Tulsa County commissioners approve mixed-use development in Berryhill

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Years ago, Richard Presley took his family to Seaside, Florida, for vacation.
The trip was a huge hit. Presley loved the intimacy of the place, how he could walk or bike anywhere he wanted to go.
And it was a pretty community, with small cottages and bigger homes fronted with porches that invited interaction among neighbors.
The tree-lined streets had sidewalks, plenty of green space and a good mix of commercial and residential property.
Presley thought of buying a place there. Then he thought again.
"The more we thought about it, we said, 'Why not try to do something like Seaside, Florida, in Berryhill,'" Presley said.
And so was born The Land — a 21½-acre, mixed-use development that is to be built by Presley Family Ministries on the south side of 41st Street just east of the Gilcrease Expressway.
After Tulsa County commissioners on Monday approved the development plan and zoning changes needed to move the project forward, Presley said his goal is to create a living environment that passes the "Popsicle test."
"My hope is that from the back of the property a child there could walk down to a store, get a Popsicle in the summer and be able to walk home without the Popsicle melting before he got home," Presley said.
The development will be built in phases over the next 20 years, according to plans presented to the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission.
The first phase, expected to begin this summer, will include the construction of cottages and a boat house.
Dwayne Wilkerson with the Indian Nations Council of Governments described The Land as "new urban development" unlike any other in the Tulsa area.
"It is truly a mixed-use project that is sort of like it was in the 1920s," he said. "They'll mix small-scale commercial and residential, and they'll mix all that up."
The project is being built in an eco-friendly manner, Wilkerson said, with an emphasis on water quality, walkability and storm water runoff.
The Land is only the second urban development project in the state. The other was built in Eufaula.
Over the years, as the ministry has grown, the development property has been used for outings and to house ministry facilities.
It's also home to Berryhill Blueberries, whose proceeds are used to help fund missionary work.
Presley is an eye doctor. Much of what his ministry does is provide free glasses and eye care to people in impoverished areas of the world.
The blueberry fields are not going away, Presley said, but eventually residential property will be sold to homeowners as the property is developed.
All properties on the development other than those used exclusively for ministry purposes will be subject to sales and property taxes. The ministry is likely to hold on to some of the retail property to help fund operations, and eventually a church might be built on the site, Presley said.
The cottages will be used to house missionaries training for their trips, and the boat house will serve as a meeting area.
But, Presley insisted, The Land is not about spreading The Word.
"That is not really the focus of doing this at all," he said.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-county-commissioners-approve-mixed-use-development-called-the-land/article_434e03af-4c7b-5991-8c9f-ef3da438e98d.html

As a side note, Seaside Florida is the town in the Truman Show.

[Breadburner]

Grandiose ideas.....

[carltonplace]

Finally, a nice place for white people to live. I hope Jesus drops by once in awhile.

[Conan71]

Just don't drink the blueberry Kool-Aid.

[Breadburner]

Heh......!!!

[DowntownDan]

Cause if there's one thing people who live in Berryhill want, its urban style density.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Everybody's gotta have a dream....


Doesn't this type of religious compound enclave already exist at 81st and Lewis??

I bet they won't have alleys.  Which means it won't be what they are talking about...

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Doesn't this type of religious compound enclave already exist at 81st and Lewis??

But, Presley insisted, The Land is not about spreading The Word.
"That is not really the focus of doing this at all," he said.

It says it will be built in sections over 20 years times so at least they have a long-term plan. The plans for the "town" and building layouts look pretty interesting. It is an interesting concept:  a somewhat densely-built mini-town in the suburbs. It could attract people who want to live in brand new housing and be in Berryhill district. Berryhill basically has nothing going for it in terms of stores or restaurants so something out there might do well even if this development doesn't.

[heironymouspasparagus]

It says it will be built in sections over 20 years times so at least they have a long-term plan. The plans for the "town" and building layouts look pretty interesting. It is an interesting concept:  a somewhat densely-built mini-town in the suburbs. It could attract people who want to live in brand new housing and be in Berryhill district. Berryhill basically has nothing going for it in terms of stores or restaurants so something out there might do well even if this development doesn't.

I like the compact "mini-town" concept a lot... many small towns had similar just around the downtown core.  Alleys were always a good way to keep parking and utilities out of site.  There always seemed to be a small store, usually grocery, on a corner somewhere in the neighborhood.  Became non-viable after the invention of the supermarket.  Lived in a town in Iowa for a short time that had several areas that were almost like a "courtyard" - the house's fronts were all toward a common grassy green parklike area in the middle, with 'alleys' - the streets - around the outside.  Some apartments do something similar, but this was free standing houses.


This approach can easily turn into a "compound" which is not really the right direction...