Working on a project and could use your ideas please.
If you could help shape the future of Edmond, what would you suggest?

Like what kinds of things are we talking about? Like another new shopping center? Putting turn lanes in all the roads? Getting rid of all the city officials that want to hogtie all development? Loosing all those stupid statues? Or are we talking about something bigger? Something more abstract or idealistic?

Sorry, should have been more clear. The things you listed are a good start. Both abstract and idealistic ideas are welcome, nothing's off the table. General locations would be helpful. Here are a few I heard today to get us started (and feel free to comment on them as well):
- More downtown parking
- Colorful spraygrounds at a couple of parks
- A "campus corner" in downtown
- More affordable housing near UCO
- Hotel and conference center near UCO

There needs to be more fun stuff to do in Edmond... That was part of the reason I left that area... just kind of boring. Dave and Busters, something like a campus corner... Maybe more like university park/lower Greenville in Dallas (kind of upscale). Things like that.

I grew up in Edmond but I admit I haven't been back there in a long time. My parents moved back into North OKC when my bro and I went away to college. But I always thought Downtown Edmond had really good "bones" that weren't fully exploited. The neighborhood between downtown and UCO can be reimagined with creative, 2 and 3 story infill with urban buildings with shops on the street level and apartments above that can be marketed to college students. "Campus Cornee" as it exists in Norman won't happen because you don't have the influx of game-day masses and besides UCO is a commuter school. But that doesn't mean there's not a market for coffee shops, funky stores and the like. I also think lots of west Edmond look kind of shabby with huge boring box stores and acre upon acre of parking. I doubt serious mass transit would work in Edmond but at least there can be higher standards for construction a la Spring Creek. Great landscaping in public areas, along streets, etc. would be a plus. And Broadway from 33rd up to Second needs a lot of aesthetic help.

Edmond is big enough to have a nice, Marriott-quality, maybe 5 story hotel in the downtown core. I could see this positioned somewhere between downtown and UCO. I'm not familiar enough with UCO to know whether this exists or is needed but I could certainly see a "town and gown" partnership for a performing arts space, maybe attached to said hotel.

The planned new YMCA in Mitch Park is a great start. I think that any kind of family type (not fast food, maybe a chili's type place or something like Rudy's in Norman) restaurant would do great in that area around the new grocery store or somewhere behind the other businesses on the coffee creek corner.

Movie Theater (24 screens)
Edmond Shopping Mall
Barnes & Noble

I'd like to get rid of all the trees/bushes that the city put in to the medians on 15th St. I can barely leave my neighborhood without at least the prospect of not seeing a car through the shubbery.

I grew up in Edmond but I admit I haven't been back there in a long time. My parents moved back into North OKC when my bro and I went away to college. But I always thought Downtown Edmond had really good "bones" that weren't fully exploited. The neighborhood between downtown and UCO can be reimagined with creative, 2 and 3 story infill with urban buildings with shops on the street level and apartments above that can be marketed to college students. "Campus Cornee" as it exists in Norman won't happen because you don't have the influx of game-day masses and besides UCO is a commuter school. But that doesn't mean there's not a market for coffee shops, funky stores and the like. I also think lots of west Edmond look kind of shabby with huge boring box stores and acre upon acre of parking. I doubt serious mass transit would work in Edmond but at least there can be higher standards for construction a la Spring Creek. Great landscaping in public areas, along streets, etc. would be a plus. And Broadway from 33rd up to Second needs a lot of aesthetic help.

Perfect response! Thanks, I don't have to think about/write a post because you hit it all and are exactly right. So...what stlokc said...

Nice job. Sharp people on this board. Appreciate your ideas and insights. Keep'em coming. Maybe I'll send these to the city when we're finished.

"Big Ideas":

Streetcar connecting downtown, UCO, OC, Hafer Park, 15th and Bryant, Boulevard and 9th, and maybe the High Schools
2+ 300+ foot towers downtown
2+ destination amenities: museum, indoor amusement park, "world's biggest video arcade", ect, located in or near downtown
A reeducation program to get Edmondites to stop being such stuck-up, pretentious, intentionally-driving-10-miles-per-hour-below-speed-limit-in-the-left-lane snobs

For this city to survive the citizens will need to stand up and elect people to the Council and as a Mayor who do not believe the ideas the council held in the 80's.

The first thing is development. They NEED to help with anything that gets Covell and I35 developed. Then could add a "district" with places such as Dave and Busters, a Warren style theater, etc. For too long the city has wanted nothing but housing development with the occasional 7-11/Liquor Store/Dry Cleaners on the corner. The population is increasing as a result but city services are not since we aren't bringing in and developing anything which results in sales tax. If we can't boost police, fire, and utility services to match the growth then it will be ugly when it becomes evident.

For new stuff... center around Covell and the freeway as the modern "downtown." Makes sense as it is pretty much the geographic center of the city and there is actually room to work with.

Covell and i-35 is "pretty much the geographic center of the city" ?

Wowsers, I guess it's been a lot longer since I was in Edmond than I realized.

Covell and i-35 is "pretty much the geographic center of the city" ?

