I haven't seen this posted yet. It's good to see more development on the east side, especially with the Pivot Group involved.

http://newsok.com/healthy-boost-coming-to-ne-23/article/5542005

What that article doesn't say is the developers are seeking $2.5 million in TIF, which represents about 25% of that total project cost.

If you look at our summary on TIF Districts (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=39599), you'll see the largest previous award as a percentage was 10% to the 21c Hotel.

Also, it is my understanding they are asking the city to take out a loan for that amount so they can get the funds up front and apply directly towards their principal.

This would all have to be passed through City Council when that time comes.

What that article doesn't say is the developers are seeking $2.5 million in TIF, which represents about 25% of that total project cost.

If you look at our summary on TIF Districts (http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=39599), you'll see the largest previous award as a percentage was 10% to the 21c Hotel.

Also, it is my understanding they are asking the city to take out a loan for that amount so they can get the funds up front and apply directly towards their principal.

This would all have to be passed through City Council when that time comes.

If that is true, how can Steve Lackmeyer not mention that critical piece of information in a relatively long story. 25%??? He would have to know that an unprecedented percentage of TIF financing was being requested IMO and chose not to include it in the story. Can someone explain the difference between what the Oklahoman is doing with these development stories and what a PR firm would do for the developers?

While that is a substantial request, this seems like a good use of TIF money for the city. However, the fact Steve failed to mention it in his article is an issue.

In fairness, the reporter probably didn't know or bother to ask.

Was it buried in their application?

There is no formal application filed for TIF, so I can't report something that doesn't exist yet. N/M.

There is no formal application filed for TIF, so I can't report something that doesn't exist yet. N/M.

My apologies, Steve. Just trying to make sense of this.

P.S. Very glad to see you post.

There is no formal application filed for TIF, so I can't report something that doesn't exist yet. N/M.

Cathy O'Connor has met with each member of city council to float the terms that I outlined.

And the Oklahoman has reported many times on TIF asks before there was a formal application. To wit:

http://newsok.com/article/5369964

http://newsok.com/article/5369686

http://newsok.com/article/5388956

Every one of those links was on the Clayco deal, which was a very unique situation. Pete, I quit slamming you a long time ago. Let's stop it now. You've done a great job on keeping up with SoSA, tracking projects and keeping people informed. There are times when the tif application never got reported and never event happened because it never got beyond the exploration, which you say is happening now. Memory Lane Apts is one example. I'll do my work and not comment on what you do or don't get, my suggestion is you do the same. We're all trying to keep people informed on what's going on. I have no interest in fighting. But this was a very unfair jab. My understanding is the tif is related to something different they may do coming up, which I hint at in the story. I have no one telling me what you're saying. You are probably right. I don't know who your source is.

Every one of those links was on the Clayco deal, which was a very unique situation. Pete, I quit slamming you a long time ago. Let's stop it now. You've done a great job on keeping up with SoSA, tracking projects and keeping people informed. There are times when the tif application never got reported and never event happened because it never got beyond the exploration, which you say is happening now. Memory Lane Apts is one example. I'll do my work and not comment on what you do or don't get, my suggestion is you do the same. We're all trying to keep people informed on what's going on. I have no interest in fighting. But this was a very unfair jab. My understanding is the tif is related to something different they may do coming up, which I hint at in the story. I have no one telling me what you're saying. You are probably right. I don't know who your source is.

You feel like you deserve credit for when you stop slamming me? Okay.

All I did is add some important hard information that was omitted on this project.

Then, you come to my site and post 1) that there is nothing to report (false) and 2) it's only worth reporting when there is a formal application filed (also false, as I pointed out with a quick link to some of your own articles).

UH OH! I see a different type of march madness coming the way this conversation is headed.

You feel like you deserve credit for when you stop slamming me? Okay.

All I did is add some important hard information that was omitted on this project.

Then, you come to my site and post 1) that there is nothing to report (false) and 2) it's only worth reporting when there is a formal application filed (also false, as I pointed out with a quick link to some of your own articles).


