Out on the west side of Oklahoma City, near Southwest 59th Street and State Highway 152, there's not much to look at right now but dirt. Give it about two years, and leaders say it'll be home to more than 130 families.
On Wednesday, Oct. 7, the Oklahoma City Housing Authority and developer Elmington broke ground on West Haven Flats, a 132-unit apartment community aimed at working folks who can't keep up with today's market rents. According to KOCO, the project carries a price tag of about $57 million, paid for through a mix of public and private partnerships, including $1 million from the city's MAPS 4 program.
Built for the people who work out there
The location is the whole point. The site sits close to the factories and industrial jobs that have grown up around the airport.
"We all know that there's lots of factories out here near the airport," said Mark Gillett, executive director of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority. "So, it's really a great opportunity for workforce housing in Oklahoma City."
Base rent at the new complex is expected to be about $950 a month. Thanks to the housing authority's partnership, about one-third of the units will rent for much less than that for families who qualify.
"Those projects will actually include, you know, assistance to further reduce the rents for the families that qualify for those," said Hunter Nelson with Elmington. He said residents for those units will come through referrals from the housing authority.
Nelson said the west side is growing fast, and affordability is a struggle there like everywhere else. He called the project "a bulwark of housing and a bulwark of an opportunity for families to move here and to have the same opportunities as the people who live in the single-family homes right next to us."
The timeline
Leaders told KOCO they hope to have families moving in within just under two years, and the project is aiming to wrap up near the end of 2028.
Neither the housing authority nor Elmington has publicly named a general contractor for the job, and we couldn't find one in any free source, so we're not naming one here.
This is a partnership project between a private developer and the local housing authority rather than a straight market-rate deal. That kind of setup is becoming more common as cities try to stretch public dollars like MAPS 4 by pairing them with private money. It also means the people building it answer to more than one owner, and the folks moving in will come from a mix of backgrounds, from new hires at nearby plants to families the housing authority refers.
MAPS 4 is the city's voter-approved penny sales tax program, and affordable housing is one of the pieces voters set money aside for. A $1 million slice of a $57 million project shows how those dollars are meant to work: as a piece of a bigger financing stack, not the whole thing.
Why it matters for Contractors
A 132-unit apartment community on open ground is a solid, two-year run of work. It starts with site prep, grading, utilities, paving and concrete, then moves into framing, roofing, siding, windows, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, drywall, flooring, cabinets and paint. With the site still bare dirt, the early packages are the ones to chase right now.
Projects with housing authority money and public partners usually come with more paperwork than a plain private job. Contractors should be ready for things like certified payroll or other compliance steps that public money can bring, and for owners who watch the budget closely. Getting your paperwork in order before you bid will save headaches later.
There's a bigger picture, too. The southwest side near the airport keeps adding jobs, and the people filling them need somewhere to live. If West Haven Flats leases up well, it's a good bet more workforce housing will follow on that side of town. Builders who have been waiting on the sidelines for multifamily work to come back will want to keep an eye on this corner of the city. Local subs who get in on this one, do good work and finish on schedule will be in a strong spot when the next project comes around.