Wowsers, I guess it's been a lot longer since I was in Edmond than I realized.
This is correct, but while it is geographic center it's still not the center of development. There isn't much other than some residential areas east of I-35.

It would be wonderful if they would start with the development at the Covell/I-35 area. It would help bring a lot of tax dollars into the city. It so funny, I have relatives that have driven through Edmond on the interstate many times, but until we moved here, they had no idea how big the town was. From the interstate it just looks like a little town. When my sister, who'd been through many times but never stopped, came to visit shortly after we moved here she said, "wow I see Edmond finally got a Walmart (the one on I35)". When I told her that in fact we had 2 Super Walmarts as well as a Super Target, and that we had 3 high schools here, I thought her jaw was gonna drop. She was shocked when I told her what the population was. She told me she thought it was just a little farming community and that if she'd realized how big it was she would have stopped here while passing through, rather than in Norman, which is her usual stop.

I actually have communicated by e-mail with one of our city council members making suggestions on how I would like to see the city's retail grow and change and had a nice exchange with her. They are open to suggestions (at least I felt that during my communications). She even mentioned that she was hoping to, in the next five-ten years, to work on renovating/redesigning the ugly retail core centered around 2nd and Bryant. I was impressed with what she had to say to me.

I think the downtown area has HUGE potential and Sunflower Market on its edges are a good start. With UCO so close and walkable, that area should be and CAN be more dynamic with more businesses that locals and students want to frequent...especially in the evenings. My wife and I would LOVE to spend more time down there and we just don't because there are no shops and restaurants (who need to have more patios/eating areas along the sidwalks) that we want to go to.

I know that we will see this area change over the years to come, it is just a bit behind the times, that's all. There is tons of potential.

[QUOTE=Celebrator;499132]I actually have communicated by e-mail with one of our city council members making suggestions on how I would like to see the city's retail grow and change and had a nice exchange with her. They are open to suggestions (at least I felt that during my communications). She even mentioned that she was hoping to, in the next five-ten years, to work on renovating/redesigning the ugly retail core centered around 2nd and Bryant. I was impressed with what she had to say to me.

I think the downtown area has HUGE potential and Sunflower Market on its edges are a good start. With UCO so close and walkable, that area should be and CAN be more dynamic with more businesses that locals and students want to frequent...especially in the evenings. My wife and I would LOVE to spend more time down there and we just don't because there are no shops and restaurants (who need to have more patios/eating areas along the sidwalks) that we want to go to.

I agree. Downtown has great possibilities but some things need to change. Outside dining options would be great, but the only place that has any outside seating is Othello's and that's only a couple of tables. And the bad part is, because of the parking situation, cars are parked right in front of the tables. Nothing very exciting about sitting eye level with a hot cars grill. Maybe if the streets were more pedestrian friendly. Wider sidewalks. More planters and trees. Less front door parking. There's plenty of space to park in the back of the businesses. They've made a good start on this. It just needs some tweaking.

Covell and i-35 is "pretty much the geographic center of the city" ?

Wowsers, I guess it's been a lot longer since I was in Edmond than I realized.
I was surprised by that when I was working on the Henderson Hills Baptist Church Master Plan for their new campus on 15th & I-35. Never really thought of it that way but in terms of city limits, that is the case. I know around that time there was a push to more development on that side of Edmond as opposed to the OKC portion that people think is Edmond of which many have an Edmond mailing address but reside in OKC.

I have always felt the downtown area of Edmond was a underutilized resource. I would like to see more quality infill development between downtown and the UCO campus mixed in with the older homes. Much of the retail in that area is poorly done and mixed use development could really transform that area. Something like the West Campus area of UT on a much, much smaller scale.

The list compiled here is phenomenal. It is great to read the frequent mentioning of restaurants, retail and hotels in the downtown area, including the area between downtown and UCO. I also like the fact that some of you recognized the same type of opportunities on Covell. Both of these seem to be the priorities up for consideration, as well as road widenings. I read today that the city council will have a strategic planning meeting on Saturday.

Soooo, if you were the city council and had $10 million to invest in economic development through a public-private partnership, where would you choose to invest?
A. Downtown Edmond and area connecting to UCO
B. Covell and I-35
C. Seed money to widen Covell from Bryant to Coltrane (1 mile). This option would be a public project only - city, state and federal dollars - no private dollars.

A.

The list compiled here is phenomenal. It is great to read the frequent mentioning of restaurants, retail and hotels in the downtown area, including the area between downtown and UCO. I also like the fact that some of you recognized the same type of opportunities on Covell. Both of these seem to be the priorities up for consideration, as well as road widenings. I read today that the city council will have a strategic planning meeting on Saturday.

Soooo, if you were the city council and had $10 million to invest in economic development through a public-private partnership, where would you choose to invest?
A. Downtown Edmond and area connecting to UCO
B. Covell and I-35
C. Seed money to widen Covell from Bryant to Coltrane (1 mile). This option would be a public project only - city, state and federal dollars - no private dollars.

I choose "A" because there is more in place right now from which to start...it has the best present potential.

The best way to generate interest in downtown Edmond is to support the existing businesses! Vin Dulce (wine bar), Flat Tire Burgers (UCO) and Italian Jims are several very good restaurants. If they are successful, more restaurants and retail will follow.