You know what, your comments that you later took out were a valid hit on me. I have gone too far at times with social media, and I'm trying to change that. The line between showing where things might be going wrong versus something altogether different get blurred these days. You may have some information I didn't have, but it's also possible my understanding about the basis for this request may be different as well. You are right - I handled the Clayco deal different from what I've usually done with TIF requests. Either way, I did not have access to the $2.5 million figure - only that some sort of request was being discussed. Pete, I made poor choices in the past in how I referred to your site - and for what it's worth, that's what I meant by "slamming." You don't have to give any credit for what I may or may not do. We will always be competitors. I consider you my top competitor right now, which I hope you can see as a compliment. Maybe I made a mistake responding on this. I haven't in a long time, not sure why I did other than it's frustrating to see some of this stuff... I really do want to make amends with you. - Steve

You know what, your comments that you later took out were a valid hit on me. I have gone too far at times with social media, and I'm trying to change that. The line between showing where things might be going wrong versus something altogether different get blurred these days. You may have some information I didn't have, but it's also possible my understanding about the basis for this request may be different as well. You are right - I handled the Clayco deal different from what I've usually done with TIF requests. Either way, I did not have access to the $2.5 million figure - only that some sort of request was being discussed. Pete, I made poor choices in the past in how I referred to your site - and for what it's worth, that's what I meant by "slamming." You don't have to give any credit for what I may or may not do. We will always be competitors. I consider you my top competitor right now, which I hope you can see as a compliment. Maybe I made a mistake responding on this. I haven't in a long time, not sure why I did other than it's frustrating to see some of this stuff... I really do want to make amends with you. - Steve

This was from just two weeks ago and you've done similar things like this for years. I have dozens more that I've saved, many of which are much worse.

And please don't claim innocence here because this is direct reference to something I reported.

You want to make amends? Stop trying to discredit me and this site.


Pretty simple and actions speak louder than words.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lackmeyer030317.jpg

This was from just two weeks ago and you've done similar things like this for years. And please don't claim innocence here because this is direct reference to something I reported.

You want to make amends? Stop trying to discredit me and this site.


Pretty simple and actions speak louder than words.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/lackmeyer030317.jpg

Pete, when I answered this, quite honestly, I wasn't thinking with intent to discredit you. I just don't know how to answer some of these questions. What we need is to sit down, better understand our differences, and come up with some better ways to deal with these things. In the future, I will simply skip the question on this sort of thing all together. For what it's worth, I get a lot of people trying to troll me, trying to get me to go off on you and this site. I am pretty damn determined to to put this animosity to an end. Seriously.

Pete, when I answered this, quite honestly, I wasn't thinking with intent to discredit you. I just don't know how to answer some of these questions. What we need is to sit down, better understand our differences, and come up with some better ways to deal with these things. In the future, I will simply skip the question on this sort of thing all together. For what it's worth, I get a lot of people trying to troll me, trying to get me to go off on you and this site. I am pretty damn determined to to put this animosity to an end. Seriously.

How about you stop copying my work without providing proper credit?

Case in point:

I post and tweet article about Homeland renovation on 2/13/17 at 3:13PM, with full interviews and detailed information.

You throw together a quick blog post and tweet at 2/13/17 at 8:16PM after pulling the building permit (easy for you to do because I had already had it prepared, as you knew from my article. If you had made an original request, it would taken several days, as it did me in this case).

That building permit had been posted on 2/8/17 but suddenly you throw up a quick thing 5 days later within hours of my story while at the same time the Oklahoman is calling Homeland for an interview (I know because they called me by mistake the next day thinking it was you and/or Jack Money).

Then a couple of days later, full story from Jack Money that says nothing new.


Very, very easy to write an article once someone else has done all the work.

Which is why when you or anyone else has a story first, we merely post it with full credit.

We don't have 'differences'.

This is all one-way and there is nothing to resolve until you stop your tactics.

How about you stop copying my work without providing proper credit?

Case in point:

I post and tweet article about Homeland renovation on 2/13/17 at 3:13PM.

You throw together a quick blog post and tweet at 2/13/17 at 8:16PM after pulling the building permit (easy for you to do because I had already had it prepared, as you knew from my article. If you had made an original request, it would taken several days, as it did me in this case).

