© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Authority Approves Public Funds for Alleyway Project Accompanying OTASCO Building Renovation

A pedestrian-friendly alleyway renovation going with a downtown revitalization project will get public funding.

Tulsa Development Authority signed off on $205,000 in special taxing district funds for the repaving and lighting of the alley running from Second to First street, which will happen in conjunction with developer Jeff Scott’s $2.5 million overhaul of the OTASCO building at Second Street and Cincinnati Avenue into a restaurant and retail development with a patio.

Plans call for solar-powered lighting and terra cotta–red concrete. Scott said the alley won’t be closed to traffic permanently.

"There is no intent to change the services available to the alley. There will still be food deliveries. There will still be trash pickup," Scott said.

The building renovation is slated to begin early next year, with the alley coming at the end and work on it estimated to take 30 days.  

Attorney Sandra Alexander said the owners of neighboring Fortune Chef restaurant don’t disagree the alley needs work, but that’s where their drive-thru customers must exit.

"It’s got problems. It’s got holes in it and all that kind of stuff. It definitely needs the repaving," Alexander said. "You know, we’re asking that you not pursue or support things, activities, that are going to destroy their business."

TDA conditioned funding on Scott working with neighboring business affected by an alleyway closure, including arrangements for Fortune Chef restaurant to send drive-thru customers through a parking lot between their business and the OTASCO building.

TDA commissioner Roy Peters said the alley project may mean temporary headaches for neighboring businesses but believes the improvements will ultimately benefit them.

"I think this improvement will be a dramatic improvement for Fortune Chef and the current OTASCO building, and the investment that’s being made in that area, I think, is going to help everybody in that area," Peters said.

Other conditions for the funding were compensating owners of a parking garage on Detroit Avenue north of Blue Dome Market for lost revenue during any alley closure and sending the project out for a competitive bid.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.