View Full Version : Lexington, KY visits OKC



Patrick
06-14-2006, 10:18 PM
Lots of outside city leaders visiting OKC for ideas! Never would've seen this in the early 1990's.


What floats Oklahoma City's boat?

By Steve Lackmeyer
The Oklahoman

In what may be the largest delegation yet to examine Oklahoma City's downtown development, 175 civic and business leaders from Lexington, Ky., arrived Wednesday in Bricktown for a detailed, three-day look at how the city was transformed by the Metropolitan Area Projects.


"A lot of people across the country know of Oklahoma City and speak highly of it since MAPS went into effect," said Robert Quick, president of the Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce. "You're talked about as a community and a region a lot."

Oklahoma City is drawing such scrutiny with increased frequency. But the Kentucky delegation is by far the largest to hit city soil, said Dave Lopez, president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc.

The Bricktown Canal, one of the most popular of the nine MAPS projects, was the first on the group's tour Wednesday. They followed the canal ride with lunch at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar and Grill, with visits by former Mayor Ron Norick, Lopez, and Cliff Hudson, Sonic CEO.

Other visits are scheduled with Mayor Mick Cornett, City Manager Jim Couch and heads of arts organizations and downtown businesses.

Their stay, which began Wednesday, will include tours of Bricktown and the Arts District and meals at downtown restaurants.

Organizers estimated each person in the group is spending about $1,100 to learn how Oklahoma City redeveloped downtown, and how it is trying to improve schools through MAPS for Kids.
Oklahoma City joins a list that includes Austin, Baltimore, Nashville and Portland as examples of progressive development researched by Lexington leaders.

"This is our 67th year doing this," Quick said. "We have found that when we visit places like Oklahoma City, what we take away is incredible. We learn from your folks, on what they did well, and what they might have tweaked or done better."

Oklahoma City's issues, and how it dealt with those issues, mirror challenges Lexington faces, Quick said.

"We do very extensive research, based on issues and challenges we're dealing with, and then we look at possible places to visit all across the country," Quick said.

Harold Tate, president of Lexington Downtown Development Authority, said Oklahoma City is gaining notice not just for MAPS, but also MAPS for Kids, State Fair Park improvements and overall economic development.
"People traveling have come back and told us what is happening here," Tate said.

Tate's first reaction to Oklahoma City? "Wow."

"The buzz among all these people is just great," Tate said. "I'm hearing from one after another, 'We need to do this, we need to do this.'"
Among those participating in this year's trip are Kentucky's State House Speaker, Jody Richards, and executives from Lexington-based companies including Lexmark and Columbia Gas.

Delegates paid close attention to Norick as he gave an accounting of MAPS that included triumphs and failures. He spoke of low points in the urban revitalization program, including when construction bids for the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark were $5 million over budget, and designs had to be redone.

Joe Kelly, chairman of Columbia Gas, urged fellow delegates to take careful notes of how MAPS was not easily accomplished.

"It's an incredible plan," Kelly told fellow Lexington residents. "They've done so much good work here."

Kelly said Oklahoma City was an easy choice, as Lexington looked for a city that is achieving world-class qualities without having a large population.
"Oklahoma City stood out," Kelly said. "Oklahoma City was being mentioned time and time again."

Luke
06-14-2006, 10:36 PM
Cool!

Pete
06-15-2006, 06:40 AM
Lexington is a great small city.

I spent quite a bit of time there on business a few years back and was very impressed with it. Glad they are looking to OKC for ideas.

Doug Loudenback
06-15-2006, 07:03 AM
Yes, very nice. I hope they enjoy their stay here. I've not been to Lexington but here are a few web pics of their city:

http://i.pbase.com/v3/73/280873/1/47970259.Lexington3.jpg
http://mk23.image.pbase.com/v3/73/280873/1/47970247.DowntownLexington.jpg
http://i.pbase.com/v3/73/280873/1/47970249.DowntownLexington3.jpg
http://mishuna.image.pbase.com/v3/73/280873/1/47970250.DowntownLexington4.jpg
http://www.dare-ky.com/dare/images/Park_04.jpg http://www.uky.edu/AS/English/cesl/images/liblex.jpghttp://www.troubashow.com/images/lexopera.jpg

Looks nice.