That building permit has been posted on 2/8/17 but suddenly you throw up a quick thing 5 days later while at the same time the Oklahoman is calling Homeland for an interview (I know because they called me by mistake the next day thinking it was you and/or Jack Money)?


Very, very easy to write an article once someone else has done all the work.

Which is why when you or anyone else has a story first, we merely post it with full credit.

That's not the nature of news. The Journal Record doesn't give me any mention when they do a story that follows the same one I broke. I did my own work on Homeland. You got the story first. I never claimed any thing earlier. The Journal Record, TV news frequently do stories after I've done the first report. And if you do your own work, I would be wrong to expect you to give me any credit. I scrambled to to figure out how you got that permit so I could get the story. But yeah, once the story is broken, it makes it a lot easier for people to follow on that. Just look at how the Ralph Shortey story exploded after Nolan Clay first broke it. This is why we should quit taking shots at each other in person, so we can work through these differences and understand how it works. If you don't believe me on this last matter, call Scott Carter at OCCC and get his insight. - Steve
At one time we used to be friends. Have a good evening Pete. I have heard you on the live chat bit and I'll strive to do better. On this last one, we may be at constant odds. But you know it's not just me.

That's not the nature of news. The Journal Record doesn't give me any mention when they do a story that follows the same one I broke. I did my own work on Homeland. You got the story first. I never claimed any thing earlier. The Journal Record, TV news frequently do stories after I've done the first report. And if you do your own work, I would be wrong to expect you to give me any credit. I scrambled to to figure out how you got that permit so I could get the story. But yeah, once the story is broken, it makes it a lot easier for people to follow on that. Just look at how the Ralph Shortey story exploded after Nolan Clay first broke it. This is why we should quit taking shots at each other in person, so we can work through these differences and understand how it works. If you don't believe me on this last matter, call Scott Carter at OCCC and get his insight. - Steve
At one time we used to be friends. Have a good evening Pete. I have heard you on the live chat bit and I'll strive to do better. On this last one, we may be at constant odds. But you know it's not just me.

Sorry, but the ethics chair for Society for Professional Journalists -- of which I am a member -- has quite a different opinion. As does a journalism ethics expert I interviewed and journalists from highly respected outlets like Reuters and Bloomberg.

If the standards are low in this town it's because of practices journalists like you employ. And saying "everybody else does it" is the weakest excuse at all, especially from the largest media company in the area.

I'm sure you would be fine if I just drafted off your work? Take your stories that sit behind paywalls and just recreate them and put them out for free without giving you or the Oklahoman credit?

I have never, ever done anything like that and I didn't need experts on journalism ethics to tell me not to. It's obviously highly unethical especially from someone sitting in a bully pulpit provided by their powerful employer.

Pete, i think you'll find that the readers here have your back as opposed to Steve's. But there's a fundamental difference in the way both of you report. Steve reports for a corporate entity. So his job is to provide information that makes a person want to purchase a paper/membership. That means there's some enticing going on that clouds the strict journalistic world. And Steve, you can't say you don't do that because most articles of yours that I've read include those generalized non-specific "something big by someone you know, coming soon...". What that tells me is that you were forced to put out an article before all the facts were in because it needed to go to print....or you didn't finish your homework. The secrecy behind development doesn't force this type of reporting, it's a choice. Those development "secrets" only go so far and reporting on hearsay with no basis is dangerous.

One of the great battles between online/print is that online has the ability to update on the fly. So Pete may not have any more details, but his forum (pun intended) for publishing allows him to post here and provide updates regularly at no cost. Being released from the confines of having to get a payment out of the reader makes it far easier to post what you see as the facts without having to put an editor's twist on them. This is also crowd-sourced in that all of the readers here tend to be similar development nuts and we often do our own homework to snoop out details to help get out the word on what's going on. Think about how many topics are on this forum compared to how many articles are posted in the Jokelahoman. OKCTalk far exceeds the paper's abilities and information. Enough that other media outlets use OKCTalk as a source at times. I've seen other reputable websites reports stories broken here, as well as TV in the OKC area. Due to the nature of the speed of online, by the time it gets to the paper, it's old news too.

