Spiritbank Event Center

[DowntownDan]

Downtown and suburban growth are not mutually exclusive and never will be.  Suburbs offer a lifestyle ("safety," comfort, schools, etc) at an affordable cost that many do and will continue to find attractive.  Even for those who would like to trade in their suburban life for downtown or midtown, the simple fact is many cannot afford to do so.  I thought this article from the Sunday T. World was interesting on that point.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/finance/many-seek-new-homes-near-cities-but-are-priced-out/article_02402022-7fca-573c-a1cb-5b31441354a9.html

If Tulsa can create a sustained yearly population growth, then there will continue to be plenty of demand for downtown development and midtown in-fill, as well as suburban development. Even with continued development out south, however, I don't see a viable future for the SpiritBank Center any time soon.

Or if we can just keep young people here.  I agree that population growth in both is sustainable, but Tulsa is not, and probably never will be, large enough to support a suburban entertainment venue the size of the SpiritBank Center and I'm astonished that anyone ever thought it would be successful, especially when funding it.  Like I said earlier, they only work in very large metros like Dallas and Houston. 

[heironymouspasparagus]

Downtown and suburban growth are not mutually exclusive and never will be.  Suburbs offer a lifestyle ("safety," comfort, schools, etc) at an affordable cost that many do and will continue to find attractive.  Even for those who would like to trade in their suburban life for downtown or midtown, the simple fact is many cannot afford to do so.  I thought this article from the Sunday T. World was interesting on that point.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/finance/many-seek-new-homes-near-cities-but-are-priced-out/article_02402022-7fca-573c-a1cb-5b31441354a9.html

If Tulsa can create a sustained yearly population growth, then there will continue to be plenty of demand for downtown development and midtown in-fill, as well as suburban development. Even with continued development out south, however, I don't see a viable future for the SpiritBank Center any time soon.

They just need to clear out that whole Maple Ridge area and put some affordable apartment housing there!  Now, there may only be hundreds of people living where thousands would fit!!

[heironymouspasparagus]

I tend to disagree with the statement that those living in Midtown and Downtown are the "young professional or transitional crowd who will eventually seek suburbs when they have children of their own, or just want to start to build equity."

I think those living in Midtown and Downtown are absolutely turned off by the cookie cutter, chain restaurant feel of Jenks, BA, Owasso and South Tulsa. Everybody I know in the neighborhood simply chooses to live a different lifestyle with a different set of priorities. And while it is true that my neighborhood, Brady Heights, has several "young professional" types, most, if not all of them already have children and want nothing to do with the suburbs.

BA is in a headlong Rhema/First Baptist rush to gut the old city center and replace anything with character (and yeah, there are some condition issues - that could be fixed) by a "new and improved" version of McMansion.  Their old area isn't that big to start, but there are a LOT of vacant lots waiting for the "right" developer to pay off the planners and put in some cracker-box POS (the other, non-retail version).

Ahhh...progress for the sake of progress...and the pockets of certain people.

[DowntownDan]

I tend to disagree with the statement that those living in Midtown and Downtown are the "young professional or transitional crowd who will eventually seek suburbs when they have children of their own, or just want to start to build equity."

I think those living in Midtown and Downtown are absolutely turned off by the cookie cutter, chain restaurant feel of Jenks, BA, Owasso and South Tulsa. Everybody I know in the neighborhood simply chooses to live a different lifestyle with a different set of priorities. And while it is true that my neighborhood, Brady Heights, has several "young professional" types, most, if not all of them already have children and want nothing to do with the suburbs.

Personally, I moved to Tulsa from Bentonville eight years ago and I hated it until I moved downtown. If I wanted to live in an expansive housing development, and have a short drive to Wal-Mart, Chili's or Applebee's, I would move back to Northwest Arkansas. The differences between the suburbs of Tulsa and those around Little Rock or Bentonville are minuscule. I chose to live in Brady Heights and play downtown because each is unique.

Agreed.  When I moved back to Tulsa from Dallas I moved to midtown and I don't ever plan to move to the suburbs.  The parts of Dallas I wanted to live in were too expensive leaving the generic suburbs and a long commute.  If I wanted a boring suburban life I would be somewhere in North Dallas right now.