The City of Tulsa has received four Route 66 mixed-use development proposals for a piece of land near Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza and the Arkansas River.
A city committee now will evaluate the proposals, grading them on a points basis on how well each meets the city’s goals for the land, the experience of the applicant, financial resources and how well it conforms to the requirements.
The city requires the development to have a Route 66 Interpretive Center, parking, and restaurant and retail spaces. The request desired architecture that would create an”iconic-style destination” that is “compatible with views of the river and skyline.”
The Tulsa World had details about the four prospective suitors:
Continental Overseas is the parent company of Jain Hotels, which owns and operates nearly 20 hotels in the Tulsa area. The company also has a development arm.
Hund Capital is a real estate development company founded by Cody Brandt. Brandt grew up in Broken Arrow and worked in Washington, D.C., before spending five years in Dallas doing commercial appraisals. His development work in Tulsa has been primarily in the Pearl District.
Ross Group is a Tulsa-based engineering, development and construction company that has done extensive work throughout Oklahoma and Texas as well other parts of the country. It has also been responsible for some of Tulsa’s largest recent redevelopment projects, including the reconstruction of the Tulsa Club.
Sharp Boulder Enterprises was founded by David Sharp, a long-time local developer. The company’s investments include $6 million in buildings along Route 66 from Peoria to Yale avenues. The company has also invested $16 million in properties in the River Parks and Riverview area.
The Route 66 Alliance is associated with the Ross Group, said Ken Busby, executive director of the Alliance.
The City of Tulsa in October announced a request for proposals for a new Route 66 center at the site. The city has $5 million in public funds available to assist with the project.
The article didn’t say when the city committee would make its decision, though Busby said earlier his group hoped to break ground on the project by fall.
Several media outlets in Tulsa reported last month the Route 66 Alliance was part of a proposed $35 million complex at the site. But that was before the other three applicants were known.
The Route 66 Alliance announced the initial 42,000-square-foot, $19.5 million Route 66 Experience project at the same site in May 2015, with a projected groundbreaking of summer 2016. Such a facility in Tulsa had been proposed as far back as 2003.
But fundraising for the project continued to come up short, and projected groundbreaking dates were repeatedly pushed back.
(Image of the pedestrian bridge at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza site in Tulsa, near the proposed site for the Route 66 Experience and hotel)