I definitely would say "A."

Edmond has so many clusters of suburban, retail and residential areas. I don't understand why it seems important to "get" Covell and I-35 jump-started. I guess I feel like that area and others will develop naturally as the population rises to create the demand. I certainly don't think virgin land on the outskirts of built-up areas are in need of public-private partnerships. Downtown Edmond is fairly unique in Central Oklahoma and an excellent chance to build on a sustainable, interesting area. As a general rule, I would rather see any city subsidies going to areas that are a little "harder" to develop privately.

Thank you for asking. I have two primary suggestions.

Focus on Downtown and make it unique amongst Oklahoma Cities:

1) Go visit downtown McKinney, north of Dallas. 7 years ago it was boarded up and dangerous. The city invested money in widening sidewalks (for sidewalk cafes/restaurants), renovated the courthouse that had been shut down for decades into a performing arts center and helped a few restaurants get on their feet. They also purposefully worked to end the leases of businesses that did not contribute to tourist/diner interest. 4 years later the place was bustling during the day and weekends. Today, it is busy every day and all night. There is live music in every corner and some really fantastic restaurants have opened. Every corner of the performing arts center is used as 1) a performance hall, 2) museums, 3) every nook and cranny is filled with ballet classes, guitar lessons, and art lessons. The place is brimming and alive and money is flowing out of people's pockets into businesses and back to the city.

2) Attract more upscale bars. Adults like to drink, have a good time, and spend money. I'm not talking Wolf Trap but more places like Vin Dulce. Alcholhol is expensive and generates alot of tax revenue per sq ft.

3) Attract more working art houses, like the glass blowing place at Italian Jims.

4) Attract a couple of upscale coffee & dessert places that feature one person playing music. People want a place they can hang out at the end of a fun evening and visit.

Upscale, upscale, upscale. I'm not talking about a level that prices everyone out of the market. But, everyone likes to go someplace that is contemporary and nice.

Basically, make downtown a place to spend an evening, not just blow by for dinner. People should go have dinner, see an event (performance or working art), hang out a bar, and then relax for coffee and dessert. Capture their money for the evening, not just dinner and then head back home.

Downtown has the bones and is currently UNDERDEVELOPED. The city can spend money to get a few things going and commercial will fill in behind.

What is the investment?
1) Invest in a Downtown PR/Events and Marketing group and money for concerts and live events. They should focus on concerts of people whose names you actually knew 20 years ago but are no longer big names and are affordable (appeal to 30's/40's/50's with money) : Restless Heart, Mark Chestnutt, 10,000 Maniacs, Right Said Fred. Disclaimer: these are not my favorites...just examples :).
2) Continue enhancing Farmer's Market to add more and more live event opportunities. Ice skating was great and drew us downtown a few times. Add a concert area and a place for weekend events. This place should be busy every decent weather weekend.
3) Build a performing arts center that is within walking distance of downtown....or make Mitchell Hall more accessible and inviting...and more open to different performance groups and concerts. It should be busy every weekend.
4) Widen downtown sidewalks and narrow Broadway downtown down to 2 lanes (from 4).
5) Figure out how to get get rid of long time downtown businesses that don't contribute to tourist/diner interest. Yes, this is not fair but is in the best interest of the city. Offer them no interest loans to relocate to nicer places. i.e. I would imagine the TV/Appliance place relies on its long time name and not on downtown walk-up business.
6) Offer no interest loans for existing art/museum oriented businesses to remodel/update and stay open later so that they become destinations.
7) Offer no interest loans/special tax breaks to lure specific art and music oriented businesses.

My next suggestion is please do something about traffic. Traffic is miserable here and worse than anything I experienced while living in Dallas for several years. Traffic engineering in Edmond has been a disaster and traffic lights grow like weeds. There is no flow and I detest driving in Edmond. At the very very minimum, invest in a system that times East/West lights and Broadway lights.

Don't get rid of the medians on 15th!!!! These should be all over Edmond. Traffic medians with turn lanes allow cars that are slowing to get out of the flow of traffic and gives them a place to go that is not directly facing an oncoming car in a middle turn lane.

Zoning laws should require less direct access to business parking lots from major streets and push traffic to minor streets by requiring businesses allow flow between parking lots (not shut off their parking lots from other businesses) and push traffic to fewer street entrances. All of these direct access entrances slows down flow on major streets.

I live in far East Edmond and my family and I prefer to travel to BRICKTOWN and WESTERN avenue to go to dinner. Travel time to Western and I-44 is about the same as driving to downtown Edmond. We never venture past Broadway to go to West Edmond. YES - we take our tax dollars OUTSIDE of Edmond because of miserable traffic and dining/evening interest.

If traffic flowed better (timed and fewer business entrance disruptions) and we could spend an evening downtown, we would much rather leave our money here.

