Three New Tax Increment Finance Districts Greenlighted; TIFs to Promote 1,800+ Housing Units, More Retail Development

4/1/2025

The next steps for three new Tax Increment Finance (TIF) districts have been approved, and promote the development of more than 1,800 housing units and additional retail/economic development opportunities across Tulsa.

The TIFs, which will be good for 25 years, were greenlighted by the Tulsa City Council over the course of the last few weeks.

Tax Increment Financing, or TIFs, are public funding tools that use future tax revenue collections in a certain geographic area to pay for immediate community improvements in those areas. TIFs are used to finance infrastructure, economic development, and urban renewal projects. Once established, TIF monies are collected into a special fund that is then used to pay for the improvements.

"These new TIF districts will have a direct role in helping us meet our affordable housing goals to bring 6,000 new units online by 2028, while at the same time providing quality of life upgrades across various parts of our city," Mayor Nichols said. "I want to thank our Economic Development Director Erran Persley, our team at PartnerTulsa, our local development community, and the Tulsa City Council for continuing to help us realize additional ways that we can accomplish some of Tulsa's most pressing needs."

The new TIFs include:

Crutchfield Neighborhood, 625 new housing units

• Location: East of US Highway 75 and Inner Dispersal Loop, east of Utica Avenue, south of East Pine Street, and north of Interstate 244.
• Details: The TIF includes eight proposed districts in the project plan and is expected to create 625 new housing units, in addition to more single-family, affordable housing units. The area has already seen active development, and the TIF will help further catalyze additional developments in the area. Local developers already working in the area have prioritized affordable housing, as well as historical/neighborhood preservation efforts.  

“Crutchfield TIF will facilitate the development of housing options that are essential for attracting and retaining residents,” District 1 City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said. “By utilizing future tax revenues generated from this project, we will be able to invest in necessary infrastructure improvements, public services, and community amenities that benefit our community”

Southern Villa, 870 new housing units

• Location: East of Riverside Parkway and west of South Lewis Avenue, between East 87th and East 89th Streets
• Details: Development in the area is a partnership between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee Creek Nation. The property, which was a former mobile home park, is expected to be turned into a new, mixed-use development area with housing and retail. As the area is built up, the property is expected to be a major economic driver for the City that can also result in more than 870 new housing units.

“Southern Villa will not only provide a surge of economic development and quality housing but will signal that Tulsa is open for business and is an excellent place to raise a family,” District 2 City Councilor Anthony Archie said. “This project stands an example of what can be accomplished when the Muskogee Creek Nation and the City of Tulsa Partner together.”

Pearl District, 320 new housing units

• Location: East of U.S. Highway 75 and the Inner Dispersal Loop, south of Interstate 244, north of 11th Street South, and west of South Utica Avenue
• Details: The TIF includes opportunities for infill and housing developments in the Pearl District next to Downtown Tulsa. In addition to creating 320 new housing units and more parking, the TIF centers on access to transportation and Bus Rapid Transit lines.

"Applying a TIF to the Pearl District will provide this lively neighborhood with critical tools to help address our housing crisis and support the area with needed infrastructure to improve pedestrian access and safety,” District 4 City Councilor Laura Bellis said.

Other TIF districts in Tulsa that are supporting improvements to neighborhoods, City infrastructure, and retail developments include those in place at Woodland Hills, the Peoria-Mohawk Business Park, 36th St. N. and MLK, the Downtown Area TIF, and several more.

For more information about TIFs can be found online.