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Cathy O’Connor
The community is invited to celebrate the opening of the new full-service Homeland grocery store at NE 36th and Lincoln Boulevard on Wednesday at 9 a.m. as well as a community day on the first Sunday on the 5th from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
This opening of a grocery store is important because it breaks a barrier. Today, our residents of northeast Oklahoma City have better access to fresh groceries, a basic necessity that has been missing in their neighborhoods for over 20 years.
The homeland will offer organic fruits and vegetables; fresh breads; a custom butcher’s shop; fresh and ready-to-eat charcuterie products; wine and beer by the glass; and a driving pharmacy. The store will have indoor and outdoor seating near ready-to-go meals. Outdoor seating will be close to service points for food trucks, creating an open space for gatherings.
The store is also important because it is one of the first completed projects where the Oklahoma City Economic Development Alliance acted as a developer. We partnered with two other entities to create 36th & Lincoln LLC and develop the project: Endeavor Corp., based in Milwaukee, which we sought out for its specialty in developing distressed areas, and Northeast Equity Investment Group. We took on this role because the financing of the operation was so complex that the time and resources required to bring together financial partners, apply for tax credits and acquire the land made the project unfeasible for private development.
We worked with the city to acquire the land by exchanging plots with the land office commissioners and purchasing a small plot of land adjacent to OG&E. We secured over $ 10 million in new market tax credits from the US Bank and Heartland Renaissance Fund, $ 3.5 million in tax raise funding, and a social impact loan from the new accelerator. impact of Metafund. We have secured private funding and investors passionate about OKC’s development in the northeast. We have overseen the construction, and the LLC will own the store and administer the long term lease with Homeland / HAC.
The Homeland deal is a prime example of a successful public-private partnership that is sometimes required to complete a complex transaction that can only be done in one or the other sector. It also represents a strategic direction that the Alliance is following: to seek opportunities as a developer where community needs are high.
I hope you will join us in celebrating this achievement for Oklahoma City.
Cathy O’Connor is the President of Oklahoma City Economic Development Alliance.
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