1) Invest in a Downtown PR/Events and Marketing group and money for concerts and live events. They should focus on concerts of people whose names you actually knew 20 years ago but are no longer big names and are affordable (appeal to 30's/40's/50's with money) : Restless Heart, Mark Chestnutt, 10,000 Maniacs, Right Said Fred. Disclaimer: these are not my favorites...just examples :).
Restless Heart is my cousins band, they play festivals, fairs and at clubs/casinos all over the country. Three of the members are from Oklahoma as well, my cousin (bass) is from Altus, the guitarist is from Nicoma Park and the keyboard player grew up in Bartlesville. They have a show scheduled in March to play in Altus, they played there one time at the height of their popularity.

Restless Heart is my cousins band, they play festivals, fairs and at clubs/casinos all over the country. Three of the members are from Oklahoma as well, my cousin (bass) is from Altus, the guitarist is from Nicoma Park and the keyboard player grew up in Bartlesville. They have a show scheduled in March to play in Altus, they played there one time at the height of their popularity.

Let me continue my disclaimer....I actually love Restless Heart. I saw them in Waco when I was a student at Baylor many moons ago. Great to know that most of them are from Oklahoma!

Disclaimer continued...I had to look up 10,000 Maniacs and Right Said Fred as examples....

Let me continue my disclaimer....I actually love Restless Heart. I saw them in Waco when I was a student at Baylor many moons ago. Great to know that most of them are from Oklahoma!
They were also put together by two Okies, Tim DuBois and Scott Hendricks who went onto run record labels in Nashville. The guitarist from Nicoma Park went to OSU and played in a band with them in Stillwater. Most of the guys in RH were studio musicians in Nashville and both Tim and Scott used them a lot until putting them together in a band of their own. Another cousin (brother of the one in Restless Heart) used to sing demos with Tim DuBois's wife CeCe and hosted the show Opryland On Stage showcasing the entertainers at the Opryland amusement park when The Nashville Network first went on the air. He was in a band with other Opryland entertainers who eventually became the main part of Diamond Rio. He left that group because he didn't want to play in bars and is now a music minister and is married to a backup singer for Faith Hill. Paul's wife is from Lawton but they met in Nashville. There are a whole lot of Oklahoma connections in the music business there, many more behind the scenes than the ones who are known.

/threadjack off

I spent last weekend in grapevine, research what they did and do exactly that. That place is great for hanging out in the evening/weekends.

Grapewine is a great example. According to the Edmond paper, the city council mentioned several of the ideas listed on this site as priorities, all under the umbrella of economic development (except unfortunately they forgot to specifically mention Restless Heart. Love them.) Anyone on here familiar with the downtown master plan they just updated and are about to hire someone to implement?

Thank you for asking. I have two primary suggestions.

Focus on Downtown and make it unique amongst Oklahoma Cities:

1) Go visit downtown McKinney, north of Dallas. 7 years ago it was boarded up and dangerous. The city invested money in widening sidewalks (for sidewalk cafes/restaurants), renovated the courthouse that had been shut down for decades into a performing arts center and helped a few restaurants get on their feet. They also purposefully worked to end the leases of businesses that did not contribute to tourist/diner interest. 4 years later the place was bustling during the day and weekends. Today, it is busy every day and all night. There is live music in every corner and some really fantastic restaurants have opened. Every corner of the performing arts center is used as 1) a performance hall, 2) museums, 3) every nook and cranny is filled with ballet classes, guitar lessons, and art lessons. The place is brimming and alive and money is flowing out of people's pockets into businesses and back to the city.

2) Attract more upscale bars. Adults like to drink, have a good time, and spend money. I'm not talking Wolf Trap but more places like Vin Dulce. Alcholhol is expensive and generates alot of tax revenue per sq ft.

3) Attract more working art houses, like the glass blowing place at Italian Jims.

4) Attract a couple of upscale coffee & dessert places that feature one person playing music. People want a place they can hang out at the end of a fun evening and visit.

Upscale, upscale, upscale. I'm not talking about a level that prices everyone out of the market. But, everyone likes to go someplace that is contemporary and nice.

Basically, make downtown a place to spend an evening, not just blow by for dinner. People should go have dinner, see an event (performance or working art), hang out a bar, and then relax for coffee and dessert. Capture their money for the evening, not just dinner and then head back home.

Downtown has the bones and is currently UNDERDEVELOPED. The city can spend money to get a few things going and commercial will fill in behind.

What is the investment?
1) Invest in a Downtown PR/Events and Marketing group and money for concerts and live events. They should focus on concerts of people whose names you actually knew 20 years ago but are no longer big names and are affordable (appeal to 30's/40's/50's with money) : Restless Heart, Mark Chestnutt, 10,000 Maniacs, Right Said Fred. Disclaimer: these are not my favorites...just examples :).
2) Continue enhancing Farmer's Market to add more and more live event opportunities. Ice skating was great and drew us downtown a few times. Add a concert area and a place for weekend events. This place should be busy every decent weather weekend.
3) Build a performing arts center that is within walking distance of downtown....or make Mitchell Hall more accessible and inviting...and more open to different performance groups and concerts. It should be busy every weekend.
4) Widen downtown sidewalks and narrow Broadway downtown down to 2 lanes (from 4).
5) Figure out how to get get rid of long time downtown businesses that don't contribute to tourist/diner interest. Yes, this is not fair but is in the best interest of the city. Offer them no interest loans to relocate to nicer places. i.e. I would imagine the TV/Appliance place relies on its long time name and not on downtown walk-up business.
6) Offer no interest loans for existing art/museum oriented businesses to remodel/update and stay open later so that they become destinations.
7) Offer no interest loans/special tax breaks to lure specific art and music oriented businesses.

