Tulsa Now's Letter to the Mayor and City Council

[Admin]

I am writing to you on behalf of the grass-roots civic organization Tulsa Now.  After reviewing the Mayor's list of projects for potential third penny sales tax funding, Tulsa Now board members are very disappointed at the limited investment in downtown.  

Tulsa Now believes we can only revitalize Tulsa by developing a distinctive identity and economic growth around a dynamic, urban core.  As we achieve this, Tulsa and surrounding communities will benefit and prosper.    

Reasons to invest in downtown:
•   Become competitive with other cities
•   Attract new, creative businesses
•   More tax revenue for the City of Tulsa
•   Rebuild the tax base that supports Tulsa Public Schools
•   Complement Vision 2025 Downtown initiatives
•   Attract individuals and families of all ages who prefer a walkable urban environment, many of who are the Creative Class
•   Reintegrate the community
•   Stimulate tourism
•   Reduce the huge cost of maintaining our infrastructure
•   Every expert tells us to revitalize our downtown if we want to stimulate economic growth

Research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a city's investment in its downtown is critical to its prosperity and competitiveness.  We will be happy to provide you with research and articles on this subject.

The Mayor and City Council must transform the third penny tax program into a genuinely strategic investment vehicle.  We urge you to allocate substantially more funds to downtown projects.  We understand that in the past, downtown's needs were viewed as one council district.  Tulsa Now would like to challenge you to look at the big picture: Downtown is the economic engine for the entire region.  Downtown is not just a district.  Downtown belongs to everybody.  It's the "city center" and "urban core" for all districts.  It is what defines and gives identity to a city. To neglect downtown is to neglect the future prosperity of each and every district.  

Our near competitors (such as Oklahoma City and Kansas City) are investing $Billions in infrastructure improvements and public-private partnerships designed to deliver vibrant livable downtowns.  We urge you to invest an additional $100 million in projects dedicated to our urban core.  We ask that you particularly include the following:

•   Visual Arts Center site acquisition
•   6th Street Flood mitigation and canal project – additional and continued support of
•   Centennial Walk – Phase 2 – additional and continued support of
•   Sealed Corridor – Phase 2 Quiet Zone Extension for Railroad – additional and continued support of
•   Structured Parking Facilities – Increase and enhance, including street level retail in the parking facilities
•   Downtown Core Street Improvements, Enhancements, Streetscaping, Lighting, and Improved Signage
•   Sidewalk, Streetscaping, Lighting and Landscaping in the emerging arts district of 3rd and Kenosha
•   Assistance to Urban Residential Developments – additional and continued
•   Connections between Downtown and the trail systems, including River Parks
•   Boulder Avenue – Reconnect downtown to Brady district along Boulder Avenue

Many believe Tulsa is at a critical crossroads right now, and that if we don't make the right decisions now, we will lose our opportunity to become a truly competitive and vibrant city.  

Sincerely,

Rebecca Bryant
President, Tulsa Now

[Teatownclown]

Urban Center Is Budget Hole
Kansas City, Mo., Must Set Aside Millions as Complex Falls Short of Projections
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304331204577356471425094502.html

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The tab is mounting for this Midwestern city on a bet it made during the real-estate boom on an $850 million entertainment district meant to breathe new life into its struggling downtown.

While the eight-block restaurant, nightclub and retail complex named the Power & Light District is mostly complete, traffic and sales are well below initial projections when construction started in 2006.

Such woes are common among real-estate developers who imagined values and rents in a fast-growing U.S. economy would continue to rise for years.

But the Power & Light District stands out because it was financed through a technique that seemed like it would pay for itself. Kansas City directed future sales and property taxes in the district to pay back the $295 million in bonds that the city issued for the project, which went toward infrastructure and to directly support the development. In the event there weren't enough taxes, the city agreed to pick up the difference.

Today, the project, which sits near the onetime headquarters of Kansas City Power & Light Co., generates less than one-third of what is needed to cover the debt service on the bonds. The city is setting aside $12.8 million in its budget for the fiscal year that starts next month to cover the gap, a notable hole in a $1.3 billion budget that calls for $7.6 million in cuts to the fire department.

