In 2008, the City began its 40-acre downtown park planning effort primarily to generate feasible goals and cost estimates for the MAPS 3 sales tax election vote in December 2009.  Noted park planners Hargreaves & Associates of San Francisco assisted with preliminary planning of the park.  Hargreaves’ completion of Discovery Green in Houston closely resembled the steering community’s vision for the central park in terms of park’s context, public/private governance, sustainable operations and expected private developer response. 

Hargreaves generated a central park built around an intertwining series of cuestas (small plains-like rolling hills) and lakes.  Also key to the layout of the park is the Harvey spine which takes the form of a wide, arching path from north to south through the park’s center.   

The overall scheme is to connect the central park with a 30-acre promenade park to the south, which is also in the planning process as a part of Core to Shore.   The series of park connections will compliment the downtown park improvements underway at the Myriad Botanical Gardens, Bicentennial Park, Kerr Park and City Hall  through a massive downtown renovation initiative called Project 180. The promenade park , south of the new alignment will be build in a later phase.

OKC’s MAPS office oversees development of Central Park . 

For more information contact Eric Wenger, MAPS 3 Program Manager, 405-297-3486 or eric.wenger@okc.gov.