Advisory committee to be established to help form Community Development Corporation for the property
Work to redevelop 56 acres of land currently owned by the City and Tulsa Development Authority (TDA) in the Kirkpatrick Heights and Greenwood areas of North Tulsa took a major step forward Thursday.
At its regular monthly board meeting, the TDA passed a resolution to create an advisory committee supporting community recommendations that will assist the City in the formation of a Community Development Corporation for the development of the Kirkpatrick Heights and Greenwood areas of North Tulsa.
The move comes after more than 40 community meetings and events were held in 2022, where more than 1,000 residents helped finalize the Kirkpatrick Heights Greenwood Master Plan. The Master Plan, which has been approved by the Tulsa City Council, includes community recommendations for a governance structure that ensures the social and economic benefits of redevelopment are experienced by Black Tulsans, and outlines strategies for the equitable and inclusive mixed-use redevelopment of the area.
"The Kirkpatrick Heights Greenwood Master Plan is a generational investment that is helping create the kind of future development our neighbors in north Tulsa want and deserve,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “Through the ongoing work of the community and our locally led leadership committee, it’s been made clear that local governance and ownership is a top priority. This is one of the first processes of its kind to ever be done in Tulsa, and I’m incredibly thankful for the work of our team at the City, PartnerTulsa and others who are assisting us in this important work.”
Opportunity Accelerator
In February last year, the City’s economic development arm PartnerTulsa received a technical assistance grant through the Opportunity Accelerator, an initiative of Results for America designed to support governments in their efforts to promote economic mobility and reduce racial disparities in their communities. In collaboration with the W. Haywood Burns Institute and other national partners, Tulsa’s work with the Opportunity Accelerator focused on developing a community-led process to determine a governance structure for community benefits and eventual ownership of publicly owned sites throughout last year. Through a series of workshops, public meetings and community interviews, and field trips to existing community-based organizations nationally, a Community Governance Working Group recommended TDA establish an advisory committee to support the establishment of a Community Development Corporation.
“Today’s action is the culmination of countless hours of work by nearly 30 community members serving on the Community Governance Working Group,” PartnerTulsa Executive Director Kian Kamas said. “It is their vision – and the work they put in throughout 2023 to research governance models, visit some of the nation’s leading Black-led development organizations, and seek input from leaders and residents across the North Tulsa community – that is reflected in the recommendations endorsed by the TDA Board of Commissioners today. We look forward to continuing to work alongside this Working Group and the broader community as we seek to stand up a new CDC and move it from incubation to independence.”
“The Kirkpatrick Heights-Greenwood Master Plan has been defined by community collaboration and co-design from the start,” added Ashley Philippsen, Chair of the Tulsa Development Authority. “While today’s action is the culmination of nearly 3 years of deep work by community leaders and residents, it is also the beginning of our most important efforts yet: boldly and swiftly advancing the recommendations of the Community Working Group to establish a new Community Development Corporation. I am honored to have had the privilege to partner with the many leaders who have invested their time, faith and aspirations in this work over the past three years, and I share the enthusiasm of my fellow Commissioners in ensuring TDA remains a partner and enabler in this transformative opportunity.”
Master Plan Implementation
Initial site development costs for Greenwood Plaza are projected to be between $14 – $22 million. Knowing that implementation of the Master Plan would require significant amounts of resources and ample time to develop, $2 million of the City’s FY23 budget went toward implementation of the Master Plan, with an additional $5 million in voter-approved funding through the newest installment of Improve Our Tulsa. The City and PartnerTulsa are currently identifying and applying for additional grants to support the full cost of construction of this project.
What’s Next
For more information on the Kirkpatrick Heights Greenwood Master Plan, visit www.partnertulsa.org/khgmp. To receive the latest news, sign up for project updates at www.partnertulsa.org/khgmp-updates.
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About Partnertulsa
PartnerTulsa is the City of Tulsa’s economic development Authority that streamlines and strengthens Tulsa’s economic development efforts through the merging of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (MOED), Tulsa Industrial Authority (TIA), Tulsa Parking Authority (TPA), and Economic Development Commission (EDC) into a single, enhanced Public Trust. Partner Tulsa (aka TAEO) is governed by a thirteen (13) member Board of Trustees and provides staffing for and oversees the operations of the Tulsa Development Authority (TDA). For more information about PartnerTulsa, visit www.PartnerTulsa.org.
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