The impact of Oklahoma City's Strong Neighborhoods Initiative

Coming soon to SW 25th and S. Harvey, the Capitol Hill Plaza, designed by CEC and PDG.

Residents around Oklahoma City are seeing their neighborhoods revitalized and enhanced thanks to the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative (SNI).

SNI was developed by the City of Oklahoma City to offer a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to neighborhood revitalization. The program engages with neighbor­hood residents and stakeholders to develop strategies, programs and partnerships that will address housing, infrastructure, placemaking, environmental, and socio-economic needs, along with attracting new residents and businesses.

“The goal of SNI is to enhance what is already there,” said Shannon Entz, Program Planner, SNI, OKC Planning Department, “We want people to be able to stay in their homes and feel good about their neighborhood.”

SNI began in 2012 and works with three neighborhoods at a time. The first neighborhoods in the program were Classen Ten Penn (2013-2018), Classen’s North Highland Parked (2013-2017), Culbertson's East Highland (2013-2020), and Capitol View (2018-2023). Current neighborhoods are Capitol Hill, Metro Park, and Martin Luther King.

The neighborhood selection process includes several months of data collection, mapping, and visiting neighborhoods to evaluate existing conditions. Additional factors that are considered include household incomes, housing values, incidents of crime, and asset identification (schools, parks, commercial areas). Finally, conditions and opportunities are reviewed, and neighborhoods are identified as candidates and invited to learn about the program and the selection process.

When neighborhoods apply to be a part of SNI they commit for at least five years.  “We help move the neighborhood forward, make them aware of resources and community partners, and empower them to advocate for themselves,” added Entz.

Projects within the SNI neighborhoods range from clean up, sidewalk installation, housing rehabilitation, new homes, tree planting, park building and more. “We don’t spend one penny that the neighborhood didn’t request as part of their revitalization, they are true partners in the process.”

To date, the City has in­vested $16.7 million in the SNI neighborhoods and there has been more than $51.2 million in private investments. The source of funds is primarily Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In the Classen Ten Penn neighborhood, average home sales prices were around $32,000 in 2013 when they joined SNI, today home prices are close to $230,000. While that is still below the city average, Enz says it enables property owners to utilize equity in their homes as they choose, which they weren’t able to do before the neighborhood became a part of SNI. In addition, there have been $23.6 million in building permits in Classen Ten Penn since 2013.

While every neighborhood in the program is different, the goal for each is the same. “We work hard to ensure the community and the neighborhood reflect how the residents want it to look and what they want their neighborhood to represent,” added Entz. “Many of the residents have lived there for decades and we help to balance their needs and desires with the needs of the new residents and businesses—we want everyone riding the same bus in the same direction.”