My next suggestion is please do something about traffic. Traffic is miserable here and worse than anything I experienced while living in Dallas for several years. Traffic engineering in Edmond has been a disaster and traffic lights grow like weeds. There is no flow and I detest driving in Edmond. At the very very minimum, invest in a system that times East/West lights and Broadway lights.

Don't get rid of the medians on 15th!!!! These should be all over Edmond. Traffic medians with turn lanes allow cars that are slowing to get out of the flow of traffic and gives them a place to go that is not directly facing an oncoming car in a middle turn lane.

Zoning laws should require less direct access to business parking lots from major streets and push traffic to minor streets by requiring businesses allow flow between parking lots (not shut off their parking lots from other businesses) and push traffic to fewer street entrances. All of these direct access entrances slows down flow on major streets.

I live in far East Edmond and my family and I prefer to travel to BRICKTOWN and WESTERN avenue to go to dinner. Travel time to Western and I-44 is about the same as driving to downtown Edmond. We never venture past Broadway to go to West Edmond. YES - we take our tax dollars OUTSIDE of Edmond because of miserable traffic and dining/evening interest.

If traffic flowed better (timed and fewer business entrance disruptions) and we could spend an evening downtown, we would much rather leave our money here.

This pretty much sums it all up. I live in west edmond and I couldn't agree more about the medians staying just as they are. They are so much more pleasant then near my home. I live near BWW and the medians there have been ignored and abandoned to the point they are practically eye sores. recently the city cut down some dead trees. I have to think that Walmart had some kind of responsibility for them but instead did nothing to enhance the look. It's not that hard. Look at cities like McKinney, etc and take the hi points and run with it!

I would also encourage Edmond planners to look at Webster Groves, Missouri and Kirkwood, Missouri. These are suburban cities with urban, thriving downtown cores. Not exact parallels to Edmond. But their mix of retail, restaurants, office and residential in a walk able, small-town-ish setting could be emulated. These are some of the highest quality neighborhoods in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Isn't the Public Safety Center supposed to help be a catalyst for future development between downtown and UCO? After several years of discussion, the tax stipulated that facility would be located on city owned property all near the admin and police building.

Isn't the Public Safety Center supposed to help be a catalyst for future development between downtown and UCO? After several years of discussion, the tax stipulated that facility would be located on city owned property all near the admin and police building.

Let's hope so. Would be nice to see the rest of the city offices; especially the court building and council chambers relocated to a new facility which was designed with some visual appeal and class.

Rumor has it Edmond tax payers will be dishing out millions in infrastructure to help a developer build hotels and a conference center at Covell and I-35. I can see some economic value, but not even close to the value of investing in downtown, near UCO or near Arcadia Lake. Sure, the public safety center is investment, but it won't directly generate sales tax.

At least the Mercy Health CEO is ready to invest in a trail connecting the populated part of Edmond to Arcadia Lake.

Whatever happened to the sites near downtown Edmond that were evaluated for the Edmond convention center?

Not sure Spartan. They must have paid for a study only to have it collect dust. Developers are making the decisions on this one. That's the only explanaiton I can think of that makes any sense.

Rumor has it Edmond tax payers will be dishing out millions in infrastructure to help a developer build hotels and a conference center at Covell and I-35. I can see some economic value, but not even close to the value of investing in downtown, near UCO or near Arcadia Lake. Sure, the public safety center is investment, but it won't directly generate sales tax.

At least the Mercy Health CEO is ready to invest in a trail connecting the populated part of Edmond to Arcadia Lake.

The 35/Covell development would bring in some much needed tax dollars. The city's presence along the 35 needs to increase. Have spoken with many people who saw the Walmart at 15th and thought "well Edmond finally got a Walmart." most underestimate the size of the city simply because of the rural nature of the 35 Corridor. The 35/Covell develop,emt would be a big boost.

This exactly. As I think I've mentioned on here before, I have relatives that have passed through Edmond regularly on their way from TX to KS. When we moved here they all thought we were moving to some little town. My sister was shocked when she learned the population of Edmond and that we had 3 high schools. She thought I had to drive into OKC to grocery shop etc.

More development along the interstate would definitely bring in more tax dollars. As far as restaurants etc, when we are traveling and looking for a place to eat, get gas, whatever, we never venture off the interstate. As for all those little signs out there telling you that there's a Starbucks McDonald's or whatever at the next exit, if we can't see the sign from the road, we don't get off. We're trying to get from point A to point B and we aren't in the mood to go exploring some town we aren't interested in. Honestly, even living in Edmond, there are times when we leave home on a trip somewhere and we need to grab something to eat but we won't eat in Edmond. Because we live near I-35 and there's no food between us and the interstate, we get on the road and then stop at something in Moore or Norman or the McDonalds on the turnpike. Kind of silly I realize, but we don't like the idea of having to drive a couple of miles the wrong way just to get to a burger when we can just zip off, grab something and zip back on. We aren't the only people out there like this.

