The City has high hopes for redevelopment on the northeast side, creating a new TIF district to support economic progress and protecting property values with the Strong Neighborhood Initiative.

The Planning Department's brownfields program can provide further support for redevelopment efforts by bearing much of the workload and financial burden of environmental assessment and cleanup. That is the case for the medical clinic and retail space under development at NE 23rd Street and Kelham Avenue.

"Since we were purchasing an old service station, we knew we needed to engage with the City's brownfields program," said Candace Baitz with the Pivot Project development group. 

Soil tests and other assessments concluded remediation was required, and the City helped coordinate a partnership between the Pivot Project and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to tackle those needs. Work continues on safety precautions like a vapor barrier and groundwater testing well.

"We're so excited to bring a healthcare facility to northeast Oklahoma City -- something this community desperately needed," said Baitz. "The next phase of the development will be a block of commercial and retail with predominately minority-owned businesses with a unique ownership structure in the real estate."

The retail and commercial spaces will generate new jobs.