District Activation Playbook: Capitol Hill, Oklahoma City

Capitol Hill is a historic commercial district in south Oklahoma City. Located just beside the high-impact public and private investments in downtown Oklahoma City and along the Oklahoma River, Capitol Hill has become a special gathering place for the city’s diverse Hispanic and Latino population. It has attracted big public and private investment, including a new central plaza that will transform the public realm.

Calle Dos Cinco, the business improvement district, initiated this effort to create a plan that focuses on how buildings, storefronts, and public spaces can be leveraged to support the district’s distinct vision for growth and development.

I worked with a steering committee of local property owners, business owners, and neighborhood advocates to produce the “District Activation Playbook.” I facilitated interviews and walking meetings, collected physical and economic data, and launched a community survey that informed the project. Actionable steps in the playbook focus on generating consistent and reliable consumer traffic, achieving a desirable mix of tenants and experiences, activating storefronts and public spaces, and threading the district’s Hispanic and Latino culture through physical design and business practices.

The playbook focuses on how the district management organization, property owners, business operators, and public agencies all play a role in advancing Capitol Hill’s vision and it includes several scales of actions:

– Quick wins, like a business operator putting out a sandwich board sign

– Opportunistic practices, like a property owner working with local influencers to recruit Hispanic businesses

– Big moves, like C25 building a new retail incubator

The playbook concludes with a scorecard of metrics that track C25’s progress.