Really Edmond does need more sales tax revenue and more upscale shopping and dining along the I-35 corridor would help. Even things like Best Buy or Sam's (maybe not them exactly, but as an example) would be great at this point. There's nothing like this in Edmond. We have to go into OKC for these types of stores. It's silly to be giving them all our sales tax dollars.

I agree, there is no doubt that sales tax is desperately needed. We're talking about 2 types of customers, travelers and actual visitors. Personally, I would rather see precious incentives for I-35 travelers spent near 2nd down to 33rd, rather than 2 miles north where the city would have to extend miles of utilities out to an area with rough, rocky terrain and thick forest. Clustered developments feed off each other and the 2 new medical centers are terrific anchors. The east side of Covell & I-35 will have Francis Tuttle and the city has some offices out there, so heavy commercial or retail is less-likely to cluster on all four corners

For actual visitors to Edmond, I'm a firm believer that conference centers, no matter the size, should be walkable to downtowns and in this case, near UCO, OSBI, the forensic science center, and loads of restaurants, etc. I hate going to conferences or kid's sporting events where we can't walk, bike or take transit and instead have to drive for every meal, shopping and sight-seeing. Edmond has good transit in the core and its free which is a great amenity for citizens and visitors alike. The impact of taking people's shopping and conference dollars to interstates is what is partially to blame for killing small downtowns.

Edmond has to cater to two levels during this time. Old Edmond and New Edmond. Yes the Covell project would be out there for the time being but it's also the center of town and won't be out there for much longer. I will concede though that more should be done "in town" but then you run into the lack of space. When it comes down to it, the City Council needs to realize the city isn't "small" anymore. Heck, there is more land east of the freeway than there is west. We need to strike what is going to best enable the city to fund resources to cater to the increasing population and territory. Yes utilities will need to be ran but emergency services are going to need to expand as well. For fire/EMS, calls are still "out there" and quite a drive from Stations 4 and 5. On the police side it's even worse as staffing levels leave zero officers east of the freeway. That's half if not more of the city unpatrolled with no physical presence/deterrence.

It will be interesting to see what the coming years bring, just hoping the Council embraces it in lieu of squashing the growth to maintain some of the status quo as it will do no good for the city's future.

Maybe one solution is for east Edmond to break away and no longer be part of Edmond. Become New Edmond, Eden, Hillmond, whatever they decide to call themselves. Sounds like a lot of city services are not really out there as yet, so it's not like they would be walking away with a lot of infrastructure.

Once separated, Original Edmond could start growing upwatf since space is limited and New Edmond, Eden, Hillmond, whatever could decide whether to be a sprawling rural workd or begin to become more urban itself.

Maybe one solution is for east Edmond to break away and no longer be part of Edmond. Become New Edmond, Eden, Hillmond, whatever they decide to call themselves. Sounds like a lot of city services are not really out there as yet, so it's not like they would be walking away with a lot of infrastructure.

Once separated, Original Edmond could start growing upwatf since space is limited and New Edmond, Eden, Hillmond, whatever could decide whether to be a sprawling rural workd or begin to become more urban itself.

Sure it is a joke but never happen. To much infrastructure already in place.

Really hate to read this from Newsok.com:

EDMOND— Capital Projects and Financing Task Force members this week recommended approval of a proposed budget that includes $11 million for the Covell Road and Interstate 35 project, despite questions about the city's involvement in a private-public partnership.

http://newsok.com/task-force-recommends-approval-of-edmond-capital-projects-budget/article/3667534?custom_click=pod_headline_edmond-news

OK, I've lived in Edmond nearly all my life and the long post above about Downtown hits it right on the head. We ate at Vin Dolce the other night and loved it. Great wine, great small plates and great music. But it wasn't crowded. The crowd was across the street at Italian Jims and the glass blowing. While I love Italian food, I like a glass of wine with my meal, and I couldn't get that at Jims. I kept thinking about how downtown Edmond could be a great little destination district for wine bars music, art and funky shops.

What I think needs to happen:

1.Eliminate angle parking and widen the sidewalks. This allows outdoor seating and much more of a sense of community. Even parallel parking is better than staring at the grille of a car while you eat.

2.Start to move out the non-conforming businesses. As some mentioned, this doesn't seem fair, but a tag agency and an appliance store just don't do anything to add to DT Edmond. I agree with the thought of tax incentives or direct assistance to help them move to a new location.

3.Develop more off-street parking that is close and safe. Nuf said.

4.Develop the arts programs nearer to downtown. Add a theater, a live venue and someplace for art shows.

5.Push push push to get more restaurants, bars and upscale clubs down there so people will come on a week night after work, come on a weekend night and stay and enjoy the area.

6.Maybe even consider closing the street from second to just north of Main on weekend nights to allow for more outdoor events and pedestrian traffic.

I know a lot of this has been mentioned before, but I think we are wasting a major opportunity to make DT Edmond one of the coolest little entertainment districts around.

Just my .02.

1.Eliminate angle parking and widen the sidewalks. This allows outdoor seating and much more of a sense of community. Even parallel parking is better than staring at the grille of a car while you eat.



