City nearing ribbon-cutting ceremony for new Northbase Facilities

Scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. February 11, 2022

NORMAN – Community members are welcome to celebrate the opening of the City of Norman’s new Northbase Facilities with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and group tours of the municipal complex, 1310 Da Vinci Street, on Feb. 11 alongside City staff, elected officials and federal transit partners.

 

Construction on the two large buildings and equipment yard – designed to meet current and future needs of public transportation, public safety and parks maintenance fleets in the City of Norman – began in November 2020. Finishing touches will be completed toward the end of the month and staff members are already transitioning to new offices, bays and stations.

 

“It has been incredibly exciting watching the progression and construction of this project,” said City Manager Darrel Pyle, “which will positively impact the operations of Parks Maintenance and Public Works at the City of Norman, as well as our community partners at EMBARK. We share a mission to deliver exceptional services to the citizens of Norman and these types of investments put us in the best position to do that.”

 

TRANSIT & PUBLIC SAFETY MAINTENANCE FACILITY

The 18,634 sq. ft. Transit & Public Safety Maintenance Facility consists of office spaces and service bays to maintain large public transportation and public safety vehicles. The City’s transit system is currently operating out of rented space at the University of Oklahoma. Funding for the $6.9M project has been made possible through a combination of Public Safety Sales Tax dollars, City Capital Sales Tax dollars and a $5.1M federal transit grant via CARES Act funding.

 

“This is a major step for the City and transit in Norman,” said Taylor Johnson, Transit & Parking Program Manager. “It has been remarkable to see the amount of support that Norman has for transit, which has been made evident by the support and passage of transit propositions and funding. This facility will continue our efforts over the last 2.5 years to improve and operate a more efficient transit program in Norman.

 

Further complementing the facility is a transit yard complete with CNG slow fill posts and electric vehicle charging stations.

 

PARKS MAINTENANCE FACILITY

The 15,815 sq. ft. Parks Maintenance Facility will house several office areas and 10 service bays for parks maintenance vehicles. The new facility will replace the current Parks Maintenance Facility in Reaves Park and comes at a cost of $2.6M, financed through voter-approved Norman Forward funds, as well as capital funds.

 

Parks Maintenance employs 31 staff members and is charged with the care and maintenance of approximately 1,500 acres of parks and City land.

 

“This is a much-appreciated upgrade to our Parks Maintenance Facility, as the services of our team continue to expand to support our growing park’s system,” said Wade Thompson, Parks Superintendent.

 

Mayor Breea Clark and other City leaders are slated to share remarks at the ceremony. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to wear masks and should follow signage to park when entering off of Flood Avenue.

 

Questions may be directed to taylor.johnson@normanok.gov.

 

 

###