The Tulsa Public Facilities Authority approved a contract Tuesday to develop land at 71st and Riverside.
The $1.46 million deal is for 12.3 acres on the eastern banks of the Arkansas River. Two of five members of the authority voted against the deal because they weren’t sure whether the land was formally declared as surplus.
Chairman Patrick Cremin was one of the two noes. He asked developer Don Bouvier whether this is going to be a big-box development.
"[A] big-box retailing center is Tulsa Hills, where you have a collection of a dozen of these amassing to 1 million square feet," said developer Don Bouvier. "This is a relatively small shopping center at only 50,000 square feet."
The 27,000 square feet anchor store will presumably be leased by outdoors retailer REI. Bouvier said they’re going above and beyond to make the development blend in with its surroundings and stated traffic is a good thing when asked how he’d view river goers parking there.
Opponents of the deal say retail development wasn’t benefactor Walter Helmerich’s intent for the land when he led the effort to acquire it in 1991. His son, Jono Helmerich, said the family respects the opposing view but disagrees.
"We've tried to be supportive in terms of where this city is going, and we feel like this is a move that, again, respectfully, moves the city forward and we feel, again, positive about it and supportive of it," Helmerich said.
An opponent’s request for an injunction asking for 90 days to review documents was filed in Tulsa District Court before the public facility authority's meeting. City Attorney Bob Edmiston said the filing doesn’t challenge the legality of the authority’s actions over the last two years.
"Plenty of time has passed for these types of complaints and these types of objections," Edmiston said.
Counsel for the authority said its trust indenture allows it to find the land is no longer needed and transfer it.
