Northeast Oklahoma City’s Creston Park neighborhood has spent years with nearly 95 vacant homes standing as reminders of a redevelopment plan that never fully arrived. Now, the historic community is getting a new shot at revival through a housing proposal built around affordable homes, neighborhood input and a more deliberate effort to preserve its identity.
The Oklahoma City Housing Authority is leading the effort with NE OKC Renaissance, RestoreOKC and Open Design Collective, according to KOCO-TV. The first phase would focus on the area around Northeast 28th and Northeast 29th streets, backed by $2.5 million in MAPS 4 funding, although the project still needs a developer before the next major steps can move forward.
Community Input Is Shaping The Northeast OKC Plan
Creston Park was originally built in the 1930s and converted into public housing in the 1970s. During a January 2026 public input session, residents told city officials they were frustrated by vacant properties and the lack of a clear reconstruction timeline, while the city said the project had an estimated $8 million to $10 million funding gap, according to Oklahoma City’s action plan.
The redevelopment team is pitching a neighborhood-scale approach rather than a one-size-fits-all apartment complex. Vanessa Morrison of Open Design Collective said the process is intended to connect housing, design, development and resident engagement from the beginning, with future homes expected to include mixed housing types instead of only multifamily buildings.
Up To 260 Homes Could Rise In Multiple Phases
A July 2 public notice posted through the city says the current proposal involves demolishing existing public housing and building up to approximately 260 residential units in multiple phases. The notice estimates the total development cost at about $91 million, with financing expected to combine federal, state, local and private sources, including ARPA, MAPS 4, HOME funds, tax credits and tax-exempt bonds.
The numbers reflect an evolution from an earlier concept. In 2023, The Journal Record reported that OCHA was discussing a three-phase redevelopment that could replace 159 units with roughly 550 new units across 30 acres, using MAPS 4 money to leverage a much larger investment.
More recently, OCHA and the Community Enhancement Corporation sought proposals for infrastructure work, including water and sewer improvements, fire hydrants, paving and related site construction, the Journal Record reported in a public bid notice. That procurement activity suggests the project is moving from a long-running concept toward the less glamorous but essential work of making the site buildable.
The partners say the goal is not simply to fill empty lots, but to restore a neighborhood with a recognizable history and a stronger mix of housing options. That broader philosophy lines up with RestoreOKC’s community-driven approach and NE OKC Renaissance’s focus on redevelopment shaped from within the East Side.
The biggest unanswered question is still who will build the project and what the final housing mix will look like. For now, Creston Park has something it has lacked for years: a publicly outlined plan, active infrastructure planning and a coalition promising that residents will have a say in what comes next, according to KOCO-TV.
