In the past ten years the City of Tulsa has seen “Vision 2025,” (approved in 2003) and other developments lead to the BOK center, ONEOK Park (home to the Tulsa Drillers and Roughnecks soccer), and the Brady Art District’s renaissance, which included the Guthrie Green and First Friday art crawls among many other developments.
And the improvements are still happening! Here are some local developments you should know about:
1. A Gathering Place (phase one expected 2017)- This park along Riverside drive is designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh, the same architect who designed many parks in New York City. A boathouse, lodge, playgrounds, nature walks, land bridges and sporting areas will all be featured.
2. East Tulsa Mall (expected 2017)- Due to the Turkey Mountain mall getting blocked, investors are now planning a new outlet mall to the east around the intersection of highways 44 and 244. If approved, there would be a new outlet mall just 5 miles east of campus.
3. “Tulsa’s Future” (ongoing)- This economic development initiative is meant to diversify the city economy, having already created over 12,000 new jobs with salaries over 50k. This might sound less exciting to college students, but with this development, the city will be less economically dependent on fluctuant oil prices in the future.
4. Arkansas River Dam (expected TBD)- A city council decision is expected later this month for an estimated 242 million dollar dam and pedestrian bridge. Projects for a dam have been proposed in the past but are usually stymied by those calling for bridge and street maintenance.
5. The North Tulsa Neighborhoods Plan and Kendall Whittier Sector Plan (planning phase)- These are especially important to know about since residences are sharing their plans for the Kendall Whittier neighborhood that TU is located in. North Tulsa has long been overdue for investment as well.
6. OKPOP (expected 2018) and Downtown Transit Hub (vision)- Ambitious and exciting concept renderings were shown in September of a new green space around the Center of the Universe. This would be a fantastic addition to the newly planned OKPOP museum dedicated to Oklahoma’s influence on the rest of the country, from Garth Brooks to the Outsiders.
