The Rebirth of Downtown Tulsa (Step 2): 12 Steps to the Revitalization of Downtown Tulsa

The Rebirth of Downtown Tulsa (Step 2)
"12 Steps to the Revitalization of Downtown Tulsa"

By Clay Clark- Marketing Director and Cofounder of Fears & Clark Tulsa Commercial Real Estate Group



Alright, so now that we have already properly set the vision for the rebirth of the traditional "walkable urbanism" that many U.S. cities find themselves return to, it is now time to move on to "Step 2" of our downtown Tulsa revitalization program.

"Step 2" of this program requires us now to develop an actual "strategic plan for downtown." I realize that his might sound a little obvious, but pause and think about it for a second. Have you ever been downtown and noticed that there is no parking in certain places, but yet there is more than enough parking in other places? Have you ever been downtown and found yourself wondering, "Why is there a beautiful huge building sitting next to a small, empty and awful looking small house or property?" As a general rule, these types of abominations are related to a city not having a "strategic plan" that it is following. Have you ever found yourself driving the wrong way on a one way, or walking on a sidewalk that seems to end randomly? These types of occurrences are all related to a lack of "strategic planning."

Ok, so we've established that we need a "strategic plan," but what should go in this plan? What kinds of things must be covered in this plan? According to the Brookings Institute (which is a comprised of a group of people who are all much smarter than I am) this plan must cover 10 core areas. And here the are in all their glory:

1) Character - The city of Tulsa must clearly define its downtown boundary markers. What is downtown and what is not downtown? How dense should our population be? In order for the Tulsa commercial real estate to pick up, we must have many humans living down there. And if private investors are going to be investing millions of dollars into building lofts, condos and other downtown living areas then they had better know where the commercial real estate is going to be. All of these investors must know where downtown is, if they are going to invest in the concept of the revitalizing downtown.

2) Housing - For Tulsa and any other city to complete a functional "urban renewal" program that housing situation must be addressed quickly and immediately. So far Tulsa has done a good job of this with the Mayo Lofts, the 112 project and a few other urban living developments. The idea here is that a huge array of moderate to ultra-high-density housing options must be available in both high-end, and moderate price points. The downtown planners must work tirelessly to make sure that this housing is available, encouraged and legally allowed. The city needs to take an inventory of its city-owned real estate including its land and its buildings. If the city is sitting on land and buildings that are sitting vacant, which is usually the case, it needs to look strongly into the possibility of selling it over to the private sector so that it can begin the remodeling and revitalization process with some early and financially feasible housing projects. It might be a little hard to mentally grasp, but nearly 2/3 of all the city development associated with revitalizing a downtown is housing related.

3) Retail - It is very important for city planners and for the Tulsa commercial real estate industry to determine what kinds of retailers are best suited for downtown so that they can be targeted, marketed to and encouraged to open up locations in downtown Tulsa. Can movie theatre survive downtown right now? Can a bike shop survive and thrive downtown now? Can book stores, grocery stores, banks, or video stores survive and thrive downtown? Could a retail clothing store survive and thrive in downtown Tulsa as it currently sits. If so, what kind of retail store could survive and thrive downtown? Once a list of viable retailers and retail categories has been put together it is very important that they be encouraged to move downtown into concentrated walkabout areas that mutually benefit the city, the retailers and the potential shoppers who will be patronizing them. We don't want a restaurant here and then another restaurant 3 miles away, and then another restaurant 2 miles away. What we want is a concentration of restaurants into something like a "restaurant row." We must have a concentration businesses to make this work.

4) Culture - When it comes to downtown, it would not seem authentic and believable to the downtown goers if there was not some culture mixed in. In America today, culture is getting harder to define, because our combined melting pot lack of culture is actually becoming our culture. As the country grows and as the population ethnically continues to blend in together less and less people are clustering into certain areas. More and more areas are becoming diverse where as in New York, "Little Italy" organically happened on its own. Italian immigrants all sought out each other and the comfort of being surrounded by people that all share a common language and culture, and thus "Little Italy" was born. "China Town" happened the same way. In Tulsa it would be a little tough for the city of Tulsa or some advisory board to recommend that all the Italians should move downtown near each other so that we can create a little more authentic "culture" for the city's benefit. So what are we to do about culture?

I believe that we should target the elements of culture that we do have downtown and celebrate them. The history of the Greewood district is rich and resilient and I believe that celebrating their culture would be a good idea. I believe that Tulsa's connect to the original Route 66 is something that we should be celebrating. I believe that Tulsa's rich "oil boom town" history and former title as the "oil capital of the world" should be celebrated to a greater extent. Getty, Phillips and other iconic Tulsa figures and companies should be celebrated downtown in a sincere way. We must do our best to restore historic buildings and the rich history that already exists downtown rather than trying to invent some type of culture in a Las Vegas kind of way.