One big difference....OKCTalk doesn't pay either. So it's not as though Steve can make a living here doing what we all do as fun. If he wants a paycheck, he's going to be confined to doing that work at the paper. That's the only place that will/could employ him for that. But he's a lone duck there too. Sure, there are other articles posted by other journalists sometimes (actually i generally prefer their articles myself), but the majority are Steve's in the paper.

This is all personal opinion, so take it for what its worth. I enjoy Steve as a historical writer (aka his book work), i'm just not a fan of his current development writing. But that development writing is what helps him to be able to write effectively as a historical writer. Not to mention the networking he is able to do. So while he's not my kind of guy, i think he definitely serves his purpose.....and does it well. So i would hope that Steve and Pete can find a way to collaborate and not work against each other. Step one of that HAS to be that if you use each other as a source, that it's cited. Otherwise, it's plagiarism. You'll find that when anyone posts something here, it's cited with the author/source (like our english teachers taught us to do :) ). That same thing needs to happen in the paper. Not saying it comes from OKCTalk, but that issue has become a LARGE one in all of journalism, not just Steve, so lets not point fingers too much. That's a whole other discussion.

The TIF #9 committee will formally consider a $1.3 million TIF request for this project for Phase I; total cost is estimated at $4.3 million. That is just over 30% of this project where no TIF award has exceeded 10% in the past and the average is 7 to 8%.

Even though not part of this Phase I request, it is estimated they will need another $2.1 in TIF for the $6.3 million 2nd phase.

The developers are asking for the money upfront even though virtually no money has yet to be collected for this TIF.

The TIF #9 committee will formally consider a $1.3 million TIF request for this project for Phase I; total cost is estimated at $4.3 million. That is just over 30% of this project where no TIF award has exceeded 10% in the past and the average is 7 to 8%.

Even though not part of this Phase I request, it is estimated they will need another $2.1 in TIF for the $6.3 million 2nd phase.

The developers are asking for the money upfront even though virtually no money has yet to be collected for this TIF.

Good lord! This is ridiculous. If you have to get public subsidies for 30% of your project to make it happen, maybe it just shouldnt be done at all. And to get it up front?

So the estimated cost for this project is $4.3 million for 18,000 square feet. That's $238/sq-ft for a building with a rendering that makes it look like a generic strip mall. Maybe this is a silly question, but is that estimate with or without the medical equipment for the clinic?

I assume this includes build-out for the clinic since they would be a tenant in the project.

I'm generally strongly opposed to TIF but given how hard it is to get things built on the NE side, does it make sense in this case? Genuinely asking.

I was wondering the same thing...

I'm generally strongly opposed to TIF but given how hard it is to get things built on the NE side, does it make sense in this case? Genuinely asking.

There are legitimate issues with getting banks to lend money for projects over there.

But in that case, the City could look at underwriting a loan rather than just gifting millions of tax dollars.

There are legitimate issues with getting banks to lend money for projects over there.

But in that case, the City could look at underwriting a loan rather than just gifting millions of tax dollars.

But they already have 55% of the project leased and ready to go. Its not like its a spec retail/office project with no guaranteed income yet.

But they already have 55% of the project leased and ready to go. Its not like its a spec retail/office project with no guaranteed income yet.

Right but I was told by the developers that many banks simply won't lend money in that area of town.

Right but I was told by the developers that many banks simply won't lend money in that area of town.

Then maybe its time they put up more of their own money.

I see this project is going to council tomorrow and the more I read about it the more I just cant square up the city giving $1,300,000 to this project, which is over 30% of the entire costs of the project. With it being 18,000 sf building, that equals $72 per square foot the taxpayers are subsidizing, that goes quite a ways in finishing out a space. When it comes to retail, $72psf will cover all of the finish out. I also wonder how true their numbers are on saying this is a $4,300,000 project. They are spending $239 per square foot on the entire project, and apparently only have less than half the building rented for now?

Thats the problem with handing out TIF money so easily and frequently, the city is basically asking developers to fudge the numbers, claiming they are going to have to spend a ton of money and that their pro forma only shows the worst case scenario for rent/income. This is basically a handout, a freebie imo.

https://agenda.okc.gov/sirepub/cache/2/3dcyhe55a3lew445kfcqskzb/384355110092017091937755.PDF

The cost to the City is actually well more than $1.3 million because this money is to be paid to the developers upfront and there are virtually zero funds accumulated through TIF #9 (NE side).

