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City updates council on housing projects, including Tower Addition and 120-acre site
Summary
Staff reviewed four housing projects (Tower Addition, Locust Street, 25th Street multifamily and a potential mixed-use plan on 120 city-owned acres), reported progress on plats and developer interest, and discussed code-enforcement follow-up on dilapidated structures.
City staff presented Strategic Initiative No. 4 on housing and updated the council on four active projects: the Tower Addition (25 lots, 20 developable; Chess Development LLC expected to start an initial five homes), the Locust Street development (infrastructure estimated at about $4 million, with potential P3 financing and private contributions), 25th Street multifamily projects (Malzahn duplexes/triplexes phased toward ~100 units), and early plans to study mixed-use or apartment development on roughly 120 acres the city owns across from Sooner's Horn.
"The objective is to expand and improve housing options to support population growth, workforce needs, and overall community vitality," staff said while summarizing the housing initiative. The council discussed timing and incentives, code-enforcement activity and the city's experience tearing down dilapidated structures (9 last year, 6 declared so far this year), and the tradeoffs when lots become vacant after demolition. Staff said they would follow up on platting timelines and return with more detailed proposals and contract drafts where appropriate.
Council members urged continued focus on attracting apartment developers to increase rental inventory and relieve pressure on local rental rates; staff noted that builders have moved more slowly than hoped and that some projects require substantial infrastructure investment before building can proceed.
