

The Dowell Center

The City of Oklahoma City awarded a $1,000,000 Brownfields loan to assist with asbestos abatement in the Dowell Center, a 20-story mothballed office building in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City. At the time of the Dowell Center loan, it was the largest Brownfields loan ever completed in EPA Region 6. The Brownfields loan allowed the building’s owner to undertake the year-long asbestos removal project and advance renovation plans by as much as three years. Conventional financing was difficult to obtain given the building’s long history of vacancy. Total building renovation, including asbestos abatement is estimated at $9.5 million.

 

 

Skirvin Hotel

The City of Oklahoma City used a $717,911 Brownfields loan from the DEQ to remove asbestos from the mothballed hotel. This allowed the City to convey a clean and marketable building to the developer. The Brownfields loan was blended with other public funding sources to leverage more than $34,000,000 in private investment and create 180 jobs.

 

 

Dell Call Center

The City used a blend of funding sources to help incentivize the construction of a Dell, Inc. call center on a former landfill adjacent to the Oklahoma River. The City performed the cleanup in partnership with the DEQ’s Voluntary Cleanup Program and Brownfields Program. The partnership with DEQ helped protect the City’s environmental liability and ensure that the call center was constructed using methods that would protect building occupants from any potential environmental concerns. The cumulative economic impact of this Brownfield project is estimated at $764 million.

 

Lower Bricktown

Lower Bricktown has a long history of industrial activities. Many industrial sites were acquired and remediated through the City’s initial MAPs program; however, lingering subsurface contamination issues remain in some areas. As such, the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority (OCURA) entered the area in the DEQ’s Brownfields Cleanup program. Through this partnership with DEQ, the OCURA was able to break the chain of environmental liability and ensure that any development activity remains protective of human health and the environment. Major developments in this large Brownfield area include the Sonic Headquarters, the Centennial, Harkins Theater, and Bass Pro Shops. Total development costs for these sites exceed $60 million.

 

 

Downtown Airpark

The site of the former Downtown Airpark is slated to become an important mixed use development along the Oklahoma River and the newly aligned Interstate 40. Historical industrial activities related to aircraft maintenance and operations resulted in groundwater contamination. The City’s Brownfields Redevelopment Program assisted the new owners of the site with environmental due diligence and regulatory coordination during the acquisition phase. The City has also approved a $587,800 Brownfields loan for groundwater remediation. If finalized, the Brownfields loan will help the developer remediate the contamination to a level that will provide more flexibility with end use, and prevent contamination from migrating off site. The project will also work with the DEQ Brownfields cleanup program to achieve liability protection following remedial activities.

 

Bricktown Police Substation and Bricktown Parking

The City of Oklahoma City used an EPA Brownfields grant to conduct Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments at a former rail yard on the north edge of Bricktown. Based on these studies, no remediation was required. The new Bricktown Police Briefing Station and public parking were constructed on this Brownfield. The $2.1 million Briefing Station incorporated structures from the former Rock Island freight station.

 

Downtown Transit Center

The City of Oklahoma City used an EPA Brownfields grant to conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment on a group of downtown parcels that would become the new Downtown Transit Center.