Introducing Lively Hotel: a new hotel experience by Hilton™, coming to OAK, a vibrant mixed-use district rising in Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 13, 2023) – OKC-area native Ryan McNeill of Veritas Development today announced Lively Hotel, a 132-key boutique hotel concept by Hilton™, will join the community at OAK, the 20-acre mixed-use district rising at 5101 North Pennsylvania Avenue in Oklahoma City. Dallas-based Gatehouse Capital will develop Lively Hotel in partnership with Veritas. With site work underway, vertical construction of the mixed-use community began last week and ahead of schedule.
Designed as OAK’s “living room,” Lively Hotel is an original concept and part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton™, a gathering of original upscale hotels. As Oklahoma’s first Tapestry Collection hotel, Lively Hotel will feature 132 rooms; a 3,050-square-foot bar and restaurant; an elevated amenity deck with a 2,400-square-foot outdoor bar and activated pool area; a fitness center; and over 2,600 square feet of meeting space. The scissortail, the state bird of Oklahoma, is the leading design inspiration for the hotel (a rendering can be found here).
“Lively Hotel is a testament to our belief in a ‘new luxury’ that defines itself with ease and energy,” said Penn Collins, President and CEO for Gatehouse Capital. “Historically, Gatehouse’s most successful projects have been lifted by both brand affiliations and partnerships. The firm’s work in concert with Hilton, Veritas, and OAK’s tenants promises to bring not only a new hotel product to Oklahoma City, but an entirely new experience to the region. Benefitting from the amenities provided by this placemaking development, Lively promises to offer both an elevated destination for visitors and a fabulous perch atop OAK for local guests as well.”
At the ground floor, the hotel will feature 13,500 square feet of retail space. Open Realty’s Michael Nagy and Chris Speciale are already in talks with several new-to-market brands for the retail space, with plans to announce concepts in the coming months. Nelson Worldwide is the hotel architect; Sarah Pickard of Pickard Design Studio is the interior designer. Vincit Constructors, the general contractor, and Valor Bank, the lending partner, are both based in the Oklahoma City area.
“Valor is excited to be leading the financing for the project,” said Kenny Thomas, Chief Lending Officer. “Lively Hotel will be the first of its kind in Oklahoma and is just one part of the exciting redevelopment of this area of Oklahoma City. We are honored to be a part of this endeavor and look forward to watching the creative vision come to life over the next 24 months.”
The hotel news comes on the heels of several major retail announcements, including RH’s Design Gallery, a new concept encompassing three levels and featuring a Rooftop Restaurant and Garden, Wine Bar, in-house Interior Design Firm and more. Arhaus, a premium home furnishing brand known for its globally inspired, artisan-crafted furniture and decor, will open a 17,000-square-foot space to showcase its products and design services. Upscale steakhouse Capital Grille will open its first location in Oklahoma in a 10,000-square-foot space. Additional retail announcements are planned for later this spring.
“Within the past two years, Oklahoma City has seen an impressive tourism rebound,” said Zac Craig, President of Visit Oklahoma City. “In 2021, we welcomed 21.4 million visitors with an economic impact of $3.8 billion. We're excited for OAK to begin taking shape, and know that the mix of top-tier retailers, restaurants, and now, Lively Hotel, will be a significant draw for new visitors, further enhancing Oklahoma City's offerings as a destination.”
The OAK community also encompasses 320 multifamily homes, developed in partnership with luxury multifamily housing developer Mintwood Real Estate. The first-of-its-kind multifamily experience for Oklahoma City will feature curated interior finishes and best-in-class amenities designed for residents seeking a walkable urban lifestyle.
“With vertical construction now underway, finalizing the development partner and concept for Lively Hotel is an important milestone that brings us one step closer to creating a best-in-class mixed-use experience at OAK,” said McNeill. “We have the right partners in place to develop a truly integrated destination, complete with a dynamic retail mix, unique hospitality offering, activated patios and greenspaces, and miles of connected sidewalks.”
McNeill is joined by Everett Dobson and the Dobson family as partners in the multi-phase project.
To learn more, visit oakokc.com and follow the project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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About OAK:
Nestled within a city on the rise, OAK is a new type of community unlike anything in the region, destined to change the way life is lived in Oklahoma. OAK is Oklahoma City’s comfortable, walkable mixed-use development where more than two miles of sidewalks weave together first-to-market retailers, restaurants with rooftop dining, Class A office space, luxury residences, a boutique hotel, and a central greenspace that is the heart of a district unfurling with opportunity. Here, sprawling live oak trees stretch upward to invite a region, a city and a community to an invigorating weekday-to-weekend destination where living, creating, playing and working in one connected environment is always in full bloom. To learn more about OAK, visit www.oakokc.com and follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Veritas Development:
Veritas Development is a commercial real estate firm that has developed and acquired over 500,000-square-feet of Class A retail, office and hospitality space. Ryan McNeill, founder of Veritas, is credited with spearheading these efforts and is currently applying a New Urbanist approach to OAK, a dense 20-acre experiential mixed-use development in Oklahoma City. The McNeill family has been part of the Oklahoma community for generations, and has interests in banking, oil and gas, and other real estate investments.
About Gatehouse Capital
Founded in 1997, Gatehouse Capital is a nationwide hotel development firm based in Dallas. Since its inception, the firm has developed more than $700 million of hotel projects with more than $400 million of projects in its current development pipeline as of Q1 2023. Gatehouse, led by Penn Collins, has developed and maintains a focus on high-barrier projects to develop a true sense of place through the confluence of design, branding, and partnerships. The company currently operates both a lifestyle development and a medical hospitality development platform, seeking to take the principles of hospitality to new realms of health, leisure, and wellness.
About Valor Bank:
Valor Bank was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma. Valor is focused on serving the community through real estate and business lending, FDIC-insured bank accounts, and joyfully giving 10% of profits to local nonprofits making a positive difference.
About the Dobson Family:
The Dobson family, co-investor in OAK, has been in business in Oklahoma for 85 years and is represented by Everett Dobson. The Dobson family investments include Dobson Fiber, a 5,000-mile fiber optic transport company based in Oklahoma, Oak Tree National golf course in Edmond, Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA basketball team. The Dobson Family Foundation is also very active in Oklahoma supporting many local non-profit organizations.
About Mintwood Real Estate:
Mintwood Real Estate, founded in 2018 in Dallas, Texas, builds forward-looking and valuable mixed-use and multi-family communities. Mintwood and its entrepreneurial team create distinctive, institutional-quality products that seek to redefine experiences for neighborhoods and their residents. The Mintwood team has built more than 4,000 residential units and more than half a million square feet of retail throughout Texas and across the nation, in addition to facilitating multiple acquisitions, dispositions, and re-zoning successes. To learn more about Mintwood, visit www.mintwoodre.com.
Open Realty
Michael Nagy and Chris Speciale with Open Realty advise on the retail leasing assignment for OAK.