Tulsa: The 21st Century City
Urban Tulsa Weekly
By Ginger Shepherd
Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
From the start, Tulsa has been a town that grown from unique circumstances. In the late 1800s, the railroad and its related Arkansas River bridge helped make Tulsa a cattle town. But it was in the early part of the 20 th Century that Tulsa became known worldwide with the booming oil business. During this time, the city saw growth, prosperity and development that captured the imagination of the nation.
Since those boom days, when Tulsa was being idolized by the New York literati and Hollywood alike, Tulsa has fared well. Almost too well.
Spoiled by success, the city played its prosperity like a football team with a huge lead. The people, who made the money got tired, retired and turned it over to those who didn’t and they got either greedy or ultra conservative.
And so the land went fallow.
Some oil patch operators stayed, the majority went south of the Red River and Tulsa began getting an inferiority complex. There was the oil bust and other economic crises
The city has seen jobs move out of Tulsa. Its government has had to struggle. Somehow, Tulsa has survived. Almost in spite of itself, or thanks to the imagination and tenacious, tough love of those who really care about their hometown, the city is making a remarkable recovery. There are plans and programs being made public every week that makes us think Tulsa is on the cusp of a Golden Era: A city for this new century.
It is said that God helps those who help themselves. Well, if we may extrapolate: Tulsans helped themselves immensely by passing the 2003 sales tax program known as Vision 2025.
And for all the vituperation hurled at former Mayor Bill LaFortune, it was his name and hubris and ingenuous approach that rallied the support of an unlikely coalition of voters—the creative class and the monied elite who came together to pass four different ballot issues: one to provide incentives to Boeing; fund a hanger for American Airlines; provide funding for education and medical needs; and funding for neighborhoods and community projects.
Suzann Stewart, senior vice president for the Convention and Visitors Bureau at the Chamber of Commerce, said Vision 2025 underlined the fact that it was one of the largest sales tax programs ever passed, nationwide.
It was the third and maybe a last chance for the city that had nixed two previous bond issues toward redevelopment. Was it desperation setting in? Tulsa was looking down the turnpike at what Ok City had accomplished with its MAPS program?
Stewart says it was a statement that the community believes in itself. It also shows that a community is willing to invest in itself by funding research facilities at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa or facilities at University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and the Northeastern State University-Broken Arrow or for schoolbooks.
By providing funding for educational needs, the sales tax program is investing in the area’s future, Stewart explained, pointing out that it is providing education for Tulsa’s youth.
Vision 2025 is even helping to revitalize the downtown area and make ideas in the downtown urban renewal plan, which calls for mixed uses in downtown that include residential. The bond issue has provided funds for developers to renovate old buildings in the central business district for living space.
Having voted for progress, Tulsa re-ignited interest around the country. LaFortune, et al, enlisted the services of uber-architect Cesar Pelli, known for his design of the world’s tallest buildings, the Petronas Towers, and other “iconic” structures worldwide, to design the city’s 18,000-seat arena.
After the sales tax passage, other exciting ventures have been announced or become public knowledge. For instance, just last week, Global Development Partners, a private real estate development and management company in Washington, D.C., announced its long-awaited plan to develop the eastern end of downtown Tulsa with mixed uses including residential, retail, office and hotel.
The development firm is also proposing to build an 8,000-seat baseball park in downtown, according to information found on the group’s Web site, http://www.globaldevelopmentpartners.com/.
Global Development’s project is called East End and will be located between Elgin to the west, the interdisperal loop to the east; Eighth Avenue will serve as the southern boundary with the north line being location along Second. As a side note, the Urban Tulsa Weekly’s current location is in the proposed redevelopment area.
“We have been and continue to be attracted to the vibrancy and revitalization of the city’s downtown, and believe our plans will complement the ideas and projects already in the marketplace,” Timothy Kissler, president of Global Development Partners, said in a press release sent to the Urban Tulsa Weekly.
With their retail development, he wrote that they hope to bring in a variety of commercial uses including specialty shops, clothing and dining options. Even more, the development firm wants to bring commercial necessities to downtown, among those they would like to bring in a grocery story, a pharmacy, and “other elements to create a neighborhood.”
Even before Global Development’s announcement, Tulsa attracted the attention of two outside investors: Maurice Kanbar and Henry Kaufman. The two men purchased about 30 percent of downtown’s building. Their vision was to revitalize downtown with commercial, office, retail and residential spaces. They wanted downtown Tulsa to rejuvenate like SoHO in New York City.
Locally, developers like Mayo LLC and Michael Sager followed their lead, securing Vision 2025 money to convert old buildings into loft living spaces.
The passage of Vision 2025 shows outsiders more than just a willingness to invest in ourselves and to make our city a destination. Stewart said the passage, and the administration of the program, comes from a cooperative relationship of all of the communities in the Tulsa area.
