Tulsa weighs location for another Route 66 museum

Update: A few corrections have been made regarding the Route 66 Experience. The Route 66 Alliance intends to stay the course in building the facility.

Tulsa is considering a location for a Route 66 museum at the 11th Street and Lewis Avenue area near the Mother Road Market — with blessings from a Route 66 Alliance executive despite the fact the other museum site hasn’t been built.

Nick Doctor, chief of community development and policy for the city, told the Tulsa World newspaper the city is weighing a public-private partnership to build the museum on five acres near the Mother Road Market as part of a mixed-use development.

“We are exploring a potential partnership at 11th (Street) and Lewis (Avenue) since it was identified as an ideal location for the Route 66 interpretive center in the Tulsa Planning Office’s analysis,” Doctor said. “This potential partnership is still in an early, due-diligence phase, and the city has not made any commitments regarding the location of the Route 66 interpretive center.”
A document sent to prospective architecture firms by ITulsa LLC states the company is building a $40 million mixed-use development on the northwest corner of 11th Street and Lewis Avenue that will include retail, 250 multi-family units and a 12,000-square-foot Route 66 museum.

Chris Ellison, an owner of ITulsa, also confirmed the plan. He owned the now-closed Fuel 66 food-truck park along Route 66 in Tulsa. The Oklahoma Historical Society also could be a partner in the plan.

The newspaper reported the city sought a proposal in 2013 to develop a piece of land near Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza and the Arkansas River. The Route 66 Alliance was the only entity to submit a proposal, which was to build a $23.5 million Route 66 Experience there.

However, fundraising for the Route 66 Experience stalled, and the Route 66 Alliance’s exclusivity agreement expired in late 2017. That prompted the city to look at other locations for a museum.

A Route 66 site study conducted this year by the Tulsa Planning Office and the Indian Nations Council of Governments identified the best possible locations for the tourist center and museum. It used five criteria to make that determination: proximity to landmarks; proximity to hotels, restaurants and vacant property; available incentives, such as opportunity zones; access and connectivity; and density.
The three “hot spots” identified as the best locations for the tourist center were downtown, the 11th Street and Lewis Avenue corridor, including Kendall Whittier, and Route 66 in west Tulsa between 17th and 25th streets.

Ken Busby, executive director and CEO of the Route 66 Alliance, said he supported the plan while still pursuing the 42,000-square-foot Route 66 Experience.

“So we believe further developing 11th Street and Lewis Avenue to build upon the success of Mother Road Market is a great idea.”

A mixed-use development with the museum probably is best in the long run because it produces more revenue streams. Just think of the El Vado Motel redevelopment in Albuquerque that’s a mix of lodging, dining, shops, event center and a taproom.

And the addition of a Route 66 museum amid a burgeoning area probably will boost many nearby businesses on that corridor, including Mother Road Market, Campbell Hotel, 918 Coffee, El Rancho Grande, Ike’s Chili and Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on Route 66.

As for the Route 66 Experience, I have to wonder whether this new proposal endangers that grand plan — especially when it still is having trouble getting funding. This development will only compound the problem.

UPDATE: Busby wrote in an email:

It has been slower raising funds than we ever anticipated, due mainly to some wonderful projects in tulsa, like the Gathering Place, that have simply taken priority for donors.
However, I already have two major donors that have calendared me for meetings in January 2020 to discuss supporting the Route 66 Experience, now that their pledges to the Gathering Place have been paid off.  I’m very encouraged that we will be able to complete fundraising in 2020 and get the Route 66 Experience back on track.

The Route 66 Alliance also issued this statement:

(Image of the Route 66 overpass at night at Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza in Tulsa, the former proposed site for the Route 66 Experience, by Kevin via Flickr)