TheImmortal
06-15-2006, 07:59 AM
Very nice, I wish we had some cafe's like that downtown.

floater
06-15-2006, 08:24 AM
Nice old storefronts and modern buildings

Karried
06-15-2006, 11:25 AM
Great article.. it's things like this that will continue to change outdated perceptions of OKC. I hope they visit the Memorial too..

I'm sure they flew into the revised airport. It looks great, I was there last night.. did you know they have a cool fiber optic sign on your way out of the airport.. it changed colors from purple to red while I drove by and looked great.. Welcome to Oklahoma City.

The city has come such a long way. It's a nice time to be a part of OK's renaissance.

floater
06-15-2006, 11:40 AM
It looks great, I was there last night.. did you know they have a cool fiber optic sign on your way out of the airport.. it changed colors from purple to red while I drove by and looked great.. Welcome to Oklahoma City.

I love that sign too, always changing as you approach it

writerranger
06-15-2006, 12:17 PM
Very nice pictures, Doug!
Lexington looks like a neat little city.

----

Pete
06-15-2006, 12:23 PM
The countryside all around Lexington is beautiful as well.

It's a great town that is just big enough to have lots of nice restaurants and culture, but not so big as to have a lot of traffic and other problems.

Plus, the U of Kentucky is located there which is a big plus.

metro
06-15-2006, 01:51 PM
Yeah the sign has been there at the airport for quite some time now, there are plenty of pictures of it in different threads on this site as well as the renovated airport and the statue and courtyard outside.

Doug Loudenback
06-15-2006, 01:52 PM
From Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington,_Kentucky


In 2005, the population estimate given by the U.S. Census Bureau was 268,080. Its population, territory and government are coextensive with that of Fayette County. The Lexington - Fayette Metropolitan Area (consisting of Fayette and four of the five surrounding counties) had a population of 429,889 as of 2005 estimates. The Lexington - Fayette - Frankfort - Richmond Combined Statistical Area, which includes the Metro area and an additional seven counties, had an estimated population of 635,547 in 2005.

A few more pics ... downtown ... Rupp Arena and Lexington Center

http://www.rupparena.com/Lexington.jpg http://www.masonrymagazine.com/7-05/art/2_LEXING.jpg

A restaurant ... http://www.beetnik.com/images/frontetch.jpg

... the Kentucky Theater ...
http://www.troubashow.com/images/KYthr-2-800.jpg

Looks like Okc has something to learn from Lexington, and not just them from us!

Luke
06-15-2006, 05:06 PM
From those pics I see two things they have downtown that we don't: Starbucks and a Hyatt Hotel.

Thankfully, a Starbucks is on its way. As for Hyatt... a high rise convention hotel would be a great addition downtown.

Side note: with all the development planned for the south side of the current I-40, wouldn't it be wise for some investor to start building a high rise on that side of downtown? Hm...perhaps the mystery downtown Embassy Suites that Mr. Hammond has promised is being planned on the south side of downtown?

Karried
06-15-2006, 05:32 PM
Yeah the sign has been there at the airport for quite some time now, there are plenty of pictures of it in different threads on this site as well as the renovated airport and the statue and courtyard outside.

Thank you Metro for bringing that to our attention.

Yes, I have seen the pics but it looks better when you drive by it at night and actually see it change colors. I haven't flown in at night and haven't had the opportunity to view it up close and personal and pics just don't do it justice.

fromdust
06-15-2006, 07:28 PM
in another article dave lopez talked about a video they had to show around that promoted the city. it shows a downtown before maps and the dt after. can anyone get that video so we can see it?

floater
06-16-2006, 07:28 AM
in another article dave lopez talked about a video they had to show around that promoted the city. it shows a downtown before maps and the dt after. can anyone get that video so we can see it?

Maybe he's talking about this?

http://www.okc.gov/planning/revival/revival.pps