Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation walked away from the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Oklahoma Impact Awards ceremony a winner of the Outstanding Public Initiative Award for the Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center.
ULI’s Impact Awards ceremony was held on Feb. 9 at the Oklahoma City Convention Center.
The Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center, 909 Frederick Douglass Ave., opened in July 2023 and is the first City-owned multigenerational center to open in Oklahoma City in over 40 years. The center has 300 members and continues to grow.
“We are honored to receive this recognition,” OKC Parks Director Melinda McMillan-Miller said. “The Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center is a remarkable testament to building community and sense of place. As always, we appreciate the voters who supported the Better Streets, Safer City bond initiative and the residents who continue their support of the facility every day.”
Named for a former City Councilwoman and a fierce champion of parks and recreation, the 38,000-square-foot Willa D. Johnson Recreation Center features a fitness area, lounge, multipurpose room, multi-sport gym, and a state-of-the-art chef’s kitchen and an indoor swimming pool. The pool includes three lap lanes, a current channel, a zero-depth beach entry with a playground, and an indoor/outdoor water slide.
The new facility replaced the Douglass Recreation Center, which served Northeast OKC residents for over 75 years. The $17.5M project was funded by the City’s Better Streets, Safer City bond issue approved by voters in 2017.
The Project team includes The City of Oklahoma City, FSB Architects + Engineers, Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture, Water Technology Incorporation, HALFF Associates, W.L. McNatt & Company, and artists Ebony Iman Dallas, Quiquia Calhoun, and Jarica Walsh.
About the Impact Awards
ULI Oklahoma’s Impact Awards are based on the ULI Awards for Excellence, the most highly respected international program of land use awards. As with the ULI awards for excellence, ULI Oklahoma recognizes projects that exemplify best practices in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities through each project’s contributions to the built environment and the public realm.