Investments in the District
While the hotels were being rebuilt, the City was moving forward with the conference center project – acquiring property, preparing architectural and engineering construction drawings, and arranging financing for the project. Integral to the project, were grants from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. A total of $4.5 million dollars of the $17 million dollar conference center project was funded with federal grants. The grants would not have been possible without the assistance of Oklahoma’s current and past congressional delegation.
Other efforts in the overall economic revitalization of the area included an area just outside the hospitality district between SE 15th Street and Will Rogers Road. The area contained older single family homes on large lots and businesses along SE 15th Street which were heavily damaged or destroyed. The City assembled property in the area, culminating with the purchase and construction of the largest Home Depot in the metropolitan area. This represented a significant investment in the area, with the store valued between$10,000,000 and $11,000,000. In addition, the Home Depot employs approximately 160 persons in full and part-time positions representing an annual payroll of approximately $5,000,000. Also, at this time, Sooner Road Baptist Church began its reconstruction.
Within the hospitality district, the conference center project began to take shape. New roads and traffic signals were constructed and additional water, sewer and drainage facilities were installed throughout the site. In the Spring of 2001, construction on the conference center officially began. During the next two years, steady construction progress and changes to the building design improved and enhanced the usefulness of the facility. One such change was the inclusion of the tiered amphitheater.
In, 2002, the conference center officially became the Reed Center by the Midwest City Council, in recognition of the Reed family and their contributions to the Midwest City community. Also, in 2002 the City chose the DePalma Corporation, a Texas based corporation that specializes in hotel and conference center management, to operate the Reed Center offers a unique facility that can host intimate family gatherings, social events, high-tech business conferences, educational and professional meetings, and large trade shows. Flexible spaces highlight the facility, to include a banquet room that can accommodate a capacity range of 300 to 700 persons, theater seating that can seat from 35 to 1,000 people, two large reception areas that can accommodate over 1,100 persons in each area and nine conference rooms for groups of 9 to 30. The Reed Center’s many other features include broadband internet service, computer networking, video conferencing, conference tables with hard, non-reflective finishes, high back ergonomic chairs and a storm shelter. All of which is offered in a facility located on beautifully landscaped grounds containing picturesque walking trails and calming water features, within walking distance of four newly constructed hotels.
