October 20, 2021
City Councilors continued their planned tours of all nine Council Districts with a tour of District 1 in northwest Tulsa.
The goal of these tours is to highlight areas of growth, district needs and opportunities, economic development drivers, City facilities and other points of interest that make each district unique. Launching these tours was a direct result of discussions at this year’s Mayor-Council Retreat.
Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper led the tour, showing off District 1 to her fellow Councilors and the Mayor. Highlights of the tour included:
✳️ Tour of Station 13, a renovated fire station that is now an event space, at 3924 Charles Page Blvd - https://station13tulsa.com/. "Station 13 was completed in 1933, by renowned Tulsa art deco architect, Albert Joseph Love. Love is widely known throughout the Tulsa community for his zigzag style architecture. Station 13 men worked in shifts of three, serving the people of west Tulsa, until 1964, when the station closed, and the new, larger station was built."
✳️ A walkthrough of the renovations at the Northwest Tulsa Hub, a community and resource center for the Charles Page neighborhood run by The Common Good - https://www.cgtulsa.org/nw-tulsa-hub. The Hub serves close to 12,000 people through six essential initiatives: education, career development, mental health, advocacy, housing and sports/arts programs.
✳️ A presentation on Black Wall Street Square, a future infill project consisting of 24 single-family, owner-occupied townhouses of mixed sizes and price points on MLK Jr. Blvd. and E. Reading St. proposed by McGee Enterprises and Boomtown Development - https://www.blackwallstreetsquare.org/. "The project design was inspired by Tulsa's past and incorporates a Brownstone architectural style commonly used in the 1920's era Greenwood/Black Wall Street District."
✳️ Tour of the EduRec Youth & Family Fun Center and overview of after-school programming - https://edurectulsa.com/. "It was created to offer youth, ages 5-21, a positive alternative for creativity and growth. Instead of joining a gang or engaging in self-destructive behavior, youth can participate in a variety of academic enrichment and mentoring activities or programs which encourage character and integrity development."
✳️ Walk through of the 36th Street North Center at 1125 E. 36th St. N. and presentation on the three Expungement Expos held there which have helped over 500 justice-involved individuals to date - https://36theventcenter.com/. Some of the other events hosted include: job fairs, the first mass graves community meeting, free vaccination clinics, voter registration drives, town hall meetings, mental health and substance abuse training and community meetings on the Evans-Fintube Redevelopment Project.
✳️ A stop at Flat Rock Creek at 1501 E. 36th St. North, a tract which is owned by the City of Tulsa and currently used as a stormwater management area. The City Parks Department plans to partner with a community development group to turn the 200-acre site into an urban wilderness area that would be easily accessible for families and children in the area.
✳️ A drive through tour to see the construction site at Peoria-Mohawk Business Park, 1828 E. 36th St. N., soon to be home to a Muncie Power manufacturing facility - https://peoriamohawk.org/. "The new facility increases Muncie's manufacturing and growth capacity for the future. Muncie's relocation to Peoria-Mohawk will attract future employers and stimulate further economic development in the area."
✳️ Batting practice at Lacy Park at 2134 N. Madison Pl. to see renovations and developments as well as how the local sandlot league, the Tulsa Rumblers, has improved the Baseball Field - https://www.tulsarumblers.com/. "In the late 1950s, a bonafide professional all-Black baseball team dubbed 'The T-Town Clowns' often utilized Lacy (then Lincoln) as their home ball field or as a proving ground to stay sharp and honed for when they barnstormed the region." Sandlot leagues, popping up across the nation, are teams open to people of any age or experience-level interested in joining with others to enjoy friendship, exercise and community-building around the game of baseball.
✳️ The final stop was the Oasis Fresh Market at 1725 N. Peoria Ave. https://www.oasisfreshmarkets.net/. "Our store’s mission is to reduce barriers for community residents of North Tulsa to access fresh fruits and vegetables, but our heart reaches so much further than just a grocery store. We are also tangentially launching a non-profit organization, The Oasis Projects, whose mission is to develop programs to reduce barriers and build bridges for other community needs, whatever those may be."