'The Oak' Will Bring Lively Entertainment District to NW OKC

Just northwest of downtown, a new entertainment district is under construction. The mixed-use project will bring together luxury living, restaurants, retail, and a park all centered around a sculpture.

“It's going to be transformative for the area,” said Ryan McNeill, the head of Veritas Development.

Located at the corner of Northwest Expressway and Penn Avenue, McNeill says more than a hundred workers are on site each day, to bring the Oak development to life. “What a great mixed-use project helps do is get the car out of the way and allows people to live where they want to be,” McNeill said. “If you peel the layers back, it’s really about people.”

People will live and work here, with a more than 300-unit multifamily luxury apartment complex on-site and across the way a boutique hotel called Lively. “I think what will set our amenities apart, is you get to walk out from the apartments and into the common spaces and enjoy,” said McNeill.

Heartwood Park is the common space that brings the entertainment destination together. “The park is really at the core of Oak, and it allows us to do a lot of things that are really unique and special in the city,” he said.

Like signature events, concerts all year long, and a skating rink during the winter, all centered around Cloud Trees, a massive art installation. “We felt like we needed to go big with the art installation that we wanted to be part of the plaza,” McNeill said.

Cloud Trees is a 25-foot-tall sculpture with a stainless-steel canopy that will suspend over the lawn.

On the other side of the lawn, Cloud Puncher, its companion piece, will be installed. That piece will depict a cowboy wrangling a cloud.

“What art allows, is it kind of brings together the brick-and-mortar structure but it helps to kind of then fuse together what the project really stands for which is the enjoyment of a place,” McNeill said.

Outside of the common space, there will be five chef-driven restaurants, rooftop dining, and retail, many first-to-market like Tommy Bahamas, RH (Restoration Hardware), and Arhaus. With a parking garage on-site, the district will be open to the public. “I'm excited to bring my family and enjoy it just like the general public, McNeill said.

The first phase of Oak is expected to be completed this fall.