That idea of people working for a common goal is a testament of sorts to the down-home, everyone is family attitude that Tulsa, as a large metropolitan area – still has. Stewart said Tulsa area residents don’t necessarily think of Tulsa as a destination.
When tourists ask what there is to do, a Tulsa resident’s reply will be “ Tulsa is a great place to live,” she said. While not the answer a tourist may be looking for, Tulsans will say why Tulsa is a great place to live by rattling off some of the area’s attractions – the Gilcrease, the Philbrook, the Tulsa Zoo and the Oklahoma Aquarium.
Tulsa is a destination, but it isn’t a commercial destination like Disney World or Branson, she said. In Tulsa, there is this feeling of when a visitor is here, they become family friends.
Part of the program funded the construction of a new events center and a renovation of the existing convention center. Mayor Kathy Taylor said at a recent press event at the BOK Center said the arena will be a destination for events as well as destination in itself because of its Pelli-iconic design.
The facility, she said, would help make Tulsa the “flagship of the region.”
While the project will serve as a major attraction for Tulsa, the arena also serves as a symbol of partnerships between private entities and government to get projects done. The Bank of Oklahoma partnered with the city by purchasing the naming rights to the arena.
Igniting Old Money
Last week, eight businesses and local foundations pledged about $15.95 million to the BOK Construction and enhancements. The donors are ONEOK with a $5.6 million commitment; Williams Companies whose pledge is $3.5 million; Dollar Thirty with a donation of $1.4 million; George Kaiser Foundation with a $2.5 million gift; SemGroup with a $500,000 donation; Nadel and Gussman Energy LLC and Samson have a combined gift of $500,000; and Oracle Packaging and FW Murphy are donating $100,000.
Taylor said Tulsa’s private-public partnerships serve as a way to make projects happen.
The arena isn't the only example of private groups coming forward to make Tulsa a better place. A group of private donors is planning to formally announce their personal plans for Arkansas River this week. The non-profit group, Tulsa Stakeholders Inc., is comprises of John-Kelly Warren, president of the W.K. Warren Foundation, and his wife Margie, who is a stay at home mom and a community volunteer; Tom Cooper, who is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Warren Professional Building Corp.; Scott and Chris Lambert, husband and wife owners of Travertine, Inc. an elevator interior firm; and Rusty Patton, an attorney. They are proposing island developments in the Arkansas River that would feature mixed uses on islands created by dams.
They propose the development be built on an artificial island created the “lake” that would be produced by damming a portion of the Arkansas upstream toward Sand Springs. The development would occur between 11 th and 21 st street bridges, according to an announcement in the Tulsa World. The project could carry a $600 million price tag and is envisioned to be a public-private partnership – using funds from public and private sources.
Urban Tulsa Weekly contacted the public relations firm handling publicity for the group--Rex Public Relations--and was told that they are not giving out information until the public announcement sometime this week.
Attractions and the down-home feeling isn’t just about bringing in tourists. Being a destination of sorts, having things to do and being open is an economic development tool to help the city attract new business and to encourage existing businesses to expand in Tulsa and not elsewhere, Stewart explained.
Kissler wrote that he and his company are thankful for the warm invitation of city leaders, including former Mayor Bill LaFortune, and the different agencies who have given their time to his company. Even with a new administration, the company is finding continued interest in the project.
“We are excited about participating in the ongoing revitalization of Downtown Tulsa,” he said. “We hope our project will not only enhance the quality of life for downtown residents and workers, but also assist in the attraction and retention of businesses in Tulsa.”
It isn’t just a new developer that is happy with the city’s reception. In May 2006, Forbes announced its new rankings for best metros and best cost of doing business. The magazine ranked Tulsa 43 overall on its best metro list; an improvement over the 2005 rank of 77.
Tulsa was ranked number five in the cost of doing business category, according to the Oklahoma Commerce article. Oklahoma City was ranked 13 among metro areas and was number four when it comes to the cost of doing business.
With the new rankings and heightened awareness of Tulsa, the city is no setting its sights on attracting the demographic that has become the darling of progressive, urban environments: the young professional. Stewart said they are the new target group as the workforce is looking to replace workers.
In order to attract young professionals, cities need to have something for the young professionals to do, she explained.
Indeed, within the past two years, Tulsa has seen the birth of two young professional groups who, the groups hope, will serve as lightning rods for the community.
Big Plans
Vision 2025 is only part of the equation for Tulsa’s vitality in this new century. Planning is always as key factor--and it is something the Tulsa area is doing. Jerry Lasker, director of the Indian Nations Council of Governments, pointed out that there are numerous plans for the Tulsa Metropolitan area including the river development plan, the master trails plan, the transportation plan and comprehensive plan.