This would be a huge positive for Downtown Edmond. It made an enormous difference in Downtown McKinney when we lived there. The whole area went from dead every night to hoppin'. More restaurants moved in and eventually there was live music coming out of every establishment. It has become a great scene and money flows like crazy. I keep mentioning the money part because that means tax dollars.

If I was designing it, I would keep the parking but cut four lanes down to 2, add speedbumps, and make the sidewalks much wider so that Othello's, Italian Jim's, Cafe Evoke, Vin Dolce, etc can all have large outdoor patios. People feel less threatened when there is traffic roaring by them. It makes for a much more lively scene downtown and attracts other restaurants. And more people brings theatres, art galleries, etc.

Broadway only extends one more mile north. Why do we need four lanes for that? This is a pretty cheap no brainer. Edmond can do this.

Not sure Spartan. They must have paid for a study only to have it collect dust. Developers are making the decisions on this one. That's the only explanaiton I can think of that makes any sense.

Then the question is how far must these "developers" have their head in the sand to not think downtown can make money? It's hard for me to even roll out the term "developer" with a straight face if all you've built are some tract houses and a low-impact 7/11 strip center. The opportunities that Edmond is piddling away make their current "cash cows" look like the small potatoes they really are.

Personally, you guys know I'm on this board almost exclusively to talk downtown OKC development and I regard anything north of 63rd as pretty much BFE or any other topics as extraneous. That said, Edmond has the bones to easily woo me over for an occasional visit, I have disposable income that I like to spend in classy environs which Edmond could potentially grow to be. I just don't understand how a city with all the advantages that Edmond has could be so incredibly myopic. They've got some work to do that probably won't ever get done before anything in Edmond can compete with downtown OKC for cultural and lifestyle amenities.

The 90s are over, there is a broad consensus that downtowns are simply superior to high-end suburbs for quality of life, and instead of attempting to create that kind of synergy Edmond's leadership is absolutely blind to urban development trends since the 90s.

Then the question is how far must these "developers" have their head in the sand to not think downtown can make money? It's hard for me to even roll out the term "developer" with a straight face if all you've built are some tract houses and a low-impact 7/11 strip center. The opportunities that Edmond is piddling away make their current "cash cows" look like the small potatoes they really are.

Personally, you guys know I'm on this board almost exclusively to talk downtown OKC development and I regard anything north of 63rd as pretty much BFE or any other topics as extraneous. That said, Edmond has the bones to easily woo me over for an occasional visit, I have disposable income that I like to spend in classy environs which Edmond could potentially grow to be. I just don't understand how a city with all the advantages that Edmond has could be so incredibly myopic. They've got some work to do that probably won't ever get done before anything in Edmond can compete with downtown OKC for cultural and lifestyle amenities.

The 90s are over, there is a broad consensus that downtowns are simply superior to high-end suburbs for quality of life, and instead of attempting to create that kind of synergy Edmond's leadership is absolutely blind to urban development trends since the 90s.

Sadly the answer to the questions you posed will always be "because it has always been this way."

Why does everyone want public involvement in downtown? If the market is there, the appliance store, etc. (lower tier retailers) will leave. I think Vin Dolce and Cafe Evoke, as well as Jim's (despite their no-wine policy) will help go a long way in revitalizing downtown Edmond. Most tenants along Broadway do not pay that much rent. If a restaurant/hip retailer, etc. really wanted to, I am sure they could find space. Give this area some time. I think Sunflower Market is going to help shape this area more than people realize.

As far as suburban downtowns go I'd say edmonds is in pretty good shape. Everything is looking nice and there appears to be little vacancy.

As soonerinfiniti said, it's hard to force things. You have to let the market work, the city can't really force a restaurant to open here or this store go there.

Why does everyone want public involvement in downtown? If the market is there, the appliance store, etc. (lower tier retailers) will leave. I think Vin Dolce and Cafe Evoke, as well as Jim's (despite their no-wine policy) will help go a long way in revitalizing downtown Edmond. Most tenants along Broadway do not pay that much rent. If a restaurant/hip retailer, etc. really wanted to, I am sure they could find space. Give this area some time. I think Sunflower Market is going to help shape this area more than people realize.

So what area should public involvement go to improving if not downtown? So far it's essentially going everywhere else.

We're not talking about the city opening up a new restaurant. I'm not some green 3rd grader, been around the block a few times with regards to how urban development works (Edmond clearly has very little experience here). We are talking about the convention center going to Covell and I-35 and not downtown Edmond.

The ideas listed above are thoughtful and terrific. The Edmond city council included money in the next budget to pay for updating the downtown plan. If you watch thier budget meeetings on TV or online, its clear thier economic development priorities are I-35 and also downtown. I still think the I-35 project should be near 2nd or 15th rather than Covell, or somewhere between downtown and UCO. But, the city has already paid for the property, so I'll stop ranting about it.

If I was a developer, I would be looking closely at three areas for mixed-use or multi-family residential, (1) along the west side of Broadway from Hurd to Ayers, and (2) along Campbell between Broadway and University, and (3) along Littler from 3rd to 5th. Sunflower Market is a game changer and the success of it, and the other great new restaurants downtown, is people. I also think the city needs to work on their crosswalks and stormwater problems, as they are significant and a barrier to walkability.

