New Development Underway In South OKC

The sight on the old Downtown Airpark looks like the beginning of an amusement park thanks to a newly added Ferris wheel.

“Back in 2008, he decided to buy a Ferris wheel on EBAY,” Wheeler District Developer Blair Humphreys said about his brother.

“Honestly it sounded like a bizarre idea at the time,” added Humphreys.

Now he credits the rare find, that used to sit on the Santa Monica Pier, as being a sign of what’s to come south of the Oklahoma River at Western Avenue.

Gondolas will carry people 100 feet above the river.  Crews are now rehabbing the ride and replacing old lights with more than 100,000 LED lights.

Dirt is also being moved south of the ride to make way for the Wheeler District's eventual 2000 homes.

Restaurants, retail and even a school are in the plans.

Developers’ influences are found in the Mueller district in Austin Texas and Stapleton, the sight of Denver's old airport.

The Wheeler District's first lots go on sale in the fall, but the neighborhood's already distinct landmark, a one-time EBAY purchase, starts circling no later than July 4.

“A Ferris wheel lit up on the Oklahoma River celebrates not only what’s going in Oklahoma City, but what’s going in South Oklahoma City,” said Humphreys.