ULI panel visit – Edmond
By: J. David Chapman/April 13, 2023
The city of Edmond recently contracted with the Urban Land Institute to conduct a survey of the downtown corridor and advise local leadership of future land use options. The ULI is a membership-based organization focused on shaping the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. The expert panel spent a week interviewing stakeholders and crafting urban ideas before finally presenting a plan.
“We’re asking you, be bold,” Bill Lashbrook, one ULI panelist, said. “Think about downtown as a canvas and an opportunity to create something for Edmond that will be the envy of the surrounding towns and bring economic growth into the center. See that opportunity. See the value of those connections. See the value of that larger pull platform.”
At the center of the “bold” plan presented by ULI panelists was closing E. Main Street between S. Broadway Avenue and S. Littler Avenue to create “Main Street Square.” The Main Steet Square would be the front door for the new Edmond City Hall complex including a parking garage and new municipal courthouse.
Speaking of the City Hall complex, the panel strongly recommended that City Hall should have a presence and prominence like no other building in downtown. Through the use of masking, architectural character and urban design techniques, City Hall should anchor Main Street Square and the downtown with its entrance and activated frontage along the ‘Square.” They commented that this is a building that will last for generations, so Edmond should make the most of the opportunity and be bold.
The panel spent a great deal of time working on and recommending methods of connecting the University of Central Oklahoma to the downtown corridor, providing needed amenities for the students, faculty and staff of the university and economic development for the downtown businesses.
They also were tasked with linkages from the downtown core to the 5th Street District, where the city is completing a $7 million renovation of Stephenson Park. With several hundred housing units under construction in the downtown area, these linkages and connections will be critical to leverage amenities and population within walking distances.
Another key recommendation from the ULI panel involved implementing various types of housing downtown, including higher-density, mixed-use and mixed-income housing to meet the city’s need for essential workers. The experts have spoken, it is now up to the leadership of Edmond to decide the path forward.
J. David Chapman is a professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).