Trust approves up to $5 million from TIF 2 for Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum expansion

The Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust voted Jan. 27 to approve a joint resolution allocating up to $5,000,000 from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District 2 toward renovations and a west‑side expansion of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

Carrie Watkins, representing the museum, described plans for a roughly 10,400‑square‑foot addition that would add a new transparent lobby spanning three floors, a reconfigured orientation gallery, a civics lab and an expanded children’s area. “We’re teaching a generation that doesn’t know this story,” Watkins said while walking trustees through renderings and a construction timeline.

Watkins told the Trust the total construction cost is “a little over $15,000,000,” that the museum has raised nearly $8,000,000 and that the organization is requesting $5,000,000 from available TIF 2 funds; she added there are about $3.5 million in outstanding private funding requests. Staff and trustees confirmed TIF 2 has funds available as the district winds down and that payment would follow normal agreement terms.

Board member Sutil framed the amendment to the downtown TIF project plan that preceded the allocation as largely administrative — clarifying that a nonprofit museum is an eligible use — and trustees approved both the amendment and the $5,000,000 allocation on voice votes.

The Trust’s approval clears a local funding hurdle for the project ahead of construction, which the museum says will continue site work this year with an opening slated for the week of the anniversary in 2027. Trustees did not set specific disbursement or reporting conditions during the meeting; staff follow‑up will determine final agreement terms and any construction milestones required before payment.