Grow Up Tulsa (Blake Ewing)

[DTowner]

As for comparisons with OKC, I think it is healthy and natural that we look down the turnpike for a way to gage our successes and failures.  First, we are in the same state and will always have a natural rivalry.  Second, we share similarities in demography, geography, history, and culture that make comparisons easy and useful.  If something works or doesn't work there, why would or wouldn't it work here?  Third, we both have to deal with the same state regulatory/political realities – the same goofy liquor laws afflict us both.  While I think some Tulsans' view of OKC's success is more a product of perception than reality, it is unquestionable that OKC is spanking Tulsa in several areas:

1) Job creation:  In addition to the enormous growth of Devon and Chesapeake, Continental Resources recently announced it is moving its headquarters from Enid to downtown OKC (it bought the old Devon building).  Additionally, in recent years, Dell built a large facility downtown and Boeing is hiring hundreds of engineers and other professionals.  Health care and research continue to grow.  In contrast, I can't think of a single high profile company of any significance that moved here in over a decade (I don't count Vanguard since it was the mayor's husband's company and it is already gone).  At the same time, many of our prominent companies have left or disappeared and Dollar/Thrifty will be gone soon.

2) Population growth:  This is a direct corollary to job creation.  OKC is not only bigger than Tulsa, but it is growing at a faster rate every year.  Thus, the gap is continuing to get larger.  And yes, size matters when it comes to companies and new businesses' decisions of where to locate or open new stores.  Additionally, growth begets growth that ripples through every aspect of a city's development.  More people and more businesses lead to more businesses and amenities that attract more businesses and more people.  More people mean more dinning, shopping and entertainment venues that only locate in "big" cities, more direct flights to more U.S. cities, etc.

3) Functioning Local Government:  Whether real or not, OKC's government appears to be functioning harmoniously with everyone moving in the same general direction towards agreed upon goals.  Since V2025 passed, Tulsa has had almost zero harmony at city hall and no sense of direction has been provided by city leaders.

4) Civic pride:  Thundermania is only one manifestation of it, but when I talk to anyone from OKC they are unbelievably proud of their city and the improvements made in the past decade.  In contrast, Tulsans seem more intent on bad mouthing our city than talking about all the good things that have happened in the past few years.  OKC has a swagger about it that Tulsa simply doesn't have.

While I don't think Tulsans should obsess over what OKC has or doesn't have that's better than us, we do ourselves a disservice if we ignore reality.  Tulsa has great potential.  In the past few years we've tapped some of that potential through the efforts of people like Blake and Elliot Nelson, and even George Kaiser, but it has been in spite of our shortcomings and problems.  To a great extent, I believe the successes in OKC are what prompted many Tulsans to take the chance and vote in favor of V2025.  If it takes continued comparisons to that city on the other end of the turnpike to bring about more positive change in Tulsa, then let the comparisons begin and let's get moving.

[Conan71]

4) Civic pride:  Thundermania is only one manifestation of it, but when I talk to anyone from OKC they are unbelievably proud of their city and the improvements made in the past decade.  In contrast, Tulsans seem more intent on bad mouthing our city than talking about all the good things that have happened in the past few years.  OKC has a swagger about it that Tulsa simply doesn't have.

I call it Tulsamyopia.  

People get too focused grousing about what we don't have rather than being proud of the good things we do have.

Tulsa has a really vibrant downtown and other entertainment/shopping areas.  We've got a park and trail system which rivals many other larger metro areas.  In fact, our trail system is one common complaint I hear from my cycling friends in OKC, they don't have anywhere close to a cohesive trail system like we do.  We have great museums, great natural beauty which can be observed from so many places around and near the city.  Great recreational lakes within 1 1/2 hours or less.  Many people from OKC must go to Texhoma or up to one of our area lakes for a big lake experience.

Edit to add: we have a great festival scene that OKC hasn't matched.  We also have several excellent farmer's markets.  We get great A-list concerts now, too.

I'll keep adding.

Everyone should compile a list of the great things they enjoy about Tulsa.  That's the best way I know to learn to appreciate what you have instead of focusing on what you think you don't.

