When I moved here 14 years ago, I was truly alarmed at the prospects for a good quality of life. That is not the case any longer. MAPS is truly a full participation community project because the entire community had to vote to tax themselves to make it happen.

MAPS consisted of nine capital projects that we undertook beginning in 1993 as a way of kickstarting the revitalization of Oklahoma City. As a result of the first MAPS, which we are so honored to be recognized for through the inaugural Renewal Award for Economic Development, the community has voted to tax itself three other times, and will have (hopefully) done so a fourth time by the time this article is published.

Oklahoma City residents do this because they understand and appreciate the enormous benefits that MAPS has wrought. These benefits are many-fold and include environmental cleanup, a revitalized downtown (almost $5 billion in investment since MAPS was announced), a vibrant new entertainment district, and numerous new corporate offices that have relocated to Oklahoma City because they like what MAPS has done to the city.

Our general quality of life has improved enormously, our economy is one of the best performing in the country and, most importantly, Oklahoma City has evolved into a community that believes in itself, that has elevated its expectations of what we can accomplish, and what we should be as a city.

While the economic benefits of MAPS are unparalleled, it is this confidence and willingness to invest in ourselves that is the greatest legacy of MAPS, because it means that we will continue to grow and prosper. We know this and the national community is recognizing this more and more well. We used to think ourselves lucky to be on the radar screen for national investors: now we’re frequently either the successful candidate or at least a strong finalist. This is a huge turnaround in a very short period of time.

Of note to Brownfield professionals is that several of the sites affected by the MAPS program were significant brownfields, to an extent that no one else had ever wanted to take on the challenge of remediating them. As part of the MAPS programs, they were simply line items to be addressed as part of the overall development package. They were not construed as barriers or deal breakers, just another development issue that we had to address.

Subsequent to the MAPS projects, a much greater number of brownfields have been addressed in supporting the significant private investment that flowed from MAPS. The city has developed an excellent relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency, taking advantage of the revolving loan fund program, both assessment programs, and the cleanup program.

Their assistance and that of the State Dept. of Environmental Quality has been pivotal in our capacity to address brownfields in order to accomplish our ultimate goal of redevelopment.