Holberton School is coming to Tulsa, Oklahoma

[Tulsan]

I had heard Holberton might eventually have a larger home in the GKFF Western Supply project. Maybe not? Or maybe that's a future growth phase.

[Jacobei]

Just as an update, Holberton just graduated their first cohort of students, with yours truly among them. It was a huge effort over a sustained time, but it was also a blast getting to work with people from around the country who moved here to restart their lives. More than half of the graduating class already have signed offer letters. Some had already started. 

We had our graduation celebration on the top floor of the Vast.Bank building then we all went to the FC Tulsa Match across the street where we were honored at Halftime.

I've said this a lot to those I know, but with this campus graduating up to 500 people a year, it will be needle moving as far as the availability of tech talent in Tulsa.

Oh and, side note, among the spaces being renovated on that block into an absolutely world-class VR/AR place. They will likely employ Holberton student's soon as well to build games specifically for the location..

[SXSW]

Very cool and congrats.  Impressed with everything I've heard about Holbertson.  Wondering if eventually they will have their own student housing near the campus, or perhaps partner with a local residential developer.  I guess the residential component of the Western Supply project could be part of this.

Any efforts currently underway for Holbertson to partner with OSU and/or TU (especially their cyber security program)?

[shavethewhales]

...
I've said this a lot to those I know, but with this campus graduating up to 500 people a year, it will be needle moving as far as the availability of tech talent in Tulsa.
...

Very very cool, and I definitely agree with the above. I really hope Holberton becomes the missing link for us. That new game lounge/studio sounds exciting!

[Jacobei]

As a coda on this thread, and for a bit of personal bragging too, I accepted a job offer yesterday based on my time at Holberton. I think all but one or two of us in the initial cohort all have jobs and employers are already looking at the next round of graduates. This is going to be a great talent pipeline for Tulsa. And there is a string financial incentive for us to stay in town based on how GKFF worked out the repayment structuring. It's the kind of thing that could get large coastal companies to set up a regional hub here.

[shavethewhales]

Congrats! Is it a local job?

I'm still very excited to see this school grow. I need to head past it tonight to see the progress on the construction.

[Jacobei]

Yes, it's a local company, but I will be working with people from all over the world. The person I will be working with the most closely is based in Buenos Aires. My boss is in Maryland. It's technically a remote job, but I'm too social a person not to come into the office occasionally.

I wouldn't go by today unless you plan on doing some drinking. The Welltown Oktoberfest is going on and they have the streets blocked off.

[shavethewhales]

Finally went by. Looks like this street is really coming to life. Really want to hear more about the building across the street. Anyone know if there are plans for that? I thought I heard something mentioned about it at some point.

[swake]

Finally went by. Looks like this street is really coming to life. Really want to hear more about the building across the street. Anyone know if there are plans for that? I thought I heard something mentioned about it at some point.

It looks like there's work starting there. I checked the online real estate sites and it looks like it was sold in October. I was also wondering what is going on.

[Tulsan]

It looks like there's work starting there. I checked the online real estate sites and it looks like it was sold in October. I was also wondering what is going on.

It sold to Topeca Coffee but I don't know their plan. Maybe a new expanded roastery/cafe? Or could be a completely different venture.

[shavethewhales]

This street looks fantastic now. The new building looks great inside and out, and the existing buildings to the south look completely different from before and so much cleaner. Looks like a game dev studio is next door now.

As for the building next to the tracks, I was told by employees at Saturn room that they still plan to move there, but peeking through the windows it looks like it is setup for like a student lounge or something else connected to Holberton? It has the same type of furniture inside and clean/modern surfaces and lighting. Nothing like a tiki bar. It looks finished too, like they aren't planning on coming back and finishing it into a bar. There isn't even a sink area for a bar built in from what little I've looked in and seen. I'm just very confused at why Saturn Room said they'd move here. It's a smaller space too.



Work has started across the street. Should be yet another transformational project.

[Jacobei]

The space is much larger inside that one expects from the street. Chip is still wanting to move Saturn Room there to avoid paying rent. It may likely be in a more recessed part of the building.

That said, The AR/VR space will dev games, but will be an open to the public, world class gaming space. 3D treadmills with VR headsets. That sort of thing. Without saying too much, let's just say the place has deep pockets.

And as a Holbie alumnus, I'm kinda mad they haven't given us a tour of the new building yet. Soon, I guess.

[SXSW]

Very cool, this has really transformed that stretch of Cheyenne which had been an empty no-mans land until just recently.  

Are there plans to eventually add a student housing component to Holbertson?  Everything I've heard about Western Supply is that it will now be primarily residential so that could potentially be an option.  GKFF is looking for a separate location for future office expansion.