[TheArtist]

  I think Tulsa has turned the corner and is heading for better times.  I have said it for years now, 2014 is going to be the year when Tulsa's downtown finally feels like it is living up to its potential, and it will be immensely different than it was the decade before.  

But, I do agree that we are itching for some sort of new project/projects or vision that we can aspire towards. But it does have to be something that fits Tulsa. Perhaps it won't be 1 huge thing, but a series of smaller projects.  You can make a lot of waves by throwing in a big boulder, or a lot of coordinated pebbles.  Don't over do the river as a focus but make some good progress there and some projects scattered around the whole city.  Hopefully we can have some good leadership that will wrap it all in a positive vision for what Tulsa can be like.

6th street and the Pearl.
Steps to begin a project to connect Brookside to the River via Crow Creek or the Veterans Park project.
Reconfigure the Zink Dam
A few more nice additions to the parks all up and down the river, including something far south for those folk.
Something for Higher ed. (especially something that will enhance an industry that we would like to nurture)
A downtown arts and sciences school.
Downtown housing incentive.
A small starter rail project from Brady Heights in the north to the uptown area.
Some sort of streetscaping/redevelopment projects for far east and west Tulsa.
Oklahoma Pop museum and some tourism projects.
Some sort of healthcare or childcare or educational/business project for north Tulsa

That, with perhaps a few tweaks here and there, imo would be a great next step for Tulsa.  Its big enough that it would have a good amount of impact, but not so grandiose and expensive as to get shot down in a vote. If these are done well and are well received, there can always be the next time for other projects. These would add on to what we have already started, and are projects that can all themselves be expanded and made better down the road if we desire.    
 

[heironymouspasparagus]

How is the Art Deco museum going?  Any progress towards that?
(I am looking forward to it.)

[heironymouspasparagus]

GM got a bunch of incentives, so common in city government these days, but the city did not own it.  They allowed the city to buy it from them - the numbers I heard were $55 million.  And I think it was actually a lease to the Air Force.  And Tinker is making good use of it now, so it will work out well for the base.  Just should not have had to pay that money.

GM should have returned it to the city for the money they got in the first place.  Or the base should have bought it - that place at $50 million is very few pennies on the dollar.

Built plant in 70s.  They spent $700 million to convert to Malibu production in about 2000 or so.  Should have just turned it back over.

About 2,400 people worked there at its peak with another 7,000 or so in the area said to be affected by the plant.

(And it was back in 2005 that Rick Wagner announced dumping 30,000 people and closing this and other plants.  That is how he got his bonuses - by "saving" GM.  LOL, LOL, LOL,....etc, etc.)

[SXSW]

I want Tulsa's leadership to realize higher education is very important to the future growth of this city.  TU, OSU and OU all have potential to be major job creators if given the resources.

I want to see TU maintain its position as a selective Top 100 university but also get bigger so it can be more like TCU or Vanderbilt and generate more of an impact.  I would also like to see TU embrace Route 66 and redevelop its stretch of it which would benefit that entire area, and to focus more on research.  TU needs a dedicated research facility on or near campus.  If not on campus then somewhere like the Wilson MS property (if it closes) or the auto dealership/industrial area at 11th & Yorktown which could be paired with a mixed-use TOD with the adjacent rail line into downtown.

I want to see OSU break its ties with Langston-Tulsa and be able to provide a wider range of undergraduate degrees in Tulsa.  I want to see OSU partner with TCC and expand as a joint OSU-TCC campus at 10th & Boston with the existing Greenwood campus becoming OSU's main research park.  OSU should use its Tulsa campus for the majority of its grad and doctoral programs currently in Stillwater and offer an urban alternative in select undergrad programs.  I also want to see OSU better fund and expand the OSU Med Cent

Finally I want to see OU continue to expand its campus at 41st & Yale and develop a teaching hospital in Tulsa (already in the works).  I want to see Hillcrest become OU's main hospital in Tulsa and its facilities modernized and expanded.  Tulsa with two medical schools, one DO and the other MD/Community Medicine-based would be great for generating more healthcare and medical research jobs.  Research facilities at OSU and TU would also create high-paying jobs.  There already is a lot of manufacturing, energy, aerospace and general technical expertise in Tulsa and such facilities would better tap that and attract people to the city.

