Dawn Warrick: She says the $35 million would help bring PlaniTulsa to life.
Dawn Warrick, the city's planning director, acknowledges that explaining what Tulsans would get by funding planning and economic development projects in the proposed capital improvements package is no easy task.
"It's a little fuzzier than a street," she said.
It's also a lot of money - nearly $35 million.
Warrick said the simplest way to understand where the funds would go is to remember PlaniTulsa, the citywide effort to update the city's comprehensive plan.
A comprehensive plan provides a vision for the city's development, addressing items such as green space, transportation and housing.
The $35 million would help bring that vision to life.
"The purpose of the projects that fall under our category is to move the city forward toward implementation of the comprehensive plan," Warrick said.
Here's how the funding would be spent:
Economic Development Infrastructure Opportunities ($6 million): Warrick's job is to plan and keep with the vision of the comprehensive plan. But she is the first to acknowledge that no plan envisions everything. Things come up, and $6 million would be available to ensure that the city can address those infrastructure needs when they do.
The fund has been part of previous capital improvements packages and paid for such things as removing railroad tracks from the middle of Archer Street to extend Greenwood Avenue south.
In the future, Warrick said, "Are we going to get a better return on the community's investment by adding a turn lane or adding a sidewalk?"
"It is bricks and mortar improvements that will benefit the community, regardless of what happens to be functioning on that site."
Strategic Mobility Plan ($1.5 million): As the city looks to diversify its transportation options, it needs a policy to implement that vision.
Warrick said the city would use a "return on investment" model to assess what projects benefit taxpayers the most.
The process will include taking public input to determine factors to consider - whether it be economic or environmental - when defining return on investment, Warrick said.
"They may all be needed projects, but some are going to rise to the top when it comes to which one provides the biggest bang for the buck," she said.
Corridor and Small Area Planning ($2 million): The city has more than a dozen completed small-area plans and three in the works. These funds would help implement them.
"The recommendations (of these plans) were not enough for us to turn over to Engineering and say, 'Hey, go build this,' " Warrick said. "We have to do another level of design work to refine the recommended projects so we can then insert them into a funding package."
Northland Acquisitions and Street Improvements; Charles Page Boulevard ($5.4 million): This funding would go to implement the 36 Street North Small Area Plan ($5 million) and Charles Page Small Area Plan ($442,000).
Downtown Housing and Residential Development ($4 million): The city has had a revolving loan fund, administered by the Tulsa Development Authority, to encourage the construction of downtown housing.
This $4 million would do the same thing and more - encouraging the development of affordable housing as well as mixed-used developments that might include residential and commercial projects.
"Downtown development is the way it's really packaged," Warrick said of the loan program.
Pearl District Flood Control and Redevelopment: ($5 million): This is just what it sounds like - the city investing millions of dollars to ensure future development in the area by reducing the risk of flooding.
Warrick describes it as an ongoing project that may not be fully realized with this funding package. But it's vital if the area is to grow, she said.
Eugene Field Redevelopment ($10.9 million): The city has been working with the Community Action Project of Tulsa County to revitalize this westside neighborhood.
A small area plan funded by CAPTC calls for replacing Brightwater Apartments, 2202 S. Phoenix Ave., a 200-unit subsidized housing facility, with a new, larger housing facility that would include 200 units of subsidized housing as well as at least 200 market-rate units.
The plan includes other improvements as well.
CAPTC and the city have applied for a $30 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"The $10.9 million would get us the necessary infrastructure - flood control, street improvements, sidewalks, water, sewer - that are needed for the revitalization of the Eugene Field Neighborhood," Warrick said.
Kevin Canfield 918-581-8313
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
Local
The driver had a suspended license, police said.
Adm. William F. Halsey, commander of the 3rd Fleet rode a white horse in Tokyo but he didn't enjoy it. In fact, he said "I was never so scared in my life."
