Crutchfield Neighborhood - TDA Renewal?

[PonderInc]

From an article in the Tulsa Business Journal...

North Tulsa Neighborhood Prime for Renewal
Ryan Daly

The sound of bulldozers may soon be replaced with the sound of new construction in one north Tulsa neighborhood.
Tulsa Development Authority this month issued 24 requests for proposals for affordable, sustainable housing in the Crutchfield neighborhood, northeast of the IDL.

City Planner Dennis Whitaker said Crutchfield represented an opening for more reasonably-priced housing near downtown.

"Crutchfield is a great opportunity near the central business district," Whitaker said. "There are nearly 300 vacant lots in the area, all with close proximity to and an extraordinary view of downtown. [tdA] is selling the ones we own, and there are also individual owners who would probably be willing to sell.

"The neighborhood has sort of gone through phase one of clearing the substandard or vacant housing. The downside to that is a lot of vacant lots, but that is also an upside because there is a ton of room for new development."

Crutchfield is bounded by east Admiral Place, east Pine Street, U.S. Highway 75 and north Utica Avenue. Some of the approximately 800 existing homes in the area range up to 90 years old, while 153 of them, or 19 percent, have been built since 1970. Despite the range in age, most of the homes' architecture is typical for the 1920s, '30s and '40s.

In addition to its close proximity to downtown, the RFP lists other area improvements as the BOK Center, the under-construction downtown Drillers ballpark and Oklahoma State University-Tulsa and Langston University-Tulsa's campuses, both located just west of the neighborhood.

Whitaker said the neighborhood and TDA wanted to see the neighborhood revitalized, rather than simply bulldozed and built over.

"You have a strong sense of community, which comes from the amount of third and fourth generation owners," he said. "They would like to see Crutchfield reinvented back to the sort of working-class neighborhood that it was before."

While Crutchfield RFP lays out specific requirements for proposed housing, and the neighborhood certainly has a strong vision, Whitaker said that doesn't limit what can be done with the available properties.

"Crtuchfield is traditionally a mixed-use neighborhood, with a strong history of everything, and the neighborhood association has a healthy appreciation for that," he said.

Whitaker said the City had reserved lots between north Norfolk Avenue and north Madison Avenue on east Archer Street, an area that runs along a railroad line, for commercial properties.

Additionally, and a bit unusually, TDA is allowing respondents to propose purchase and development of one, several in combination, or all lots together.

"Traditionally, people would prefer a large assembled tract," Whitaker said.

Scarcity of funds, however, prevented the City from purchasing all available lots, which Whitaker said has lead to a more flexible process.

"If they want to reconfigure the lots, or join a bunch of them together, that isn't out of the question," he said.

Proposals are due back to the TDA before 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 2.

[Double A]

From the RFP:

In the proposal, the developer shall provide a statement on how their proposal meets the objectives of:

affordability to buyers
sustainability and quality of building materials
rationale on how they believe their project will succeed

Housing defined:  The housing must be market-competitive quality that can blend in to the  highest quality, existing homes.  This requirement explicitly excludes substandard locations,  configurations,  not excluding modular construction and construction quality.

Affordability:  The housing must be affordable for its target market.  This means what the  householder pays.  Affordability must also continue throughout the expected life of the tenancy.

Sustainability:  Housing quality and affordability must continue over the housing's expected  useful life (typically 30 to 50 or more years).  This implies that the housing owners must take in  enough cash flow to cover their expenditures, including capital expenditures.

Other required elements of the submission shall include:

A) the footprint of the homes on the lot
B) height
C) scale
D) architectural styles
E) elevation
F) floor plans
G) landscaping
H) material specifications.
I) basic site plans with housing footprints and set backs
J) engineering designs
K) construction experience
L) financial ability to complete project
M) capabilities of staff
N) knowledge of bid documentation and contract negotiation
O) construction and project management experience
P) sales capabilities or intentions related to project
Q) conceptual drawings or photographs of product
R) proposed construction sequencing/phasing/lot takedown.

[Double A]

From the Crutchfield master plan:

Sub Areas and Surrounding Regions: 

In order to fully understand the challenges and opportunities that exist with respect to  revitalization, it is helpful to separate the Crutchfield area into four distinct sub-areas and  discuss how the goals and objectives apply to each of the sub-areas.  It is important to note  that each sub-area has distinct land use and blighting influences and therefore presents  different issues, which need to be addressed in the planning process.  However, it is also  important to note that while each sub-area presents issues that are perhaps unique to a  particular area, ultimately what occurs in one area will have an impact on each of the other  areas in the neighborhood.     It is also important to consider the residential and business/commercial character of the  areas which are located adjacent to the Crutchfield neighborhood boundaries and examine  the status of these neighborhoods as well, as these areas will also have an effect on the  success of the revitalization process being proposed for the Crutchfield Neighborhood.