So, the money is being taken from the 2007 GOLT funds and will only be repaid as TIF #9 starts to generate TIF revenue.

Another case of lots of additional and hidden cost not quantified and included in the presentation. Very similar to the Omni deal where they made sure to leak numbers to the Oklahoman and then completely left out about $50 million in additional lending costs.

In this case, let's think optimistically and say this loan term will last 10 years. At 5% that is an additional cost of $841,112, for a total of $2.141 million which equates to nearly 50% of the total project cost.

If it takes 20 years to repay the City, that would be a total cost of $3.526 million or 82% of the total cost of this project.

The Oklahoman continues to mis-report the public money being given to this development:

http://newsok.com/city-is-investing-in-redemption/article/5571078


Opposition to the financing deal was led by Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid, whose role as a critical eye on these projects is healthy for the city. The amount of the assistance with the clinic is indeed significant when compared to the overall project cost of $4.3 million.

That is 30 percent, when most projects come in at under 15 percent.

Completely misleading. The highest percentage of TIF ever awarded is 10% to the 21c Hotel. And the average is below 7%:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=39599

And I will restate: The City has to borrow money to pay the developers up front and that cost is not reflected anywhere in these figures, similar to how the Oklahoman failed to report the tens of millions in borrowing costs involved in a similar arrangement with Omni Hotels.

And, TIF in this area will be depleted for years (probably for the life of the TIF) all on this one development.

The public assistance for this project will come in at 5 to 10 times average and several multiples of the previous largest TIF award. And, they will be asking for more for Phase II.


Whether that is warranted is another discussion but the reporting by the Oklahoman on this project has been outright deceiving and amounts to nothing less than opinion, advocacy and bad information masquerading as news stories.

The Oklahoman continues to mis-report the public money being given to this development:

http://newsok.com/city-is-investing-in-redemption/article/5571078



Completely misleading. The highest percentage of TIF ever awarded is 10% to the 21c Hotel. And the average is below 7%:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=39599

And I will restate: The City has to borrow money to pay the developers up front and that cost is not reflected anywhere in these figures, similar to how the Oklahoman failed to report the tens of millions in borrowing costs involved in a similar arrangement with Omni Hotels.

And, TIF in this area will be depleted for years (probably for the life of the TIF) all on this one development.

The public assistance for this project will come in at 5 to 10 times average and several multiples of the previous largest TIF award. And, they will be asking for more for Phase II.


Whether that is warranted is another discussion but the reporting by the Oklahoman on this project has been outright deceiving and amounts to nothing less than opinion, advocacy and bad information masquerading as news stories.

This might be the craziest part of the story, they'll be back asking for even more! I just dont understand it. If they want to help NE 23rd, rather than highly subsidize ONE development, a fairer idea might be a streetscape improvement. There is a lot of good building stock along this stretch and $2million would go a long way if they improved sidewalks, streets, and lighting.

Seems like $1.3 million would be enough to buy the dang building outright AND bring it up to Class A or B standards (without tenant build-out). So is the city is being asked to subsidize both the developer AND the tenant costs? At least the other stakeholders/risk-takers are getting equity out of the deal. The city just gets a lot of risk with seemingly no tangible return.

^

Again, it's not $1.3 million. It's that amount plus borrowing costs which O'Connor and Co. always leave out when presenting.

This might be the craziest part of the story, they'll be back asking for even more! I just dont understand it. If they want to help NE 23rd, rather than highly subsidize ONE development, a fairer idea might be a streetscape improvement. There is a lot of good building stock along this stretch and $2million would go a long way if they improved sidewalks, streets, and lighting.

^^^^^^as an 'eastisder' myself I absolutely agree with your sentiments. Yet they still send odot over to the eastisder to repair streets with asphalt.....smh

Wanzer development gets $1.4M from 23rd Street TIF

By: Brian Brus The Journal Record January 30, 2018

OKLAHOMA CITY – An as-yet-unnamed retail and commercial district on NE 23rd Street received nearly $1.4 million for economic development from Oklahoma City Hall on Tuesday.