5) Public Infrastructure - Oh yes, nothing is more fun to talk about than public infrastructure and the city's role in providing and managing it. Tulsa is going to have to turn its one way streets into two way streets. Tulsa is going to have to build more parking. Tulsais going to have to increase its water and sewage capacity. Tulsa is going to have to soup up some of its parks and open areas to make them more appealing to the masses. Some street lights wouldn't hurt either. It is super important that the people of Tulsa feel as though downtown wants them to be there. The people of business owners who are considering the possibility of leasing downtown Tulsa commercial real estate must feel invited, welcomed and encouraged to be a part of the downtown revitalization. They must feel as though the city of Tulsa wants them to be there because it is working to modify its infrastructure to accomodate more and more "walkable urbanism."

6) Employment - People need jobs. Is it the government's job to provide jobs? No. Is is the government's job to create jobs? No. Are government jobs going to create a huge economic boom that is organic, and financially sustainable? No. So where are these jobs going to come from?

These jobs are going to come from organic growth of local businesses and entrepreneurs and the wooing of out-of-state corporations. The Tulsa commercial real estate community is actually going to have to pick up a phone and shockingly make a few calls. The Tulsa commercial real estate community is going to have to get on the phone with some major corporations and work to convince them that Tulsa is a great place to be. Is it a tough sales pitch? I don't believe so when you consider this.

Recently Tulsa was named by Forbes Magazine as being the "5th Best Place for Business." Tulsa has been named nationally in numerous publications as being one of the best places to ride out a recession. In fact Tulsa Chamber was recently named as the "Best Chamber of Commerce in the United States" by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Tulsa's cost of living is dramatically less than that of nearby cities. Tulsa has roughly 1/3 the cost of living as the major coastal cities like New York, San Francisco, Miami, San Diego and Seattle. If you owned a business that did the majority of its work over the phone and over the internet, Tulsa would provide a huge opportunity for your company to save millions and milions of dollars.

If Tulsa's local job market is going to improve the commercial real estate industry must go after these national tenants and encourage them that downtown Tulsa is a great place for their business, their families and their employees to be.

7) Community involvement - It is very important that the

citizens living in the nearby neighborhoods have their time and opportunities to share their ideas and their input. They must be encouraged to get and stay involved. It is also critical that the local media gets involved and stays involved. The local media needs to stay informed about the progress that is going on in downtown Tulsa so that they can share the small victories downtown Tulsais having with the greater city at large. On example that was outlined in the BrookingsInstitute Paper was centered around creating a local TV show highlighting individuals and businesses that working to turn around the downtown. These stories will then add a human element to the mix. People love stories involving the human element whether it be in sports, business or politics. Routing for downtown can be tough sometimes, but routing for John Smith the owner of the local downtown pub can be a little easier.

8) Involved the non-profit organization - No we are not talking about inviting businesses that do not produce a profit or another business that does not have a viable plan. We are talking about inviting the Non-profit organizations to fill the needed and vital roles. These include setting up business improvement districts, and possibly some type of transportation management organization. I personally am not a big fan of this idea, but the folks at the incredible BrookingsInstitute believe that is a good idea based on years of research and thus I think we should go with it.

9) Continuous marketing - This is the fun part for a serial entrepreneur like me. The Brookings Institute report recommends that the continuualmarketing of downtown is absolutely needed for a downtown revitalization process to happen. The report recommends working diligently with the local media to promote the idea of downtown Tulsa having vibrancy, fun and convenience to overwhelm the skeptics with good news. The city must be repositioned in a way that shows a vitality and positivity.

10) Social values - This final point was recommended by the Institute, however I could not disagree more on the subject. The report recommends that the city would actually define the social values and then implementing a plan to enforce them. I do not see this as being a good idea at all. How would you implement these "social values." I think the 10 Commandments have been already laid out and I think they will do a much better job than any "social values" that a bureaucrat might create. If there is a bureaucrat who can make "social values" in way that is more effective than God, then I would be very interested to see them. The report recommends that we make downtown a place for everyone regardless of income or race. However here is the issue. Have you been to 61st & Peoria? Have you been the poor areas of Sapulpa? These people cannot afford to pay for the cost of living associated with paying for their own homes and they should definately not be brought downtown and subsidized by the city. The downtown Tulsa community needs to survive and thrive based on the laws of capitalism, not based on the artificial diversity created by offering government housing in the middle of an urban renewal area. To quote a Greenbay Packer fan watching Brett Favre throw a touchdown for the Vikings, "BOOOO!"

For more information about how to market your Tulsa commercial real estate visit the Fears & Clark Tulsa Commercial Real Estate offices or call the offices today at 918-481-2080 to get in contact with the Marketing Director and cofounder of Fears & Clark, Clay Clark.

For more information about Tulsa office space, Tulsa office buildings, the city of Tulsa, Tulsa commercial leasing, Tulsa commercial real estate and officing in dowtown Tulsa call us today.