Sub- Area 1 (residential) is bounded on the south by the Burlington Northern/  Sante Fe Railroad tracks, on the east by Utica Avenue, on the north by Latimer Street  and on the west by Peoria Avenue. This area can be characterized as primarily a  residential area.  Single family craftsman bungalow houses dominate the design of  the houses in the area.    Sub-Area 1 should remain a residential neighborhood.  The Crutchfield  Neighborhood Association recognizes the need for and fully supports efforts to  increase home ownership rates in this neighborhood.  Ownership will encourage  reinvestment and stabilize this neighborhood.  Some of the homes in the  neighborhood can easily be restored, while others should be demolished and their  lots recycled.  In order to fully restore the vitality of this neighborhood, a strategy of  rehabilitation in combination with clearance and infill development will need to be  employed.   

There are opportunities for single-family "infill" residential on currently vacant lots. In addition, there are a few larger opportunity sites where several new homes can  be clustered.  New infill housing should be in character with the existing housing  stock and should utilize the established elements of this traditional urban  neighborhood: existing street patterns should remain; alleyways (where existing)  should continue to be used for access to parking, utilities, etc.; established building  setback lines should be used; and traditional architectural elements such as large  front porches, foundation/stem wall, and rear garages should be used.   Infill housing should be affordable, and to that end, the Crutchfield neighborhood  association encourages the introduction of high-quality, factory-built or modular  homes, so long as they are compatible in the aforementioned ways.      Some industrial and commercial uses have, over time, encroached into the  neighborhood.  These uses should be relocated, or screened and buffered to protect  the residential character of the neighborhood.

  Sub-Area 2 (Residential) is bounded on the south by Marshall Street on the east by  Utica Avenue, on the north by Pine Street and on the west by Rockford Avenue.   This is a small residential enclave "landlocked" on all sides by industrial and  commercial development.  On the south and west, screening and buffering will help  to protect the residential character of this neighborhood.     

Sub-Area 3(Residential/Industrial) is bounded on the south by Archer Street, on  the east by Peoria Avenue on the north by Hwy I-75 and on the west by Hwy I-75.  This area has a spotty mix of industrial, commercial, and residential uses.  The result  is a mixed-use character typical of many older neighborhoods in pre-zoning Tulsa. Historically, this neighborhood provided housing, goods and services, and  employment, within a compact, walkable area.  Unfortunately, this kind of  symbiotic relationship has been rejected by mainstream development for over 50  years.  "Conventional" development favors a strict separation of land-uses, and our  current Zoning Code does not adequately recognize and accommodate mixed-use  neighborhoods and offers little guidance as to their future growth. An attempt to "retrofit" this neighborhood by sorting and segregating land uses in  this area would be difficult and not necessarily productive.  A locally-appropriate  solution would be to embrace and enhance this once-strong relationship between  housing and industry. This plan recommends the adoption of new land use practices that encourage a  diverse mix of "use units" with few land use restrictions, allowing a wide variety of  compatible housing, office, commercial, and light industrial uses. Compatibility  within these areas can be achieved by employing sound urban design principles and  the use of high-quality construction materials. 

Sub-Area 4 (Industrial) is bounded on the south by Latimer Street, on the east by  Utica, on the north by I-75 and Pine Street and by Peoria Avenue on the west.   This  area is approximately 20 acres in size and was once the site of the  Dowell/Schlumberger oil field service truck and chemical and manufacturing site.   The company closed this Tulsa site in 1993 and moved the entire operation.  Later,  they cleared it of all buildings.  All buildings were removed from the site and all  that remains are the concrete pads on which the building were anchored, as well as  the internal streets.  Also the infrastructure such as water and sewer lines are still in  place.  There are large tracts of currently vacant land which should be aggressively  marketed for industrial redevelopment.   Taking advantage of the strong working  relationship this group has built with the Tulsa Industrial Authority, these sites can  be recycled and made very attractive to the neighborhood and the regional  industrial market. A recent example of this is the Brainerd Chemical site located on Peoria, north of  Latimer.  With assistance from the Tulsa Industrial Authority and others, this old  industrial site, which was once contained Oklahoma Steel Castings but had been  closed for many years, has recently been reopened.  Many of the existing, older,  brick buildings have been remodeled and Brainerd Chemical is a welcome neighbor,  not only for the jobs it brings, but for the attention to detail and effort to develop a  site that is as attractive as it is functional.     

Conclusions  Crutchfield is a neighborhood with much inherent strength on which to build:  a  traditional, mixed-use, development pattern; many opportunities for infill development of  almost any sort; outstanding location with respect to downtown and major highways; affordability; and committed neighbors who are actively working to improve the area and attract new businesses and residents.