EastPoint continues to build people and community

It’s Friday evening at Kindred Spirits and the patio is filling with conversation and the sounds of the band warming up. On lead guitar is Dr. Lunn, the family physician from Centennial Clinic next door, having finished with his day seeing patients since 8 a.m.

Northeast Oklahoma City is an area rich with Oklahoma history and culture. It’s full of people who have pride in their community, common connections with just about anyone who grew up in Oklahoma City and a story only they could tell. There is a renaissance emerging here, accelerated by the work of visionary developers, investors and citizens who care about the fabric of northeast Oklahoma City and want to see it thrive.

The city, with help from the Alliance, created a TIF district for northeast Oklahoma City in 2015 and began working with Pivot Project to identify options for EastPoint, a mostly vacant commercial structure acquired in 2017. Pivot Project first renovated an old service station, followed by the multi-tenant retail building at 23rd Street and Rhode Island Avenue. The EastPoint Project, when complete, will have 41,202 square feet of renovated single-story retail and office space.

Centennial Health, one of the first tenants in EastPoint, is now filled with patients of all ages and recruiting new physicians to help Dr. Lunn serve their busy Oklahoma City location. The Look, an optometry practice, also recently chose EastPoint and the development is filling with new tenants.

Kindred Spirits celebrated its grand opening last week. The “cultural gathering place” provides homage to northeast Oklahoma City’s people, history and contributions to our community and beyond, with textiles inspired by African American tribal patterns and headlines from the Black Dispatch and the Green Book plastered on restroom walls. It’s a comfortable spot for conversation, laughter and community.

EastPoint has more to offer on the near horizon with Jabee Williams’ restaurant and Spike Coffee coming soon. The Market at EastPoint, the farm-to-market, community-led grocery store, now has its sign up and will soon host its grand opening.

Economic development is more than raising buildings, it is about elevating people. It’s exciting to see the vision take shape and see the efforts of creative developers, entrepreneurs and residents continue to transform northeast Oklahoma City.