In early 2015, the City Council adopted the Northeast Renaissance Project Plan and created tax increment finance or TIF district No. 9 in response to a proposal by developer group Twoyetmany LLC. The developers wanted to turn six parcels in the 1700 block of NE 23rd into 19,000 square feet of commercial space. The conversion would complement a nearby clinic, a Twoyetmany representative said. The project was estimated at more than $4.4 million.

The commercial development takes an entire city block. Most of the buildings were constructed in the 1940s and ‘50s and have been vacant for years, development group representative David Wanzer said.

“There are some challenges with this project,” he said. “There hasn’t been much development in the area. It’s been tough finding a partner bank for this.

“We do have in place, at this point, some environmental issues with the service station that was across the street.”

There are tremendous opportunities, including an ice cream shop, a barber, more restaurants, retail co-sharing incubator spaces and offices, Wanzer said. Tenants will have ownership of the project if they fulfill the lease terms. More than 70 percent of the building will be minority-owned businesses.

This year, the TIF district review committee recommended assistance be provided as development financing in conjunction with private financing and after all equity is expended. About $575,000 of the funds will be in the form of a forgivable loan and $800,000 will be an incentive payment. The loan will require a second mortgage on the property and disallow reselling it for 15 years.

However, in order to meet lender requirements, the developer requested the assistance be made as a payment up front. That’s not possible with the money current in TIF No. 9, but City Hall financial staff members reported they feel confident the district will continue to grow strongly and produce more money in time. So Tuesday’s resolution moved money from the 2007 general obligation limited tax, or GOLT, bond to the Economic Development Trust fund as an internal loan covered by TIF revenue.

Farmers Bank and First Security Bank have agreed to be finance partners in the deal, Wanzer said. The Oklahoma City Black Chamber of Commerce is helping to name it.

The banks won’t actually close on the loans until the entire project is 70 percent leased, which protects the city’s investment, he said.

Steve's article on newsok indicates that the TIF funding that was just approved is for the Phase II development.

Pete, is that correct? If so, does that mean they never received any TIF funding for the clinic?

^

The $1.4 million is in addition to the TIF they had already been awarded for for the Clinic and first phase.

$2.8 million or so for a strip center. Crazy.

^^^^^^^^^
Fair to say on the surface, but the hoops the developers had to jump through on this make for an incredible story, much of which will maybe never be fully told publicly. Suffice to say that in the financial sector there is a systemic bias against development in places like the NE side. Decades ago it was more overt and could be pointed to directly as redlining, but these days it is more insidious and put off onto things like comps, available tenant mix, lack of national credit tenants, etc.

Bluntly put, if this center were west of I-235 this project would have been a slam dunk, banks probably would have been standing in line to lend money, and none of the convoluted (and expensive) developer/investor hoops would have existed. That’s reality.

Though obviously on a smaller scale, in its own way this development was as challenging for its various participants to put together as First National was for ITS champions, and it really took Herculean effort from the developers, their investors, City officials, and even some tenants.

Hopefully (and likely) this development will be a catalyst for growth on the NE side, and will provide a jumping off point for NE side businesses owners, plus make capital acquisition a little less onerous for future development in the area. As pointed out in the article there’s also an innovative lease structure whereby a tenant upon completion of their lease term will own a financial interest in the entire development.

The whole thing is unusually complex and even with the TIF it represents a huge risk for the developers, who will have much less potential for financial reward here than the rest of their projects offer, owing to the unusual aspects required to put it together. At this point it’s become a passion project for them, and they will tell you that as much as anything this one (by necessity but also by opportunity) has become more about personal and professional growth than about profit.

Has this project been progressing?

