Developers share visions for Evans-Fintube mixed-use development

It’s right there in the request for proposals: “The development will be connected physically, economically and emotionally to the surrounding neighborhood.”

But what does that look like? And how do you create an emotional link to concrete and steel?

After two public-engagement meetings, Franchell Abdalla and Steven Watts have a few ideas. A community-led steering committee established by the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity has named the development groups they represent, Team Alchemy and Greenwood Phoenix, respectively, as the finalists to design and build the project.

Abdalla moved to Tulsa just a few years ago, but she says she’s been here more than enough time to have fallen in love with the city.

“It was about sitting in the community, listening to folks talking about how wonderful Tulsa was, and as an outsider, I see how wonderful Tulsa is,” Abdalla said. “And so if there was an opportunity for us to change the skyline, the future of Tulsa, I wanted to dream alongside the community to do that.”

It’s a big dream. Team Alchemy’s proposed development would include a 42-story mixed-use commercial building and tower on the north end of the property, near the new USA BMX facility, that would include a hotel, performance hall, retail space and rooftop dining.

“If you look at the Tulsa skyline, there is nothing that has been disruptive to that skyline since about the ’80s, but we’re talking about the Tulsa of the future,” Abdalla said. “So we looked at what would have happened if it wouldn’t have burned in this area. What would have happened if development wouldn’t have been so cautious around going up?

“So we are saying it is time to disrupt the Tulsa skyline again with infrastructure and a beacon that calls people here.”

The proposal also calls for transforming the historic Evans building — also known as the Oklahoma Iron Works Building — into a coworking and retail space.

“We also have a maker space for arts and artisans, and then we have some dining,” Abdalla said. “We will be working with a local foundation here to figure out what that looks like.”

Team Alchemy’s vision for the site, Abdalla said, was shaped by three major goals: reclaiming the Evans-Fintube property, which has long been cut off by highways and railroad tracks from the communities that surround it; establishing a true destination spot that would attract tourists and drive wealth creation; and returning the land to the community that watched it burn to the ground a century ago.

“There was so much talk around the Race Massacre and the incidents that happened through redlining and urban renewal, we saw this as an opportunity to create a community land trust that is stewarded properly for community benefit,” Abdalla said. “So taking the 11 acres — ultimately the 22 acres, even the publicly held land that BMX sits on — and putting those into a land trust that would create public good because we want development in north Tulsa.”

The project would also include retail and residential space, an open air plaza and what Abdalla describes as an “experiential space” that would draw visitors from across the country.

“They could rave about, they take pictures, they intentionally Google ‘Tulsa’ for it, they come to see it and thereby increasing not only tourism but also the dollars that are funneled into the city,” she said.

Team Alchemy is led by Be Good Development Partners and J.E. Dunn.

Speaking of big ideas

Steven Watts, CEO of Rose Rock Development Partners, understands that Greenwood Phoenix’s proposed outdoor multipurpose stadium and indoor youth and amateur sports facility will likely garner plenty of buzz.

Those elements of the proposal are the kinds of anchors he and his team believe will not only draw visitors but help address the health and wellness disparities that have plagued north Tulsa.

“We are one of the only cities of our size in the country that doesn’t have one of these multipurpose outdoor stadiums,” Watts said.

The outdoor stadium could be home to concerts, sporting events and more, Watts said, but he also hopes and expects that it will become a popular venue for community events like the annual Juneteenth celebration.

“That was one of our goals — create this use that can really benefit the area from an economic development standpoint, and then also offer the ability to have community-centric events throughout the year, community-based programs for the Greenwood community,” Watts said.

The overall vision for the project is to create big uses that will spur economic development while also focusing on health and wellness and wealth creation.

Wealth creation is just what it sounds like — establishing means for people to earn a living, and even own a business. Watts said the Greenwood Phoenix team — which also includes E Smith Legacy, Pivot Project and Moody Nolan — has 40,000 square feet of retail space planned for the site — all of which would be set aside for local businesses.

“The biggest piece that we are excited about in the whole project is creating a mixed-use, retail-focused series of buildings that will allow community-based retail to occur, and that we are actually going to be giving ownership opportunities in that real estate to the operators of the retail,” Watts said. “We are already kind of meeting with different community members and we want that to be Greenwood-based ownership in that retail.”

The Greenwood Phoenix proposal also calls for a hotel, 62 residential units and locally owned and operated restaurants.

What is not part of the plan is salvaging the historic Evans building. Watts said he and his partners concluded that the economic equation required for such an effort was tough to solve, and that building new would provide the flexibility needed to construct spaces that would better work for local tenants.

Abdalla and Watts say their teams are working hard to ensure that whatever is built not only reflects the wishes of the surrounding community but is also easily accessible by foot, the better to make it a place where people just want to be.

“Kind of have it be a community spot where you don’t necessarily even have to be attending something in the stadium or at the youth amateur sports or BMX,” Watts said. “You are just going there to hang out, take your kids to run around and grab a quick bite to eat or have a scoop of ice cream.”

Team Alchemy and Greenwood Phoenix will present their final plans at a public meeting tentatively scheduled for late March. Attendees will be able to ask questions and score each project.

That feedback will be shared with the 15-member community steering committee, which will use the same scoring system to select the winning project.