RDG in the Media: Norman City Leaders Envision Future Plans for Vacant Site
RDG’s Marty Shukert joins city leaders to explore housing and community-driven concepts for the community's soon-to-be-vacant hospital site.
Community leaders in Norman, Oklahoma, are in the early stages of planning for the future of the Griffin Memorial Hospital site, which will soon be vacated. On July 22, RDG Urban Planner and Principal Marty Shukert, FAICP, joined city officials at Norman City Hall to discuss potential concepts for the large property, ranging from new housing options to integrated commercial uses.
“One of the ideas is what we call the residential building block…that is, taking a series of relatively small lots and combining those in unusual ways. So, that can be anything from single-family homes that are detached to units that are attached to townhouses," said Shukert.
The AIM Norman Area & Infrastructure Master Plan, developed in partnership with RDG, highlighted a longstanding disconnect between East and West Norman. City leaders see the Griffin Memorial site as a chance to address that gap by transforming it into “The Main Campus,” a unifying space that serves both sides of the community. Shukert emphasized the site’s potential to act as a physical and social bridge, creating shared ground for residents.
While earlier proposals included ideas like a homeless shelter, the current vision focuses more on housing, mixed-use development and inclusive community spaces.
“We did five different concepts for variations on the theme. They have a lot of the same elements, housing being very important, but different components of commercial, different types of housing, even things like a production studio," Shukert said.