[TheArtist]

How is the Art Deco museum going?  Any progress towards that?
(I am looking forward to it.)

 We have had contact with a downtown property owner who has expressed interest in allowing us to use a space in one of their buildings.  Hopefully more on that soon.

But we are early in our game and are still working to flesh out our collections and displays.  Though we could readily have enough artifacts to fill a museum, you can't just put them out on card tables lol.  And I don't want to have a museum thats like the Modern Streamline show at Philbrook (I like the displays themselves to be interesting, fun, over the top and fanciful not just square pedestals and glass boxes with an object or two in or on them)  So we are working on creating wonderful displays and having artifacts that go with each other into creative and interesting groupings.  I want our museum to be a place where people are engaged and looking at things wide eyed, smiling, laughing, pointing and talking.

The other thing we will be doing until we get a space is have window displays downtown.  Look for us to turn the dark, dingy window space in the Mayo Motor Inn across from the Mayo Hotel, into a beautiful showcase of art deco artifacts. We will have that done in time for Mayfest.  

We will also be having a mini "pop-up" museum the entire month of December in the PAC gallery space.  So all of you going to the ballet and other events in December, and those who arent lol, go check us out!

So we have plenty of things (Gatsby Picnic and Bazaar, in the Fall at Harwelden) we will be working on to enhance our visibility and to showcase the world of art deco, until we get our first space.  I am actually in no hurry at this point to get a space for as more time goes on it simply allows us to create even more, bigger, better, funner displays, so that once we do get a space, we will really be able to put on a wonderful show for you.

Btw, did you know these people are in Tulsa?  http://www.jonathanmartincreative.com/   I am working on a couple of projects with them right now, and they don't just do churches.  Its great to have such talented people in Tulsa who can create these wonderful "roomscapes". Can kind of give you an idea of what we hope the DECOPOLIS "The Deco City" and Tulsa Art Deco Museums themed environments can be like.

[carltonplace]

I like the "wish list" aspect that is coming out in this thread and I agree with most of the wants. Should we start a thread just for this purpose? A good way to get our leaders working together is to define clear goals for them and give them something to work (together) towards.

[SRB]

My opinion is that Tulsa and the surrounding area should target an industry and work collaboratively to build and attract it. My suggestion is to focus on defense and security. I would like to see the universities leveraged to attract this industry.

For example,The University of Tulsa has an excellent program called CyberCorp which focuses on computer security. They also have agreements with many security agencies in Washington D.C. OSU also has a security emphasis in it's IT program offerings.

OSU can utilize it's agricultural background and focus on items around food/water security as well as developing textiles that can be used as cutting edge clothing technology for the military. OSU and a company out of Ponca City were developing a mobile security unit recently.  (Story in the Oklahoman on April 7).

OU and OSU can focus on bio-terror efforts with their health programs.

Tulsa already has connection throughout the country with the fiberoptic network built by the old Williams Communications group so the connectivety issue shouldn't be a problem.(Wasn't Google going to build a server farm in Pryor?).

I'm sure there are many other possibilities where this type of technology can be used but hopefully you get the point. The War on Terror (and other security issues) aren't going away unfortunately.

If government and education leaders would put there efforts in a targeted coordinated effort--they would stand a better chance of attracting and retaining new and vibrant companies. The trickle would bring more revenue/population and technology companies tend to attract a younger demographic. If you can start building the revenue pie, you can start to effect all the other items on the wishlist.

[Conan71]

I want Tulsa's leadership to realize higher education is very important to the future growth of this city.  TU, OSU and OU all have potential to be major job creators if given the resources.

I want to see TU maintain its position as a selective Top 100 university but also get bigger so it can be more like TCU or Vanderbilt and generate more of an impact.  I would also like to see TU embrace Route 66 and redevelop its stretch of it which would benefit that entire area, and to focus more on research.  TU needs a dedicated research facility on or near campus.  If not on campus then somewhere like the Wilson MS property (if it closes) or the auto dealership/industrial area at 11th & Yorktown which could be paired with a mixed-use TOD with the adjacent rail line into downtown.

