U-Haul Company of Oklahoma City Oct.

9, 2017
7525 SE 29th St.
Midwest City, OK 73110

Oklahoma City Department of Public Works

420 West Main, Suite 700
Oklahoma City, OK 73102-4406
ATTN: Eric Wenger, Director of Public Works, City Engineer; Debbie Miller, Public Works, Assistant City Engineer;
Dennis Clowers, City Managers Office; Jim Lewellyn, Public Works; Amanda Carpenter, Municipal Counselors Office

Open Letter to the Oklahoma City Department of Public Works

OKC is near and dear to each of us. Its distinct communities represent the best of Oklahoma life: good
people, progressive business and flourishing culture. This is our home.
Our home is growing. We accept and embrace this. Anytime people are on the move which is all the
time its beneficial for U-Haul because our products and services are in demand. The growth of OKC
also requires development and infrastructure. Thats where our admirable city officials come into play.
The actions proposed by our municipal leaders often have major ramifications on private and corporate
citizens. Considering the positive and negative impacts on our private and corporate citizens is a great
responsibility, and yet it is the essence of many government jobs.
OKC has traditionally been pro-business. U-Haul, in turn, has been a leading proponent of OKC. This is
especially so of our Bricktown store. Serving the community since 1977, U-Haul Moving & Storage of
Bricktown at 100 SE 2nd St. has been a neighborhood tenant for more than 40 years. U-Haul preserved
the historical structure, once home of the Snow White Bakery, by applying its adaptive reuse policies to
promote infill development and reduce the emissions, materials and wastes linked to new construction.
Through the decades, our Bricktown store has repeatedly obliged city requests. This included spending
hundreds of thousands of U-Haul dollars in the 1990s when the city requested a new store faade to fit its
vision for an entertainment district, masking the areas industrial roots.
Now the city has chosen to target our Bricktown store as a potential answer for its oft-delayed and much-
debated OKC Boulevard project. The city is considering bringing an eminent domain case against U-Haul
of Bricktown in the name of a more direct connection to Oklahoma Avenue.
Eminent domain the government exercising its power to seize private property for public use is a very
intrusive and unpopular action. When the need is absolutely irrefutable and there are no other options to
consider, perhaps it makes sense. In this case, it makes absolutely no sense.
When the city first approached U-Haul of Bricktown, proposing a land swap for our parking lot, it was
not in our best interest. Such a project would turn our store and property around, back to front and front to
back. It would be impossible to best serve DIY moving customers with extensive renovations taking
place. Yet despite our interests, we came to the negotiating table as a good neighbor, willing to listen to
the citys needs once more.
We soon realized how unaware the city is of the costs that accompany a project of this size. Its more
complex than removing the doors from the west wall and sticking them on the east wall. There are new
building codes to meet; permits to attain; big changes to utilities and the water system; showroom
relocation; elevator relocation; elevation variations; and so much more.
Construction costs for what the city is asking of our store will approach $5 million. In response, the city
offered us just over $1 million. Essentially asking a business to spend its own money let alone almost
$4 million to accommodate a city-requested project that would hurt business and inconvenience U-Haul
customers is mindboggling. And wrong.
There are a variety of opinions about the OKC Boulevard project and whether its actually needed, how
its being handled, and the delays and costs involved. A workaround is being constructed along the border
of the U-Haul property to provide a path for drivers to reach Oklahoma Avenue at an additional cost to
the taxpayers. If the city now opts to declare eminent domain, it would mean delays of another 1-2 years
while the case plays out while putting taxpayers on the hook for the complete cost of the U-Haul property
reconfiguration, not to mention the citys legal fees.
Thats not a productive path for the city, U-Haul, the business community or the citizens of OKC.
If our municipal leaders are pro-business as they claim to be, let it be reflected in the way they handle this
project by not threatening an honorable business that has served Bricktown for 40 years. We are often the
first representatives that people meet when they move to our city and return their truck or trailer. Were
proud to put a positive face on OKC.
We respect our local officials and the jobs they do. We ask that our local officials respect a good neighbor
and one of OKCs strongest proponents in the business community.
U-Haul of Bricktown has started a change.org and in-store petition to let the people of OKC be heard on
this topic: https://www.change.org/p/oklahoma-city-council-save-our-u-haul-location-in-oklahoma-city.
Please consider its merit, and thank you for considering our stance.

Sincerely,

Brett M. Hogan
U-Haul Area District Vice President