Cushing Receives Grant for Downtown Projects 

Congratulations to the City of Cushing!

November 9th, 2017

OU’s Institute for Quality Communities and the Oklahoma Municipal League awarded the City of Cushing one of the 2017-2018 OML Community Development grants. Cushing was awarded the grant in an effort to assist with the revitalization of the downtown area from not only earthquake damage, but to be more pedestrian and business friendly.

The Dunkin Theatre is located in Downtown Cushing and was opened in 1926

Damaged building in Downtown Cushing

The City of Cushing continues to recover from the November 2016 5.0 magnitude earthquake that caused serious damage to the downtown Cushing area. Cushing’s goals include creating a safe and comfortable space for pedestrians to walk, strengthen the communities’ culture, and allow the area to generate more activities for citizens and visitors. In addition, the city will be working toward a more corporate presence in their community due to the oil market.

The Director of the Institute for Quality Communities at the University of Oklahoma Shane Hampton said, "After several site visits to Cushing, our team of students from the OU College of Architecture saw the ongoing projects downtown and learned about the community's vision for the area. Our student team included talented city planning and landscape architecture students from the United States, Nigeria, and India. Throughout the process, Cushing’s city staff, business owners, and residents have been great hosts and provided helpful information. Recommendations highlight inexpensive ways to improve the sidewalk experience, programming concepts for vacant lots and public spaces, and an organizational structure for more dialogue among downtown stakeholders. We are looking forward to seeing how the group in Cushing continues their efforts”.

OU IQC visits Cushing

Downtown Cushing

The Oklahoma Municipal League has partnered with OU’s Institute for Quality Communities to offer the Quality Communities Grant Program which assists its members with funding to those communities projects who have been selected by OU’s IQC for a project in their community. Congratulations to the City of Cushing on being selected to receive funding on these important projects.

For further details and information, please contact Nancee Morris.