(PROJECT) A Gathering Place For Tulsa

[sgrizzle]

I really like the plan and it appears that some of the ideas we have discussed on this forum, like the path on top of the pedestrian bridge, made it into the final. I'll probably be too old to enjoy it by the time its finished but I'll get momma' to roll me over there!

I think they said it would be done in 3-5 years.

[sgrizzle]

Looks very neat.  Lots of variety.  Looks like it's going to require a lot of maintenance and upkeep almost like they would need staff just for that area.  Any word on that aspect?

There is actually an underground maintenance building and a road along the backside of the park for maintenance/emergency personnel only. Possibly they are planning their own separate maintenance organization funded by an endowment.

[rdj]

. . . Along with the continuing mystery of why we paid $60 million for a $30 million ballpark; and of course the buildings being torn down to avoid the resulting tax increase.

Unless you are a downtown property owner you haven't paid a dime for a ballpark in direct tax.  Maybe in higher rent rates or higher costs of goods as a result of higher rents from the raised assessment.  OR, unless you were part of the private group that donated $25MM in private funds you haven't paid a dime.  OR, unless you consider buying a ticket, a hot dog, cracker jacks, beer to be a contribution towards the  Drillers' $5MM long term lease you haven't paid a dime.  OR, unless you consider $30MM of the aforementioned $60MM that remains unspent but sits in accounts earmarked for future development to be an expenditure you haven't paid double for a ball park.

So, tell me again how YOU paid $60MM for a $30MM ballpark?

But, back on topic.  It looks like a great plan.  I'm really glad Kaiser didn't take his ball and go home after the tax payers turned down the tax initiative in 2007.  Quite amazingly he chose to still drop $100MM+ on projects adjacent to the river.  Which BTW, has to be one of the single largest donations to a public project in our nation's history.  I hope they have a spot where I can kick back and enjoy a Marshall's...

[Sutton]

SIAP but their website has been updated with presentations and photos
http://agatheringplacefortulsa.com/get-the-visuals/

[TakingCare]

I am so excited to see this happen. What an amazing gift from GKFF.

[TheArtist]

Unless you are a downtown property owner you haven't paid a dime for a ballpark in direct tax.  Maybe in higher rent rates or higher costs of goods as a result of higher rents from the raised assessment.  OR, unless you were part of the private group that donated $25MM in private funds you haven't paid a dime.  OR, unless you consider buying a ticket, a hot dog, cracker jacks, beer to be a contribution towards the  Drillers' $5MM long term lease you haven't paid a dime.  OR, unless you consider $30MM of the aforementioned $60MM that remains unspent but sits in accounts earmarked for future development to be an expenditure you haven't paid double for a ball park.

So, tell me again how YOU paid $60MM for a $30MM ballpark?

But, back on topic.  It looks like a great plan.  I'm really glad Kaiser didn't take his ball and go home after the tax payers turned down the tax initiative in 2007.  Quite amazingly he chose to still drop $100MM+ on projects adjacent to the river.  Which BTW, has to be one of the single largest donations to a public project in our nation's history.  I hope they have a spot where I can kick back and enjoy a Marshall's...

We often just read over these numbers without really thinking about them.  But when you stop for a moment and realize this is a private citizen (or his foundation) donating ONE HUNDRED MILLION dollars for a park... that's definitely a WOW!  We are used to hearing those sorts of numbers for things done by the Federal and State governments, but for an individual, WOW!  I wonder how much he has spent on River Parks all together? 

[DTowner]

I attended a United Way event last night at the new Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education (which is really nice).  Jeff Stava, of the Tulsa Community Foundation, gave a short presentation on this project.  Most of it is what has been discussed and posted above.  What was most interesting, however, was the reaction of many in the room who were either completely unaware of this project or had no idea of the magnitude of what is planned.  I think Tulsans are going to be blown away by this project as they come to realize its size and scope.  This is truly a transformative project for Tulsa's river and, perhaps, Tulsa itself.

[AquaMan]

I sort of like the idea that its low key. It won't remain that way long as the visible changes occur. Then a big splash! I find it interesting that many are sure it will increase the value of the surrounding neighborhoods to have this attraction nearby. Maybe, maybe not. If I had invested a bunch of money tearing down and rebuilding a home just east of the area and south of the path, I might be skeptical.

[DTowner]

I sort of like the idea that its low key. It won't remain that way long as the visible changes occur. Then a big splash! I find it interesting that many are sure it will increase the value of the surrounding neighborhoods to have this attraction nearby. Maybe, maybe not. If I had invested a bunch of money tearing down and rebuilding a home just east of the area and south of the path, I might be skeptical.