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/northeast052619a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/northeast052619b.jpg

The first tenant -- a gym -- has moved into the strip center; it's the space with the awning.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/northeast100619a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/northeast100619az.jpg

Press Release:

************

THE MARKET AT EASTPOINT GRAND OPENING & FAMILY DAY

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Market at Eastpoint, a 6,800-square-foot full-service grocery store, is set to have its Grand Opening ceremony on Wednesday, April 21st at 9am with music from the Douglass High School band and remarks from Councilwoman Nikki Nice, Marc Jones, President & Chief Executive Officer at Homeland, Caylee Dodson, Director of RestoreOKC, Pastor McDaniel of Northeast Missionary Baptist Church and poet Montise. The Market is located in the Eastpoint Development at 1708 NE 23rd St. Once the doors are open for business, attendees are welcome to tour the store, meet the staff, shop for groceries, enjoy a meal from the Eastside Eatery and snag some merchandise.

The Market at Eastpoint will also host a Family Day on Saturday, April 24th from 11:30am-1pm with the OKC Thunder’s, Rumble welcoming and entertaining guests from 11am-12pm.

The Northeast Oklahoma City area has long been considered a food desert. And, with the closing of the community’s last grocery store in August 2019, many families lost their final local food access point. As an asset-based community development ministry in Northeast Oklahoma City, RestoreOKC recognized not only the risk that this posed to the community, but also the opportunity to catalyst as neighbors. Community leaders and neighbors met together following food distributions to begin dreaming about how we could work together to help create long-term, community-led food access and we are really excited for how that has resulted in a project that is truly being led by the next generation of our community.

And, working together is exactly what has transpired. Homeland worked with RestoreOKC early in the dreaming process to formulate a plan for public-private partnership that would allow the two partners to co-operate a grocery store on NE 23rd & Rhode Island. Through partnership, RestoreOKC was free as a 501c3 to focus efforts on fundraising and securing product donations and partnerships that could help sustain the store through the early years and allow Homeland’s expertise in the grocery industry to streamline the process and provide much needed oversight and infrastructure.

“We are thrilled to see our public-private partnership with Restore OKC come to life. We have an opportunity here to serve our community in a deeper way and make an impact on food security and this store is a great way to do that, says Marc Jones, CEO and president of Homeland. This is an important project for our employee owners and we are proud to work hand in hand with the community to make it a reality.”

“We are beyond grateful for the ingenuity and flexibility that the entire Homeland team has brought into this entire process. Marc Jones' leadership has been pivotal and we are humbled by the willingness that Homeland’s entire team has shown to absorb the extra work that comes along with anything new. We know that they didn’t have to, but they chose to do it anyway and we are so excited about what it means for this project and what it hopefully means for public-private partnerships both now and in the future,” said RestoreOKC Director, Caylee Dodson.

And, while the vision began with a small group of committed students and neighbors it soon grew to a fundraising campaign that included partnerships like Life.Church who gave an early $300,000 grant to seek to encourage the Church to give generously to see justice and mercy through food access. Neighbors & grantors from Northeast Oklahoma City led the way, Neighborhood Associations, individuals, churches, groups like Black Lives Matter, family foundations, the City of Oklahoma City and even Tony the Tiger from the Kellogg Foundation were pivotal to helping raise the $1.3 million in funding that was needed for the grocery store. “We just simply couldn’t be prouder about the expression of unity and generosity that has made this project possible. And then, on top of those development funds to have received a $1 million Operational Grant from the Inasmuch Foundation at the end of 2020 is something we still can’t quite wrap our heads around,” said Dodson. “It’s truly been such a collaborative effort with a beautiful result.”

In addition to bringing much needed access to food,“The Market at EastPoint” is poised to create 30-40 jobs for the community. “It has been incredible to watch how many individuals have come together as one to help not only eradicate food insecurity, but also to create needed jobs for the Northeast Oklahoma community,” says RestoreOKC Jobs Director, Jonathan Veal.

The Market at Eastpoint will include an array of fresh offerings such as organic fruits and vegetables grown on RestoreOKC’s 5-acre Urban Farm which is currently led by 18 high school students from the Northeast Oklahoma City community. Additionally, the Eastside Eatery will have fresh baked breads and ready-to-eat hot foods prepared by community chef and leader, Brandi Jones of the former Family Affair Restaurant.

