TULSA – The Southern Villa District Economic Development Project, a redevelopment project involving the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, recently went through a committee hearing and began the public comment process on Sept. 10.
The project, which would bring more than 210,000 square feet of high-end retail space, as well as 652 to 780 multi-family residential units, sits in between Riverside Parkway and Lewis Avenue in Tulsa, near 87th Street.
Some city councilors, such as Anthony Archie, whose district includes the site, approve of the project, saying it will bring additional jobs and housing to a community that needs it, as local areas such as the Plaza Shopping Center have been in decline.
“When I think about the Southern Villa T.I.F., I think about a partnership between the City of Tulsa and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation for more housing, for more retail, and it just represents the potential for economic revitalization at 81st & Lewis.” Archie said during the Sept. 10 Tulsa City Council’s Urban & Economic Development Committee meeting.
Others, however, are more wary of the project. Jeff Sabin, an attorney with the Center for Economic Development Law, out of Oklahoma City, drew some concern when he explained that the residential units would be sold at “Market Rate,” and that at the time of the City Council meeting, no units of affordable housing would be planned.
Councilor Lori Dector Wright took issue with the vagueness of parts of the document, requesting that more details regarding the planned residential areas be released before the next public hearing.
During the first public comment period of the meeting, Mvskoke citizen Aaron Griffith took issue with the lack of affordable or workforce housing proposed by the project in its current state.
“My main concern with this project is the fact that we, from my understanding of this project, are subsidizing luxury lofts for affluent and privileged people. … I don’t see this being inclusive. I don’t see this being something that’s going to help with the number one problem and the number one priority of the politicians in the city of Tulsa, and that is the homelessness problem and housing instability in this city,” Griffith said.
“It completely undermines the confidence people have in the process. It undermines everything you’re doing when you make these kinds of exceptions.”
The second public hearing regarding the Southern Villa District Economic Development Project is proposed for Oct. 8. The public comment form for Tulsa City Council can be found on their website, https://www.tulsacouncil.org/meetings.
