Uncommon Ground, a 62-acre park at 2nd and Coltrane in Edmond, will open next summer. It will include a large dog park, ponds, walking trails, a huge children's playground, an event center, and more than 60 pieces of public art.

OKC's largest private employer is in the process of being sold. Integris Health, with approximately 10,000 employees in Oklahoma, is in the process of being sold to a division of Kaiser Permanente. Integris operates 16 hospitals and has health providers in 49 Oklahoma towns and cities. The Integris facilities include hospitals, rehabilitation centers, physician clinics, pharmacies, mental health facilities, independent living centers, and home health agencies, located throughout Oklahoma. The largest and best-known Integris hospital is Baptist Medical Center in OKC. Risant Health was formed by Kaiser Permanente in 2023 with a $5 billion initial investment. The company is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Like Integris, it operates as a nonprofit. Risant has already acquired health systems in Pennsylvania and North Carolina and is looking to add another 5 to 7 more in the next five years. Risant's typical operating model is that the acquired system retains its local name, brand, leadership, and open-payer insurance models while gaining access to Risant's capital and technology infrastructure. A formal announcement should come next week.

The owner of Penn Square Mall is planning a significant renovation and plans to add a two-level Barnes & Noble and several new tenants. The mall has filed plans to upgrade its signage, main entryways, flooring, and refresh the entire interior. They will also improve the parking lots and add new landscaping. Construction is well underway for Oklahoma’s first North Italia restaurant, and the mall will also be adding North Face, Athleta, and Barnes and Noble to take the old Forever 21/3-6-5 space at the far west end of the mall. Originally opened in 1960 as an open-air shopping center, it was enclosed in 1982 then a second level was added in 1988. It was expanded in 1995 and now contains over 1,000,000 square feet. Penn Square has stayed relatively full while malls across the U.S. have generally struggled, with many being closed. It is owned and operated by Simon Property Group, the largest owner of shopping malls in the U.S.

Next on the chopping block: Walker Tower. @UofOklahoma As part of OU’s ambitious plan to completely rebuild its first-year housing, Walker Tower has been closed, interior demolition has begun, and the entire structure will start to come down later this year. In its place will be three brand new dorms, similar to the two that replaced Adams Center just to the west. In addition to Walker, one of the Cate buildings directly north has already been removed. Ultimately, the third and final tower, Couch, will come down as well. The projects are needed to upgrade and expand student housing as the university continues towards its target of 40,000 students.

Work is nearing completion on the 70,000-square-foot new animal welfare center funded by MAPS 4. The $42 million facility is being constructed next to the existing facility near SE 29th and Bryant. The new facility will feature separate cat and dog kennel wings designed to create quieter, less stressful spaces for pets awaiting adoption. The new facility will increase the number of dog kennels to nearly 550 and increase the number of cat condos to more than 300. A dog sculpture will stand 14 feet tall and 20 feet long, creating a new landmark for the animal welfare center. Made from carbon steel, the artwork will depict a dog whose wind-blown fur transforms into a tangle of rust-colored metal tree-branch rods. At night, the sculpture will be illuminated.

Oklahoma City Council will vote on Tuesday on funds to improve the Cimmaron Road and Interstate 40 intersection that will facilitate Oklahoma’s first Buc-ee’s. As we were first to report, the City has struck a preliminary deal to bring the popular travel stop to a site just within the city limits near Clarence E. Page Airport. The current Cimmaron exchange with I-40 was built for rural use and is not nearly robust enough to accommodate the heavy traffic typically generated by a Buc-ee’s location. The agenda item for the next City Council meeting would approve a project agreement with CSMS Management, LLC for ‘congestion relief’ at that particular intersection. CSMS Management is a real estate and management subsidiary owned by Arch "Beaver" Aplin III, the founder and CEO of the popular Texas-based travel center chain. The agreement calls for CSMS to provide engineering design, environmental studies, and permitting. The City will be responsible for required environmental mitigation, right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, and removal of encroachments. After federal approval, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will administer construction and inspection. Funding for the road project will come from the City of OKC $7.578M, CSMS $6.05M, and ODOT $11.378M. The City received a grant from Senator Mullin’s office for $10M, approved in the past federal budget.

Paws & Pints of Des Moines, Iowa  is planning to renovate and expand the old Bar K near Riversport and the Oklahoma River. After opening the sprawling indoor/outdoor facility in early 2023, Bar K suddenly closed all three of its locations in July 2025.  In addition to Oklahoma City, they also operated in Kansas City and Saint Louis. Plans show a new 7,725-square-foot addition to the north to include dog daycare and grooming. There are also plans to replace the outdoor artificial turf and do considerable renovation to the entire complex. Paws & Pints is similar to Bar K in that it seeks to blend a social bar and restaurant scene with dogs and dog lovers. They offer daily or monthly memberships as well as trivia nights and dog-focused events. The news comes as the Riversport area to the immediate south prepares to host whitewater events for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Local real estate developer Gardner Tanenbaum has started work to convert the three Landmark Tower office buildings into 300 apartments. The same company recently converted Lincoln Plaza to living units. In addition to a complete interior renovation, the buildings near NW Expressway and Lake Hefner Parkway will get a new exterior paint scheme as well as a pool, covered parking, and other amenities. The middle tower was built first in 1967; the east tower was added in 1969, and the west tower was completed in 1972. The buildings have served as office space since the beginning, but with a post-COVID decrease in office space, there is a strong trend both in Oklahoma City and nationwide to convert excess space into housing. Design work is by Tradesman Architecture Studios.

Where once was a popular movie theater, Northpark Pickleball is now open with 6 indoor and 6 outdoor courts as well as Roman pizza by the slice and 36 self-serve taps, open daily from 6 AM to 10 PM.

Construction is moving fast on both the new multi-purpose stadium and the Continental Coliseum. @okcthunder @okcunited_ Both are set to be complete and open in 2028.

Oklahoma's first new concept Walmart is set to open Nov. 4th at Kilpatrick Turnpike and Rockwell. More images and info here: okctalk.com/content.php?r=11…

There is now a mockup of the glass facade that will encircle the new Continental Coliseum, just a few blocks from the construction site. The project continues to rapidly take shape in the heart of downtown.

Gold Dome property set for Sheriff's sale on September 1st. Full story: okctalk.com/content.php?r=11…

As of today, Friday August 7th, the OKC Streetcar is permanently free to ride. This morning, the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA) voted to remove any and all charges from the streetcar system, effective immediately. COTPA ran a free fare pilot program for the streetcar from January 5th until July 5th and then extended it for another 45 days. During the course of this test, the streetcar saw an average 74% increase in ridership. Based on this, the oversight board voted today to establish a permanent zero fare service. The OKC Streetcar is a 4.8-mile service paid for by the MAPS 3 initiative. Service commenced in December of 2018.

Popular restaurant J. Alexander's planning first Oklahoma location at NW 63rd & Western. More here: okctalk.com/content.php?r=11…

Some great news for the southside: Target is planning one of its new large-format stores on the northwest corner of I-240 and S. Shields. It will be on the site of Shields Plaza, formerly the South Shields Mall. What’s left of the old structures - including the building that currently houses Burlington - will be completely demolished to make way for the new development. Target closed a smaller store a few miles away at SW 44th and Western in August of 2016.

Ebisu Life Store will open its doors on Friday, July 31st at 11 AM. They have taken a very large 14,000 square foot space formerly occupied by Party City and located just south of Super Target. The address is 13830 N. Penn.