Tulsa city hall due for make over
It was first reported in 2007 that the city council would be moved to a new City Hall and that the old City Hall building would be sold. Tulsa news media were told the move would benefit the city economically as the new building would be cheaper to operate and maintain, while the sale of the old building would partially fund the purchase of the new one.
In 2010 final plans were made for the sale of the old city hall. The news has not been met with any great sense of loss by the public as the building is a fairly non-descript, typical square tower with tones of brown and white and economical looking concrete holding it all up.
It is a building that was clearly built in the 1960s, at a time when architects had lost interest and many ugly towering buildings were thrown up. Ironically, the same firm that designed and built the old city hall, Manhattan Construction, will be contracted to redevelop it into a swanky, modern looking hotel.
For the past three years, the City of Tulsa has been seeking a buyer for the old city hall. The building was vacated by the city government in 2008 following a US $76 million plan to move the city hall into a new 15-storey glass tower called One Technology Centre.
That building was brand new, whereas the old city hall was aged and out-dated. It was estimated that up to US $15 million could be saved through the renting of office space in the old city hall and through the cheaper cost of maintaining and operating a newer building. The move was controversial, however, akin to the moving of a country’s national capital in a fairly small city like Tulsa and it remains contentious.
The old city hall has taken several years to sell and when a deal was closed with the new owners, The Snyder family, who also redeveloped the Mayo Hotel, it was for just US $1.2 million, which will be used to offset the cost of the city hall relocation, but doesn’t come close to the several tens of millions spent.
However, the building’s new owners, and soon-to-be developers, see their plans greatly benefitting the city. A hotel will be built within the old city hall, featuring 200 rooms with restaurants, a pool area, retail space and boccie ball courts.
The developers plan to recreate the downtown experience for both residents of the city and its visitors. Tulsa has been criticized in recent years for stagnating in comparison to other US cities, the downtown area has been widely referred to as a large concrete desert with no life to it.
The Snyder’s hope to change this by making the hotel and its grounds a ‘play ground’ downtown.
Their plans follow those undertaken by several US cities attempting to breathe life back into their downtown areas. In the past several decades, downtown areas have come to symbolize the place where serious work is undertaken in government and commercial buildings, or where serious crimes are committed in the ‘inner city’, depending on the city.
But new attempts are being made to redevelop and breathe new life into downtown areas all over the US. Omaha, Dallas, San Antonio and Reno are just some of the American cities considering or undertaking redevelopment plans for their downtown areas.
Commonly, these redevelopment ‘master plans’ are led by the local government, which uses incentives to bring in investment from the private sector, but Tulsa is different. A Downtown Master Plan for the city has been drawn up by local businesses, illustrating a grass-roots movement that seeks to transform the financial core of the city into a place for everyone to enjoy.
New bars, nightclubs and cafes are opening at street-level to encourage a pedestrian presence and new residential developments are underway, with loft apartments, condos and other units appearing in the downtown area, an essential part of the plan’s goal to increase the permanent population of downtown.
In 2007, when the City Hall relocated, then-Mayor Taylor pointed out to Tulsa news media that the city was losing out to the suburbs and this has been true, with many comparing the recent history of downtown to that of a long nap. But, it is a nap from which downtown has awoken, business leaders say.
Two major projects outlined by the Master Plan are the need to connect downtown to the Tulsa River Park’s system such as the Riverwalk Trail and the Arkansas Trail system which leads one through appealing gardens and landscaped vegetation. The Master Plan is complemented by the larger government-led Vision 2025, which has spearheaded a number of citywide developments aimed at putting Tulsa on the map as a city of diversity and tourism.
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Tulsa city hall due for make over
The moving of city hall in 2008 was contentious, but was framed as beneficial to the city. In 2010 this may be coming true as new development plans for the old building take shape, alongside wider plans to recreate the downtown experience.
It was first reported in 2007 that the city council would be moved to a new City Hall and that the old City Hall building would be sold. Tulsa news media were told the move would benefit the city economically as the new building would be cheaper to operate and maintain, while the sale of the old building would partially fund the purchase of the new one. Read more
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