Given the sluggish real-estate recovery, the city expects similar gaps to persist for years. "Our street maintenance has had to come down; our budget for neighborhood and community services has had to come down," says Scott Wagner, a first-term member of the city council. "You have a very large expense associated with a certain project, and that can't help but stand out."

But Mr. Wagner and backers of Power & Light—including the district's private developer, Cordish Cos.—say the development was successful as part of a broader effort to re-energize the city's downtown. Under initiatives pushed around the same time, H&R Block Inc. built a new 17-story headquarters, and the city funded the bulk of a new $276 million arena, the Sprint Center.

"We are extremely proud of what we and the city of Kansas City have accomplished," says Nick Benjamin, executive director of the Power & Light District for Baltimore-based Cordish.
The lingering shortfalls come as many municipalities across the U.S. face headaches for years for bullish assumptions made riding the real-estate wave. The pain persists amid a slow recovery of property values and rents, a trend analysts expect to continue.

Some cities followed similar models, such as Rockford, Ill., which has been paying hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in debt service to cover gaps for a set of planned housing and retail-development projects that stalled with the downturn. The city expects the deficits to narrow or turn positive as the economy recovers.

Other cities, such as New York, subsidized transformative projects that are now fully or partially stalled, producing few taxes while not delivering what was envisioned.

These dashed hopes are contributing to broader fiscal problems. Kansas City's high debt was cited by Fitch Ratings in February when it warned of a potential downgrade. "The city's debt load has increased substantially over the past decade resulting from an aggressive infrastructure and economic development expansion plan," the ratings firm said.

The redevelopment efforts came after decades of decline in Kansas City. Population shifts to the suburbs left the once-bustling downtown littered with parking lots and few restaurants or residents. The grand vision was for an arena surrounded by stores, restaurants, apartment buildings and offices.

The Sprint Center, with about 19,000 seats, opened in 2007. It hasn't attracted a professional sports team as planners had hoped, but city officials said it has regularly booked such events as the Big 12 Conference's men's basketball tournament.

Power & Light has gradually lured tenants since opening four years ago, and the commercial space is now 85% occupied, according to Cordish. Occupied by a mix of local retailers like a family-owned grocery store as well as national chains like Chipotle, the mostly red brick low-rise district has a relatively lively bar and nightclub scene.

On a recent warm weekday evening, the Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant was lined with diners eating at tables open to the outside. Other evening attractions include a high-end bowling alley and an AMC movie theater.

But property-tax collections have been lower than expected, given lower rents and real estate values. Sales-tax revenue is also off. Cordish has blamed this partly on the lack of a professional sports team at the arena. The apartment buildings that also would have boosted traffic have stayed on the drawing board.

The city's new mayor, Sly James, said last week that while debt is a concern, he has embraced Power & Light for what it has done for the downtown. "There was a value judgment made to make that investment," he said. "I think it was valid then, and I think it is valid now."

Write to Eliot Brown at eliot.brown@wsj.com

Be careful with that keeping up with the Jonse's stuff....all good things in all good times....go slow.

[guido911]

I am writing to you on behalf of the grass-roots civic organization Tulsa Now.  After reviewing the Mayor's list of projects for potential third penny sales tax funding, Tulsa Now board members are very disappointed at the limited investment in downtown.  

Tulsa Now believes we can only revitalize Tulsa by developing a distinctive identity and economic growth around a dynamic, urban core.  As we achieve this, Tulsa and surrounding communities will benefit and prosper.    

Reasons to invest in downtown:
•   Become competitive with other cities
•   Attract new, creative businesses
•   More tax revenue for the City of Tulsa
•   Rebuild the tax base that supports Tulsa Public Schools
•   Complement Vision 2025 Downtown initiatives
•   Attract individuals and families of all ages who prefer a walkable urban environment, many of who are the Creative Class
•   Reintegrate the community
•   Stimulate tourism
•   Reduce the huge cost of maintaining our infrastructure
•   Every expert tells us to revitalize our downtown if we want to stimulate economic growth

Research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a city's investment in its downtown is critical to its prosperity and competitiveness.  We will be happy to provide you with research and articles on this subject.

The Mayor and City Council must transform the third penny tax program into a genuinely strategic investment vehicle.  We urge you to allocate substantially more funds to downtown projects.  We understand that in the past, downtown's needs were viewed as one council district.  Tulsa Now would like to challenge you to look at the big picture: Downtown is the economic engine for the entire region.  Downtown is not just a district.  Downtown belongs to everybody.  It's the "city center" and "urban core" for all districts.  It is what defines and gives identity to a city. To neglect downtown is to neglect the future prosperity of each and every district.  