While an imperfect analogy, Central Park does not seem to hurt adjacent property values.  Perhaps more useful, current River Parks seem to be a net plus for property values.  Stava said in his presentation that earth berms, trees and other landscaping will be used to shield neighboring houses.

[Jeff P]

I attended a United Way event last night at the new Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education (which is really nice).  Jeff Stava, of the Tulsa Community Foundation, gave a short presentation on this project.  Most of it is what has been discussed and posted above.  What was most interesting, however, was the reaction of many in the room who were either completely unaware of this project or had no idea of the magnitude of what is planned.  I think Tulsans are going to be blown away by this project as they come to realize its size and scope.  This is truly a transformative project for Tulsa's river and, perhaps, Tulsa itself.

Well said.  Agree.

[Townsend]

Kaiser Foundation makes progress on Gathering Place park plans

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20121106_16_A1_CUTLIN162092

A lot of work is being done to construct the Gathering Place for Tulsa - the $100 million to $150 million park planned for the east side of Riverside Drive. It's just not work most people will ever know occurred.

"We have spent the last 4 1/2 months working on all sorts of details," said Jeff Stava, project manager for the park, which is being funded by the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

The foundation plans to present its latest design for the park to the public the first week of December, with construction to begin sometime in the first half of 2014.

The foundation held several public meetings this year to gather input on the project and has spent the time since taking those comments into account as it finalizes plans for the park.

"We received just under 1,600 public comments between all of the meetings we had," Stava said. "And, believe it or not, there were a lot of comments that have a lot of good design potential.

"We have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to modify our plans to take advantage of those comments."

The modifications include maintaining and increasing open space in the park wherever possible and improving the park's connection to River Parks across Riverside Drive.

"We have gone back and literally relooked at every aspect of the project to keep as much openness as possible," Stava said. "People want the ability to get down to the water's edge, and they want to see the native habitat down on the riverbed, so we refashioned the plan on how it allows accessibility to those areas."

To construct the park, the foundation plans to transform land it owns east of Riverside Drive, including a small tract of city property, into a unique gathering place that ties into River Parks.

The foundation owns the 33.6 acres of the Blair Mansion property at 26th Place and the 21.5-acre tract that includes the Crow Creek Apartments, also known as the Sundance and Legacy apartments, south of 31st Street. The two tracts are connected by a 4.2-acre plot owned by the city.

The Blair Mansion itself will be moved and is not part of the plan.

As currently designed, the park and River Parks would be connected by two land bridges for pedestrians over Riverside Drive north of the Zink Dam and one pedestrian walkway under Riverside Drive south of the dam at Crow Creek.

Conceptual plans for the park include wooded areas, cascading lawns, meandering trails, a lodge building, gardens, a large playground, a splash park, wetlands, cafes and a large pond.

In addition to working on modifications to the park proposal, foundation officials have spent the past few months meeting with utility providers and public entities to ensure that the park's infrastructure needs - including electric power, water lines and roadways - are addressed.

"We have worked really hard over the last 4 1/2 months to understand the logistics of all those public and private utilities," Stava said. "Logistically, that has taken a lot of time."

The foundation also has been involved in discussions on proposed modifications to Zink Dam at 30th Street and Riverside Drive.

The final design of the dam project will be dictated by funding, much of which is uncertain. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of a planned $25 million state bond issue to fund improvements to the dam for Nov. 8.

The city of Tulsa has pledged to allocate $41 million of its Vision2 funding for the Zink Dam project should the sale-tax initiative be approved by voters Tuesday.

Stava said the Gathering Place for Tulsa will be constructed regardless of how the Vision2 vote turns out.

"We are just trying to make sure the connection works and their project fits together and that the land bridges and landscape features fit together along the Arkansas River," Stava said.

If Vision2 does not pass, he added, the connection to River Parks "might have to be reworked a little bit to make that drop into the park, (but) the core essence of the park will not be affected by whether the dam is modified or not."

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20121106_16_A1_CUTLIN162092

[carltonplace]

Looks like Riverside Dr will not be moved to the East.

[YoungTulsan]

Looks like Riverside Dr will not be moved to the East.

The above picture I believe only illustrates which pieces of land are involved and who owns them.  The actual design looks to be revealed in a month or so.

[sgrizzle]

Looks like Riverside Dr will not be moved to the East.

The architect was picked partially because they didn't want to re-align riverside.

That being said, it will be largely rebuilt, higher in some area, lower in others, and partially covered.

[carltonplace]

I figured they would cap part of it instead