Plans are underway for breaking ground in October on a proposed $50 million hotel and conference center, and city officials say the first store in an adjacent 280-acre retail complex could be open by Thanksgiving Day.

Both are part of a 585-acre development on land formerly owned by OU between Interstate 35 and the Max Westheimer Airport called University North Park. The site is currently owned by Target Corp., University Town Center, LLC and a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit OU Foundation called University North Park, LLC.

"We're having workshops with the foundation and the developer about every two weeks," said City Manager Brad Gambill.

Target platted the development's first 53 acres last year, announcing its plans to open a SuperTarget location. The store will combine the features of a regular Target discount store with a supermarket section featuring groceries, a bakery, a deli, meat and produce.

Gambill said the developer is working to fill the rest of the some one million square feet of new retail space being made available.

"The developer is working hard to get lease spaces filled and has been doing an excellent job," he said.

He can't name names, however, because retailers prefer not to have publicity until they are ready for it.

Officials have said the retail development on the south end of the property will make it financially feasible to develop the high-end offices and other non-retail facilities they hope to build on the north end.

A keystone of that portion of the development is being provided by Springfield, Mo.-based hotel magnate John Q. Hammons, who announced plans at an April 26 press conference to build a 10-story, 240-room Embassy Suites hotel and 65,000-square-foot conference center.

Gambill said the city is working on an agreement with Hammons that will lead to an October groundbreaking.

The city will own the conference center, which by itself will cost an estimated $15 million. It will be operated by Hammons, however, and will be built along with the adjoining hotel.

Construction is expected to begin in March.

"Construction of the conference center, in particular, represents a very special and unique opportunity for us," said Mayor Harold Haralson. "Not only will the city of Norman benefit by the influx of sales tax dollars to our community, but this new development activity is sure to make our city even more attractive to companies interested in locating or relocating their businesses here."

OU President David L. Boren said he's especially interested in the conference center, since there's little in the way of meeting and convention facilities in between the 13,000-seat Lloyd Noble Center and the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom in the Oklahoma Memorial Union, which seats 600 people.

"With the continued growth of the university, it is absolutely critical that we have the ability to host national and international conferences and events, as well as a wide range of continuing education programs, as close to the university as possible," Boren said.

Hammons operates more than 60 hotels around the country, most of which carry the Embassy Suites name. In Oklahoma, Hammons already has two hotels in Oklahoma City and one in Tulsa.

Hammons said the University North Park development will be something of which Norman can be proud.

"We are honored to be a part of such a visionary development," Hammons said. "It will be a source of pride for not only Norman, but for all of Oklahoma."

The developers say the convention facilities and offices on the development's north end will help the city attract and retain companies that provide good-paying jobs. The project is expected to create an estimated $675 million in new development overall.

The Norman City Council voted in May to provide Tax Increment Financing, also known as TIF, for the development. TIF allows sales tax money that would ordinarily go to pay for schools and other government services to go instead to building streets, sewers and other infrastructure needed to complete the associated development.

The TIF is temporary and sales tax revenue from businesses that move from elsewhere within Norman will be excluded from it. The "anti-cannibalization" feature was added by a committee in answer to objections raised by some residents.

Another feature added before the council approved the TIF calls for tax revenue to be shared. Usually, all of the sales tax money in a TIF development area goes into a special fund, but the version approved by city officials sends half of the money to local governments that would normally not see revenue from a TIF development for several years.

The developers call the retail section of the development a "Lifestyle Center," saying it will largely be an upscale shopping area with unique stores.

The retail section will surround an area to be called Legacy Park, which will be "an active park with a lake, public art, and open spaces surrounded by destination restaurants and boutique shops," according to a draft version of the development plans.

Gambill said Legacy Park "is crucial to making the whole system work."

The northern section is intended to attract "high-tech, financial, intellectual property, and administrative businesses."

Developers plan to use $10.5 million of the proposed $54 million in TIF revenues to build streets and improve the flow of traffic, most of which is slated for improvements at the Robinson Street and Tecumseh Road interchanges with Interstate 35.

Construction of the conference center will require $15 million of the TIF revenues, while another $7.5 million will be needed for construction of the "Lifestyle Center" and another $7.5 million will go to building the adjoining Legacy Park.

Engineering and legal fees are expected to consume $1.75 million, and $7.5 million is slated for "economic development." Another $4.9 million is earmarked for contingency funds for the various projects.

The development is the single largest of its kind in the city's history. The OU Foundation will get a share of the development's profits, and Boren said the money will go to fund things like scholarships and new program initiatives.

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