Our near competitors (such as Oklahoma City and Kansas City) are investing $Billions in infrastructure improvements and public-private partnerships designed to deliver vibrant livable downtowns.  We urge you to invest an additional $100 million in projects dedicated to our urban core.  We ask that you particularly include the following:

•   Visual Arts Center site acquisition
•   6th Street Flood mitigation and canal project – additional and continued support of
•   Centennial Walk – Phase 2 – additional and continued support of
•   Sealed Corridor – Phase 2 Quiet Zone Extension for Railroad – additional and continued support of
•   Structured Parking Facilities – Increase and enhance, including street level retail in the parking facilities
•   Downtown Core Street Improvements, Enhancements, Streetscaping, Lighting, and Improved Signage
•   Sidewalk, Streetscaping, Lighting and Landscaping in the emerging arts district of 3rd and Kenosha
•   Assistance to Urban Residential Developments – additional and continued
•   Connections between Downtown and the trail systems, including River Parks
•   Boulder Avenue – Reconnect downtown to Brady district along Boulder Avenue

Many believe Tulsa is at a critical crossroads right now, and that if we don't make the right decisions now, we will lose our opportunity to become a truly competitive and vibrant city.  

Sincerely,

Rebecca Bryant
President, Tulsa Now

Very well written, reasoned, and passionate. Kudos.

[sgrizzle]

6 years old. talk about Zombie thread.

[Red Arrow]

6 years old. talk about Zombie thread.

You beat me to the post by about 2 minutes.

[Gaspar]

I am writing to you on behalf of the grass-roots civic organization Tulsa Now.  After reviewing the Mayor's list of projects for potential third penny sales tax funding, Tulsa Now board members are very disappointed at the limited investment in downtown.  

Tulsa Now believes we can only revitalize Tulsa by developing a distinctive identity and economic growth around a dynamic, urban core.  As we achieve this, Tulsa and surrounding communities will benefit and prosper.    

Reasons to invest in downtown:
•   Become competitive with other cities
•   Attract new, creative businesses
•   More tax revenue for the City of Tulsa
•   Rebuild the tax base that supports Tulsa Public Schools
•   Complement Vision 2025 Downtown initiatives
•   Attract individuals and families of all ages who prefer a walkable urban environment, many of who are the Creative Class
•   Reintegrate the community
•   Stimulate tourism
•   Reduce the huge cost of maintaining our infrastructure
•   Every expert tells us to revitalize our downtown if we want to stimulate economic growth

Research overwhelmingly demonstrates that a city's investment in its downtown is critical to its prosperity and competitiveness.  We will be happy to provide you with research and articles on this subject.

The Mayor and City Council must transform the third penny tax program into a genuinely strategic investment vehicle.  We urge you to allocate substantially more funds to downtown projects.  We understand that in the past, downtown's needs were viewed as one council district.  Tulsa Now would like to challenge you to look at the big picture: Downtown is the economic engine for the entire region.  Downtown is not just a district.  Downtown belongs to everybody.  It's the "city center" and "urban core" for all districts.  It is what defines and gives identity to a city. To neglect downtown is to neglect the future prosperity of each and every district.  

Our near competitors (such as Oklahoma City and Kansas City) are investing $Billions in infrastructure improvements and public-private partnerships designed to deliver vibrant livable downtowns.  We urge you to invest an additional $100 million in projects dedicated to our urban core.  We ask that you particularly include the following:

•   Visual Arts Center site acquisition
•   6th Street Flood mitigation and canal project – additional and continued support of
•   Centennial Walk – Phase 2 – additional and continued support of
•   Sealed Corridor – Phase 2 Quiet Zone Extension for Railroad – additional and continued support of
•   Structured Parking Facilities – Increase and enhance, including street level retail in the parking facilities
•   Downtown Core Street Improvements, Enhancements, Streetscaping, Lighting, and Improved Signage
•   Sidewalk, Streetscaping, Lighting and Landscaping in the emerging arts district of 3rd and Kenosha
•   Assistance to Urban Residential Developments – additional and continued
•   Connections between Downtown and the trail systems, including River Parks
•   Boulder Avenue – Reconnect downtown to Brady district along Boulder Avenue

Many believe Tulsa is at a critical crossroads right now, and that if we don't make the right decisions now, we will lose our opportunity to become a truly competitive and vibrant city.  