I want to see OSU break its ties with Langston-Tulsa and be able to provide a wider range of undergraduate degrees in Tulsa.  I want to see OSU partner with TCC and expand as a joint OSU-TCC campus at 10th & Boston with the existing Greenwood campus becoming OSU's main research park.  OSU should use its Tulsa campus for the majority of its grad and doctoral programs currently in Stillwater and offer an urban alternative in select undergrad programs.  I also want to see OSU better fund and expand the OSU Med Cent

Finally I want to see OU continue to expand its campus at 41st & Yale and develop a teaching hospital in Tulsa (already in the works).  I want to see Hillcrest become OU's main hospital in Tulsa and its facilities modernized and expanded.  Tulsa with two medical schools, one DO and the other MD/Community Medicine-based would be great for generating more healthcare and medical research jobs.  Research facilities at OSU and TU would also create high-paying jobs.  There already is a lot of manufacturing, energy, aerospace and general technical expertise in Tulsa and such facilities would better tap that and attract people to the city.

OSU and Langston seem to be fused at the hip now.  Major purchases for Langston's main campus in Langston now come through OSU purchasing in Stillwater.  In a sense, Langston has become an extension of OSU though I don't think they will ever take away the identity of it for historical value and there are likely people who would consider it racist if the Langston identity were dropped.  There I said it.  Fiscally, I'm not sure if Langston can stand on it's own anymore.  It's one of those universities which could easily be closed to save money as it's proximity to Stillwater and the Guthrie/OKC areas don't make much sense for it's main campus to still exist.

This really isn't a Tulsa leadership issue near as much as the boards of regents at the various schools.  As we've seen repeatedly over the years, no one seems interested in combining forces in the Tulsa market.  The shame of it is, we wind up spending way more than we really need to on higher education because of all the facility costs for multiple campuses and multiple institutions.

TU is only limited by it's imagination and donor $$.  They are in the best position for growth as they rely soley on private funding for capital projects and deciding which programs they want or don't want in their curricula as well as how big a student body they want to serve.  TU is a great "destination" school which brings new people into the city.  As it is now, other than the medical programs at OU and OSU (which are very small comparative class sizes to other majors) our public higher education doesn't make Tulsa a destination city for education like Stillwater, Norman, Austin, etc enjoy.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Red Arrow,
There was a trolley that ran on north Harvard to downtown until late 50s.   That's the one I used to ride.  It was in that grassy median between lanes.  Had electric poles with wires overhead.  Don't remember the exact route, 'cause I wasn't to the point where I paid attention to stuff like that.

But GM won - for a while.  They got rid of most of the trolleys in the nation for a long time.  Now they got rid of themselves.  Poetic justice?

[Red Arrow]

Red Arrow,
There was a trolley that ran on north Harvard to downtown until late 50s.   That's the one I used to ride.  It was in that grassy median between lanes.  Had electric poles with wires overhead.  Don't remember the exact route, 'cause I wasn't to the point where I paid attention to stuff like that.
But GM won - for a while.  They got rid of most of the trolleys in the nation for a long time.  Now they got rid of themselves.  Poetic justice?

The Sand Springs trolley extended past downtown Tulsa.  I forgot to look on the map last night.

[heironymouspasparagus]

But SXSW, high paying jobs are exactly NOT what the people in the state legislature now want.

It's a catch 22.

All that other stuff is good stuff.  We need to consolidate some schools in Tulsa area.  (OSU, Langston, TCC)  The hodge-podge we have is in great part due to the reluctance and foot dragging to bring a true university to Tulsa in the first place.  Now that obstacle has been overcome, let's move it forward a couple more steps.

Due to the sprawling nature of our population, we need some sprawling of facilities.  Administratively, consolidation could be very helpful.  But since OSU and TCC serve two greatly differing markets in so many ways, can't see making a "Super OSU" here by completely combining the two completely (see the conflict inherent with the above statement - not to mention the bad grammar and sentence structure?  I'm a graduate of both and TU!).

Comparing to TU is going back to that old idea about running government like a business.  It is tough to do at all.  And it is impossible to do well.  (TU has a TON of money to work with!)

[Red Arrow]

 (TU has a TON of money to work with!)

Unfortunately, a TON of money doesn't buy what it used to buy.

[heironymouspasparagus]

They aren't hurting at all.

Doing much better than the public schools.