The comprehensive plan serves as guide for developers and planning commissions when they are looking at how and where a community should develop. Plans can also serve as the vision communities have for their growth.
However, Tulsa planners and developers are a little hindered when it comes to an up-to-date guide. Lasker said the city’s comprehensive plan is outdated. Its last update was sometime in the 1970s.
As a general rule comprehensive plans should be updated about every 10 years, he said. Without an updated plan to serve as a guide, issues and conflicts can arise as planners try to make recommendations on developments based on an outdated plan.
Plans such as the comprehensive projects produced by INCOG, provide a chance for communities to develop visions for what they want their community to be. Lasker explained that in most plan development process, public input from residents is sought.
Updated comprehensive planning guides are needed because there is still development to done in Tulsa. There are still areas in the Tulsa County area that have not yet been developed. Lasker estimated there is about 270 square miles of unincorporated land in the county. There are areas that municipalities have indicated they want to grow into.
But more important than the undeveloped parcels, Lasker said infill development is the big issue for Tulsa. It has been, and should be, a controversial subject for there are a multiplicity of interests involved. It is a situation where developers, planners and property and homeowners have to work together and ask what is the best use for the property, what fits with the neighborhood and what type of development will not negatively affect the existing neighborhood.
While the metropolitan area hasn’t been updating its comprehensive plan, it has been updating the transportation plan for the area. Lasker said the transportation plan is updated every five years – that update is mandated every five years.
INCOG has the long-ranged transportation plan available online at www.incog.org. The plan, named Destination 2030 Long Range Transportation Plan, is broken into six chapters, which includes the introduction and the plan's effectiveness. Other chapters pertain to roadways, bicycle and pedestrian traffic, public transportation and freight movement.
The plan has some progressive ideas which are the result of public inputs and studies. One such idea is that of commuter rail system. It was something that Urban Tulsa Weekly columnist Jamie Pierson brought up in a recent column. The proposed rail could help alleviate congestion on expressways.
In the plan, the proposal is to build a rail from Broken Arrow’s Main Street to Tulsa’s Union Depot, with an intermediate stop near Skelly Drive, according to the plan. It would run at the peak times with three runs in the morning and three in evening.
Destination 2030 also identifies the possibilities of rail lines along the Arkansas River to alleviate traffic on U.S. 75; a rail that would run near Tulsa International Airport, Catoosa and Claremore, with another line running to Owasso and Collinsville to help alleviate traffic on U.S. 169; railways running to Sand Springs and Sapulpa could reduce congestion on U.S. 412 and I-44.
As for roadways, the plan indicates that the public feels a priority should be to maintain existing roads. Even more, the plan suggests that residents want improved access across the river.
Lasker said just last year, a formal plan was adopted for the river’s development. The plan is based off the first phase Vision plan but it incorporates a great deal of public input.
Tulsa may see development along the river. Improvements were included in the Vision 2025 sales tax program. More recently, the George Kaiser Foundation announced a donation for river front improvement.
Ranking High, and Ranking
With plans and programs in place for Tulsa, one has to ask, how does Tulsa rank when compared to other cities? There are different sites with different rankings, but overall Tulsa does pretty well against other communities.
For instance, Expansion Management Magazine looks at communities within the U.S. and decides which communities will be included in their 50 hottest cities, according to an online article found at www.expansionmanagment.com. For its 2006 list, Tulsa tied with Tucson, Ariz. for the 11 th spot. Oklahoma City was named number 23.
Tulsa’s new rating is improved over previous years where it was ranked 27 th, behind Oklahoma City, according to an Oklahoma Senate article found at www.oksenate.gov/publications/issues_papers/cost_of_living/tsld019.htm.
Selection Magazine named Tulsa eighth for metro hot spots for new and expanding industry, the article said.
Although Tulsa is ranking high when it comes to growth, economy and business atmosphere, there are still some areas where Tulsa is not making the cut, so to speak.
SustainLane.com is a web site that provides information on healthy and sustainable living. Each year, the Web site ranks 50 cities--generally the largest cities--in the country for sustainability and health living. Some of the categories include congestion, commute to work, affordability, natural disaster risk.
Tulsa is ranked 40th on the list; Oklahoma City ranked 49 th. For Tulsa, the study noted that only about 1.5 percent of our population commutes to work on public transportation. About four out of five residents drive to work alone. None of the city’s fleet vehicles, according to the SustainLane.com, use alternative fuels.
As for organic foods, the study points out that Tulsa hosts two official farmers’ markets and seven community gardens. Tulsa, however, has access to the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, which distributes locally made, as well organic, goods in the area.
A plus for Tulsa is its clean-tech incubator that helps technology companies get started and grow as well as create renewable energy or energy-efficient technologies.