Sincerely,

Rebecca Bryant
President, Tulsa Now

I like it, but I would have put more emphasis on the point in red above, and used the term INCENTIVE, or INCENTIVIZE.  I have a good deal of experience working with developers, and the consensus is that there is little incentive to developing downtown because the process is littered with land-mines, and the return on investment, is difficult to calculate.  The land is expensive at the least, and the owners of some properties are asking far more than many good developers can stomach.  That causes the "casual developer" with more money than sense or experience to spend $15 - $20 Mill on long shots, that eventually fail and taint what would otherwise be good projects.

Residential investment is the key to the success of every point above, and it should deserve a place at the top of the list.  Without increased population of the downtown core, none of the other initiatives will be successful.  Sure, you need to have elements that attract people, but those elements are not as important as the people themselves.  Make it affordable and slightly hip to live in the downtown core (no need to go overboard), and those people will develop a community with elements, businesses, sights, and sounds that will make it even more hip!

It all starts with affordable residential development.  That must be top of the list!

[Conan71]

Be careful with that keeping up with the Jonse's stuff....all good things in all good times....go slow.

KC P & L is a bit drecky for my tastes.  Love the River Market district, more organic, less kitsch.

[Teatownclown]

6 years is a nano second when government is handing out your money. BTW, noticed Snyder et al are slopping up $5million on a street extension to the old city hall. Way to go Paul Zachary. He needs to go too. That money was diverted from the $240 million street tax. The money needs to go into expanding 91st street instead. Corporate welfare for the aloofs....er, Aloft....er, Slyders and ciggy manufacturer. I am certain the interior of the hotel will be as cheezy as the Mayo.

Haven't heard from KC lately.... (not the city but the money counter....) Mysteriously quiet?

[sgrizzle]

6 years is a nano second when government is handing out your money. BTW, noticed Snyder et al are slopping up $5million on a street extension to the old city hall. Way to go Paul Zachary. He needs to go too. That money was diverted from the $240 million street tax. The money needs to go into expanding 91st street instead. Corporate welfare for the aloofs....er, Aloft....er, Slyders and ciggy manufacturer. I am certain the interior of the hotel will be as cheezy as the Mayo.

Haven't heard from KC lately.... (not the city but the money counter....) Mysteriously quiet?

So yeah, they paid $1M for a building that we have to do $5M in street improvements for. It sucks, but the Snyders are doing all the engineering and design work, the $5M is not being taken from any allocated project, and it needed to be done anyway. Just doesn't look like a good deal when you look at the short term..

[RecycleMichael]

I think opening up fifth street is a good thing. It should really help people find and use the library and the courthouse. I hope each of them build new entrances and the library adds a bus stop.

Closing the street was a mistake. No one ever eats lunch there or hangs out there for any good reason.

I am thankful to the Snyder's for taking over city hall. This could have been a big ugly empty building that costs us hundreds of thousands of year to keep safe. Now, instead, we have a local company putting millions and millions of dollars in remodeling and opening a new restaurant in the old council chambers. I also believe we need this hotel to be able to book the medium size conventions we want. This will be a great location for conventioneers.   

[Hoss]

I think opening up fifth street is a good thing. It should really help people find and use the library and the courthouse. I hope each of them build new entrances and the library adds a bus stop.

Closing the street was a mistake. No one ever eats lunch there or hangs out there for any good reason.

I am thankful to the Snyder's for taking over city hall. This could have been a big ugly empty building that costs us hundreds of thousands of year to keep safe. Now, instead, we have a local company putting millions and millions of dollars in remodeling and opening a new restaurant in the old council chambers. I also believe we need this hotel to be able to book the medium size conventions we want. This will be a great location for conventioneers.   

Plus, that new building allows us a discrete location to pump in the pink gas for the out-of-towners.

[Teatownclown]

Fine.... defend spending city wide money on Tori Street... shameful. Sorry. This is a waste. Pitiful planning and no exterior reworking except windex. FAIL.