Maybe I should go check out this Sunflower Market .. I just hate the idea of driving all the way up there.

Here is one idea, Bury all the utilty lines underground! BTW They need to remodel that shopping center east of lowes I think it is called Bryant Sqaure

Buried utilities is preferred by most knowledgeable urban design critics, however I have witnessed the nightmares that can arise from underground utilities if you ever try and do street improvements like beautification, embedded rail streetcar, etc. OKC buried its utilities thinking it would never do any of those things, and now there is a multi-million per mile added cost to each of these projects (Project 180 and the streetcar) just because we wanted buried utilities to the max.

So while I am obviously an urbanist, I guess I stand out in cautioning against burying utilities in some situations. I wouldn't do it in Downtown Edmond or anywhere near Downtown Edmond, for example - bc I could reasonably foresee heightened public expectations for these areas several decades out, perhaps in ways we wouldn't expect today. Don't preclude anything in the future.

Yeah, your probaly right, but they are so ugly and on both sides of the streets in a some of cases. And I also don't think it would be a problem in like a case where they are widening Covell as they most likely will not be widening that road for a very long time.

Heard from a reliable source that mixed-use retail and apartments are going to be built on Campbell between Boulevard and University. This would be wonderful, as the city improved the streetscape there several years ago to make a better downtown and UCO connection. Glad to see developers seeing the potential. My only concern is the Methodist Church owns a huge lot across the street that they say is for parking. That would be terrible, I hope they sell it for a better use.

I realize this is an old thread but as I haven't posted here in a long while...

I hope I don't regret posting here again.

We've all heard the phrase "Don't Edmond my Norman." But from what some of you are saying in this thread, you are asking for them to Norman your Edmond. I don't understand this desire or perceived need for development out at I-35 and Covell or the I-35 corridor. And there is mention on here of the desire for big box stores on I-35? That is exactly what Edmond does not want or need. Leave that to OKC.

Edmond has plenty of development. It doesn't need to ease restrictions on building and development. Tight restrictions on such things is how you get the new development at Spring Creek on 15th and Bryant. It doesn't have a large setback and it the buildings are not set in a perfect grid perpendicular or parallel to the roads. The materials used there look nice and unique, the landscaping is nice and they didn't just clear cut all vegetation when developing that area. That's what sets a development like that apart from your run-of-the-mill strip shopping centers. Edmond needs great development not more development. The shopping area at 33rd and Broadway looks so much better than it did when Wal-Mart was there. I hate when big box stores build with a huge set back and then smaller stores are built in what is basically the big box store's parking lot. It looks tacky and lacks any design element and it is not pleasing to the eye. Last time I was in Dallas and its suburbs, I saw many shopping areas that looked nice with good landscaping and were clean and far better than many of the strip shopping centers you see in Oklahoma. I don't understand why we can't have these developments in Oklahoma.

As for downtown; I'm on board with switching angled parking to parallel. Then the rest of the parking should be in back. I don't think the downtown should become a glut of restaurants though. A few is nice but you need something to do after dinner. There needs to be some diversity of downtown business for after 5pm. Also, making downtown just two lanes may not be a bad idea. Edmond could definitely stand to be more walkable. They should really try to make a connection between UCO and downtown.

Concerning traffic; I don't know what the solution is. The thing is, Edmond streets were never meant to carry this much traffic. Once upon a time it was just a small, quiet, bedroom community. No matter how many lanes you build, Edmond won't be able to handle the capacity because of the way it's built. And the more friendly you make Edmond to cars the less friendly it becomes to pedestrians. And I'm not sure I agree with synchronized lights. I used to drive Highway 9 in Norman a lot and its lights were synchronized. It was nice if you it caught just right. But if you didn't catch it right then you were stopping at every light. You had to speed like a nascar driver to try to catch a green light, then you could slow back down to the speed limit and hit greens the rest of the way. But having people speed and drive crazy trying to catch a green light does the opposite of what the purpose of synchronized lights are intended to do. For one it wastes gas and two it's not safe. And when you get drivers hitting every single light because they didn't happen to hit it just right, then drivers get angry. Catching a synchronized light is about like catching a leprechaun. Maybe not that bad, but you get my point.

With the University North Park Development in Norman, high-density residential policies being put in place, new transportation infrastructure being put in place, pedestrian friendly improvements, and pro-business minded Norman Economic Development Authority, Norman is separating itself from the traditional suburban cities like Edmond, Yukon/Mustang, Broken Arrow, and being more dynamic from an urban standpoint. Edmond still reminds me of a traditional suburb, just rooftops, restaurants, and banks, therefore big box retailers are going to be drawn to that area. The best thing Edmond has going for them is the emergence of a "medical corridor" along I-35/Covell that can spur housing and public projects.

UNP is the perfect example of the rug being pulled out from underneath the citizens. It was sold to the public as an upscale development but now has big box retailers, a discount tire store and I wouldn't be surprised if there's a nail salon in there too. UNP is just an over sized strip mall. What a waste of potential.

But some of places might have been need. Big Box stores are okay by I-35.