Economic Development Trust approves housing agreement changes, alley funding and loan subordination

Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust trustees on Jan. 28 approved a set of routine and housing-related actions, including amendments to affordable-housing agreements, a $34,000 alley-improvement payment, a subordination agreement for permanent financing on a housing project and acceptance of the Greater Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation’s annual report.

The approvals affect: an administrative time extension for a multifamily affordable housing project; a sale and temporary pause procedure for a nonprofit-owned affordable complex; small infrastructure alley funding to support new single-family development; and a subordination of the trust’s forgivable loan to a senior lender for a previously funded project.

Trustees voted to approve Amendment No. 1 to the economic development agreement with 1 Red Oak LLC, allowing an administrative extension of time for the Harmony School Residential Multifamily Affordable Housing Project until the end of February 2025. Mr. Suttel, a trust staff member who presented the item, described the change as administrative and tied to permitting and pandemic-era delays. The motion passed after a motion and second; the transcript does not record the mover, seconder or a roll-call tally.

Trustees also approved Amendment No. 1 to the agreement with Community Enhancement Corporation for the Mount Vernon Affordable Housing Project, a transaction that the trust described as following provisions already in the original forgivable-loan structure. Mark Gillott, president and chief executive officer of the Community Enhancement Corporation, said Mount Vernon (renamed in discussion) was an “experiment we went into about 5 years ago” intended to provide nonsubsidized affordable units. He said the complex contains 92 units and “about 60 folk that live in this 92 unit apartment complex today.”

Gillott said the housing authority’s nonprofit arm is negotiating a sale initiated by a buyer’s offer and that the buyer has agreed to honor current rents and lease terms for tenants “in good standing.” He described protections the housing authority added at a recent commission meeting: if a tenant is priced out after the sale, they would receive a preference to move into public housing and be placed at the top of the waiting list. Under the amendment the trust will allow a temporary pause between sale/closing and making replacement units available; the affordability requirement is to be preserved and transferred to equivalent replacement units when provided.

Gillott said the nonprofit plans to convert a former Motel 6 at 1800 East Reno into a property called Vida Nova (previously referenced in the meeting as Vida Nova) with about $15,000,000 in gap financing for rehabilitation, and is in due diligence to acquire Dorset Place, a 69-unit property that the nonprofit intends to operate as a veterans’ housing program. Gillott said those projects, together, would provide more affordable units than the Mount Vernon complex. The trust approved the amendment; the transcript does not record a mover, seconder or vote tally.

On a separate item, trustees approved an assistance and development financing infrastructure payment of up to $34,000 to Gary J Randolph Construction Inc., doing business as Randolph Design Build, to fund alley improvements near Lower Scissor Tail Park. Mr. Suttel said the payment comes from the trust’s ancillary infrastructure program; the trust previously allocated $500,000 to that program and made a subsequent allocation last year. The trust noted a $120-per-linear-foot cap on alley funding in the program rules. A representative of Randolph Design Build said the company has built four homes in the area, owns eight lots served by the alley and that the homes they build are “very high end luxury homes.” The motion passed; no vote tally or mover/second is recorded in the transcript.

Trustees also approved a subordination and intercreditor agreement with BOKF, doing business as Bank of Oklahoma, related to the Fairgrounds Platts Portable Housing Development Project. Mr. Suttel described the trust’s position as the junior (forgivable) loan on a project of about “216 or so units” and said the subordination is a standard step as the borrower converts construction lending into senior permanent financing. The item passed after a motion and second; the transcript does not show a roll-call tally.

The trust received the annual report from the Greater Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation for the period ending Dec. 31, 2024. Christy Gillenwater, presenting on behalf of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, highlighted four project announcements: a Danish company, My Defense, establishing an OKC office with 48 jobs and $1,200,000 in capital investment; a local expansion by Redw that added about 20 jobs with an average wage she described as $100,000; and a total summary figure of roughly 2,000 jobs and $26,400,000 in capital investment across the four announced projects that quarter. Gillenwater said the foundation supported six site visits in the quarter and continued outreach that included a governor-led trip to Asia. The trustees voted to accept the report.

Other routine items approved earlier in the meeting included approval of the trust’s Dec. 17, 2024 minutes and ratification of December 2024 claims; both motions passed on voice vote as recorded in the transcript. The general manager, Sarah Boggs, noted the trust’s beginning fund balance was slightly higher after interest posting as fiscal year 2024 closed.

The meeting concluded with no items referred for further study; trustees adjourned the session.

Votes at a glance - Approve minutes (Dec. 17, 2024): passed; mover/second not specified; tally not specified. - Ratify December 2024 claims: passed; mover/second not specified; tally not specified. - Approve Amendment No. 1 with 1 Red Oak LLC (Harmony School Residential Multifamily Affordable Housing Project) to extend completion to end of Feb. 2025: passed; mover/second not specified; tally not specified. - Approve Amendment No. 1 with Community Enhancement Corporation (Mount Vernon Affordable Housing Project): passed; mover/second not specified; tally not specified. - Approve infrastructure payment up to $34,000 to Gary J Randolph Construction Inc. (Randolph Design Build) for alley improvements near Lower Scissor Tail Park: passed; mover/second not specified; tally not specified. - Approve subordination and intercreditor agreement with BOKF/Bank of Oklahoma for Fairgrounds Platts project: passed; mover/second not specified; tally not specified. - Receive annual report from the Greater Oklahoma City Economic Development Foundation (period ending Dec. 31, 2024): accepted; mover/second not specified; tally not specified.