So, nobody else is wondering where the Crowe flew?

Numbers please.

[Teatownclown]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=667&articleid=20121005_16_A1_CUTLIN375667

Finally, some information:

Tulsa City Council to vote on street-fixing changes



By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 10/5/2012  1:48 AM
Last Modified: 10/5/2012  7:12 AM

  Read more about the Fix Our Streets program.

Read continuing coverage of Tulsa's City Council.

Twenty-two street projects are to be sped up and one street project critical to a new downtown hotel will be funded with $26.3 million in cost savings within the Fix Our Streets tax program.

Tulsa's City Council is expected to vote on the related proposed budget amendments next week.

The projects are set to be transferred between the sales tax portion and the general obligation bond portion of the $452 million Fix Our Streets effort, which was approved by city voters in 2008.

The sales tax side of the package has suffered a $31.6 million revenue shortfall due to the recession of the past few years, Capital Planning Manager Gary Hamer told the City Council on Thursday.

But $21.5 million in cost savings and $4.8 million in federal stimulus dollars on the bond side are available to absorb the sales tax projects that otherwise would not be funded, Hamer said. "We are essentially making the Fix Our Streets program whole," he said.

This will allow 22 projects to move forward by about nine months in the Fix Our Streets schedule because the bond money is available immediately.

Also, $5 million can be devoted to a new project - the opening of Fifth Street between Denver and Frisco avenues through the Civic Center Plaza.

That is needed to allow the Fire Department direct access to the new Aloft hotel in the former City Hall building.

Opening the street was part of the contract agreement reached between the city and the hotel developers as part of the building's sale.

Tori Snyder of the development group TOCH LLC told the Tulsa World the hotel is expected to open in January. Developers are working with Fire Department officials on a temporary access plan until the street is complete.

The 22 street projects that are being moved up in the Fix Our Streets schedule include the construction of four projects and the design and engineering on 18 others. There's also some money for citywide general engineering and nonarterial rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Engineering Services Department Director Paul Zachary said the projects might have had to wait until a renewal of the Fix Our Streets package if the savings weren't available.

"As it is, we're going to get a nine-month jump on them," he said.
22 street projects may be sped up

Construction:

129th East Avenue from Admiral Boulevard to Pine Street

Pine Street and 129th East Avenue intersection

Admiral Boulevard from Mingo to Garnett roads

Harvard Avenue from 61st to 51st streets

Design and engineering:

61st Street and Memorial Drive intersection

Apache Street from Yale Avenue to Sheridan Road

Cincinnati and Detroit avenues from Interstate 244 to Jasper Street

Harvard Avenue from Admiral Boulevard to Pine Street

Lewis Avenue from 36th to 46th streets north

Memorial Drive from 21st to 11th streets

Mingo Road from 41st to 31st streets

Pine Street from Yale Avenue to Sheridan Road

River Road from 111th to 101st streets

River Road from 121st to 111th streets

Riverside Drive from 41st to 31st streets

Union Avenue from 51st to 41st streets

Yale Avenue from 111th to 101st streets

21st Street and Utica Avenue intersection

31st Street and Harvard Avenue intersection

36th Street North and Lewis Avenue intersection

41st Street and Harvard Avenue intersection

Pine Street and Yale Avenue intersection

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=667&articleid=20121005_16_A1_CUTLIN375667

This must be the twentieth redo of 41st and Harvard.....

And once again I will tell you that the Sliders pulled off a masterful manipulation of city officials to get their share of corporate welfare...were our city officials exposed to getting caught in a fire without fire department access all these years? The developers here had more than enough assets to leverage at these low rates and put this street in themselves as usually required by the COT in other developments around town. This is what I address as an un-level playing field. And I bet it becomes a two star hotel within 5 years just like the Mayo has become....The Alooft, Tulsa's future Downtowner.

A bigger question is: What happens the next go round when Fed funds dry up and cost savings can't be found to fund a $35 million dollar deficit. Something here is terribly wrong. Simple math tells me once again that these Vision programs and other corporate welfare schemes in Teatown make our credit worthiness shaky.

Am I the only Forum member who reads between the lines?

[Townsend]

Am I the only Forum member who reads between the lines?

Informative post until you went foil hat.

[guido911]

Informative post until you went foil hat.

What do you mean "until you went"?