Monarch Property Group, a Northeast Oklahoma City based contractor was established in 2016 with the goal of bringing their passion for creating beauty and crafts(woman)ship alongside the communities that they get to serve. To be good neighbors is our goal, say Monique Short and Erica Emery, co-founders of Monarch Property Group. “We are always excited to serve our clients, but it is especially amazing for it to serve a real need in the community to which we also belong.” Additionally, Gardner Architects has worked closely with Restore Farms Interns & Community Team to design the store in a way that reflects the unique mash-up that is our Urban Farm family and feels like a continuation of the 5-acre Urban Farm at RestoreOKC which is situated less than a mile from the grocery store it will serve.

As a 501c3, RestoreOKC has been fundraising and seeking out grants and donations that can help offset some of the cost of foods that are typically less cost effective than pre-packaged counterparts. To help create sustainable food, you can invest by making a tax-deductible donation through their website: https://www.restoreokc.org/

Partners such as the Inasmuch Foundation, Life.Church, Heartland Payment Systems, Simple Modern, the Baptist Ministers’ Association, Black Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma Shirt Company, Black Lives Matter, The City of Oklahoma City, Monarch Property Group, The Alliance, Pivot Project, countless neighbors and so many others have invested in this incredible project.

For more information, visit www.marketateastpoint.org.

I missed this thread back when it was created and was very surprised by seeing this opening (market) announced on social today. But glad to see it.

https://cdn.field59.com/KWTV/8864336679f4c7f005c36ae56b851610cdce5feb_The_Marke t_At_Eastpoint_custom.jpg

The Market at EastPoint, located at NE 23rd Street and MLK Ave., is set to open Wednesday as the only grocery store in the area.

Oklahoman video: https://www.oklahoman.com/videos/news/2021/04/20/market-eastpoint-brings-relief-okc-food-desert-eastern-oklahoma-city/7304951002/

love the murals. Hopefully this will be a start to PROVE the area works so the 23rd/MLK lot can be redeveloped into a proper urban supermarket complex - I say build market below with apartments above. Then this market could go all-upscale or even become an urban Trader Joes (perhaps subsidized to make it work).

This market and the other businesses opening are great for the area that hopefully will create synergy that inturn builds momentum to pick up the whole retail experience on the eastside. As someone in the film said - the people there have to do it themselves THEN people from outside the area will come, patronize, and the whole community will benefit. This is the same thing that has been happening in the Asian District, just need good leadership vision (check), a chance from the city/banks (check) and people to participate (TBD) to make it all work.

^^^ Yes to all!

Surprised this hasn’t been posted yet:

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/oklahoma-city/2022/07/11/oklahoma-city-okc-eastpoint-developers-add-hotel-revival-northeast-ne-23-corridor/65369717007/

They are asking for $3.88 million in TIF on a $26 million project; works out to be 15%.

precedent has been set on what to ask for with TIF, so no surprise in the 15%.

However, in this case I think it is a good use of the funds in that it will help the continued revival of the Eastside and will provide future opportunities for minority businesses with the micro streetfronts. I'm somewhat skeptical of the location but, if done right this could really help the Eastside in a big way. I just hope they don't go too far with the labels that otherwise might scare away visitors or investment - I hope they find a balance between gentrification and "racial" preservation/evangelization. I'd say the same for a hotel development charged to promote white achievement; find a balance that doesn't scare people away.

^

The average TIF award has been under 7%:

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=39599

Too bad "The Ellison" has been taken...

Something like this is EXACTLY what TIF is intended for; the market would never have allowed this development to happen without that level of assistance, and this area (and by extension all of OKC) will benefit immeasurably from its completion.

Decades of institutional redlining have driven comps to a point where it is all but impossible - not an exaggeration - to borrow money in this area. This project will make it easier for future developers (borrowers) to finance their projects, and will lift this area from generations of community neglect. 100% a correct use of TIF; even of exceptionally generous TIF.

https://twitter.com/OKC_SPAN/status/1549399944481628161

The Phase 3 hotel was presented to city council this morning and a vote on it passed, though I am not sure what that vote was approving.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/eastpoint071922a.jpg

Nearly $350,000 per key, wow! You'd think that would be a very risky investment based on location but maybe not when you only put in 3% of equity and ask for $50,000 per key in TIF money. Considering where this is going, maybe its a good use of TIF, hope it works out for the best.

Building permits have been filed for the Hamlin hotel:

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