Healthcare: Health Center projects part of building boom in Oklahoma City
GROWTHFIVE STRUCTURES UNDER WAY CARRY TOTAL PRICE TAG OF $534 MILLION
Imagine if someone announced that more than $500 million of construction and up to seven new buildings would rise up practically all at once on the edge of downtown Oklahoma City.
No single announcement has ever been made, but such an expansion is under way at the Oklahoma Health Center, immediately east of Bricktown and Deep Deuce.
Cranes are popping up throughout the 325-acre complex with five buildings under construction and two more expected to start this fall.
“This is incredible,” said Hershel Lamirand, chief executive officer of the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation.
“The past 18 months have marked an incredible growth period for us. It only compares to what we saw in the early 1970s with the ‘HERO’ bond.”
Construction totaling $534 million is under way on five building projects — additions to the Oklahoma Blood Institute, the Dean A. McGee Eye Institute and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and construction of the OU Children’s Physicians Building and the Cancer Institute.
Meanwhile, JoeVan Bullard, director of the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority, confirms that construction is set to start on a $25 million Embassy Suites and a $4 million headquarters for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association on land the agency controls in the health center district.
Lamirand teases there’s even more to come.
“There are three other projects planned in the near future; we’re getting ready to unleash more,” Lamirand said. “Eighth Street will become a very hot area.”
The growth hasn’t been without some pain. The Oklahoma Health Center is growing up in many cases, replacing surface parking lots with garages as it tries to avoid running out of land. That transition is costly, Lamirand said, with structured parking spaces running between $15,000 and $25,000 each.
The Oklahoma Health Center also no longer can afford the luxury of one- to two-story buildings, he said.
Jane Jenkins, president of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc., believes the benefits far outweigh the growing pains and expense. The Oklahoma Health Center boasts an estimated work force of 12,500 employees and an annual economic impact of $2 billion.
“The health center is a big employment base for downtown; they’re providing a lot of jobs,” Jenkins said. “And that figures into any impacts we look at in terms of retail or residential studies.”
Lamirand said the Oklahoma Health Center intentionally limits commercial development, preferring that employees and visitors cross Interstate 235 and patronize businesses and restaurants downtown. And that’s just fine with Jenkins.
“I think when we’re looking at retail, they have to be considered a big part of the market,” she said. “And they play a big role in the demand for housing. They’re creating a lot of jobs that in some cases are people who want or need to live close to their places of employment.”
The health center is a big employment base for downtown; they’re providing a lot of jobs.”
Jane Jenkins
President of Downtown Oklahoma City Inc.
BY STEVE LACKMEYER for NewsOk
