Editors Note: This article was updated at 6:16 p.m. Jan. 15 to include a statement from Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman on the OU Motel.
Residents at the OU Motel, a motel and affordable housing complex, were given a month’s notice to leave after the property was sold to Garrett Moore Company, which plans to develop high-density student housing.
What we know
The motel will shut down Feb. 1, according to a notice OU Motel distributed to current tenants on Jan. 1, who have until the end of the month to find new housing.
“We have struggled with this decision, but it is our only option,” the notice read.
Terry Moore, founder and president of the Garrett Moore Company, bought the OU Motel property, which includes the motel and about 6 acres of land, to develop a student housing complex called The Resort, according to its website.
According to Moore, The Resort will have 600 beds, and amenities including a lazy river, rooftop pool and retail stores. Current renderings on the company’s website show eight floors of apartments, but the plan must first be approved by Norman City Council before anything is finalized, he said.
“Everything that we could possibly (have) would be available for the student, as far as libraries, all the electronic components that you could possibly imagine that would aid the student’s study needs,” Moore said.
According to Moore, rent rates will differ by location in the building. Cheaper housing will be available on lower floors, while higher floors — with a view of the floodplain and Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club — will be more expensive. Moore said he could not provide rent estimates yet.
“We'll have different places for everybody,” Moore said. “There will be something for everyone.”
The company has discussed the possibility of a coffee shop, bakery and salon on the ground floor, but no retailers have been secured yet. Moore said the company also hopes to have a complimentary guest house for family and friends of tenants.
“Education is by far the most important thing, obviously, but The Resort’s kind of offering you more enjoy while you're there because you'll never get it again,” Moore said.
The city and The Resort’s management company must first finalize the plan, and the OU Motel must be torn down, but Moore hopes construction can begin in the coming months.
Moore said he did not want to share the details of the purchase to honor the privacy of the seller, OU Motel. The Cleveland County Assessor values the property at around $650,000.
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman said the month’s notice to move out isn’t the new buyer’s fault because they don't yet own the property. However, it is cause for concern because many residents will have nowhere else to go, he said, and any loss of affordable housing is cause for concern.
April Doshier, executive director of Food and Shelter — a nonprofit organization that provides housing and food services to Norman residents experiencing homelessness — told OU Daily that Food and Shelter has been working to find housing options for OU Motel tenants. Doshier said the motel is often used by residents as a form of affordable housing.
While Food and Shelter’s housing shelter in Norman, McKown Village, is currently full, Doshier said OU Motel tenants can use the organization’s rehousing program, which would pay the deposit or first month’s rent for the applicant’s new housing.
“We have been in constant contact with those folks to see if we can get ahead of that Feb. 1 deadline and help them find new places to go. … We are out looking as creatively as possible at all of our housing to see what might be available,” Doshier said. “The most devastating thing is these are folks that have lived there for a long period of time because it is literally all they can afford. It isn't that they've been so luxurious and wonderful; it's that that's all they can afford.”
The property’s history
In January 2023, city council approved the construction of Verve Norman, a luxury student housing complex, to be developed by Subtext Living on the property of OU Motel. The sale to Subtext Living was never finalized, according to the Cleveland County Assessor, and Verve Norman was never built.
Residents were given eviction notices and many feared difficulties with finding new housing, but none had to leave since OU Motel retained ownership of the property.
“It’s just perfect for me. Anywhere else I go is going to be too expensive. Their price is so cheap here, it’s unbelievable,” Cathy Riddle, a resident, told OU Daily in March 2023 when residents thought they would have to leave.
To combat rising housing prices, the city of Norman, in partnership with Milestone Property Development, is developing new multi-family affordable housing. Crimson Flats, a 75-unit complex, is expected to be complete in 2026.
“The affordable housing situation in Norman is already pretty dire, so it isn't like there are so many places somebody can move to where they'll also be paying $600 a month rent, all bills paid,” Doshier said, talking about the challenge facing OU Motel residents. “I mean, that's just going to be a very difficult find.”
This story was edited by Anusha Fathepure and Ana Barboza.
