Developers propose hotel in Oklahoma City's Bricktown area
By Pamela Grady - 6/18/2008

The Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority today approved a resolution for a proposed redevelopment agreement with Dihren and Amit Patel doing business as Shri Krishnapriya Hospitality LLC for a hotel development on the northeast corner of Reno Ave. and Lincoln Blvd.

The property site consists of a 104,000-square-foot parcel owned by Shri Krishnapriya Hospitality LLC along with co-developers James Durocher and David Box and a 16,000-square-foot parcel owned by Urban Renewal to be used for parking. The proposed development will include a six-story,100-125-room, extended-stay Candlewood Suites at the site across from Bass Pro.

Joe Van Bullard, executive director of Urban Renewal, said future plans could include a separate parcel near the proposed project owned by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

“We will go to ODOT and see if we can acquire the property and put it together with this property which will allow for better landscaping and parking arrangements on this site,” Van Bullard said.

Bullard said because the site is located north of Reno, the project will fall under the Bricktown Urban Design Committee’s supervision as well.

Architect Fred Quinn with Quinn & Associates Architecture has been retained for the project.

“He (Quinn) is very familiar with the Bricktown Urban Design guidelines and how they hold,” Van Bullard said.

“We are planning on meeting and exceeding all of those standards,” Durocher said, who has been planning the project for nearly two years.

Durocher added the hotel project would ideally anchor the Bass Pro area of Bricktown. He also said the hotel would be a gateway project as the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum becomes more of a reality.

“In talking with people, some people have questioned how many more hotels can go into the Bricktown area. Right now, everybody that I’ve talked to has said, ‘Bring on more’,” Van Bullard said.