We are proud to accept the award for the NEOKC Homeland Grocery Store on behalf of our many partners we collaborated with on the land purchase, financing and design/build. Now the residents in northeast Oklahoma City have improved access to fresh groceries and pharmacy, a basic necessity that’s been missing from their neighborhoods for more than 20 years. It takes developers, real estate agents, city planners, architects, bankers, landscapers and construction companies to create an outstanding development project. The public sees the results of their hard work: places in our community that use land in a sustainable and responsible way to add great places to live, retail spaces where people enjoy shopping and working and places and events for entertainment, education and connection.

The store is also significant because it’s one of the first projects completed where the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City acted as a developer. We partnered with two other entities to create 36th & Lincoln LLC and develop the project: Milwaukee-based Endeavor Corp., which we sought out for its specialty in developing distressed areas, and Northeast Equity Investment Group. We took on this role because the financing for the deal was so complex that the time and resources required to gather the financial partners, apply for tax credits and acquire the land made the project unfeasible for private development.

The Homeland deal is an excellent example of a successful private-public partnership that is sometimes required to complete a complex transaction that can’t be done in either sector alone. It also represents a strategic direction the Alliance is moving: to pursue opportunities as a developer where there is high need in the community. We are honored to win this award for our work with so many other amazing partners on this important project including Homeland Grocery Stores, CMS Willowbrook, The City of Oklahoma City, and the OKC Chamber.