# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Tulsa & Suburbs >  Sapulpa Projects & Development

## shavethewhales

A lot of wheels are starting to turn in Sapulpa these days. The town has been pretty sleepy for the past couple of decades but with the creeping southward growth of Tulsa and the slow influx of new people and voices in the town, big things are starting to happen. 

Here's the most notable driver of change: SeneGence is relocating their corporate HQ to a giant 225 acre piece of land off of I44 in-between Kellyville and Sapulpa. They currently have a small office in Sapulpa and a temporary warehouse in Tulsa, and plan to build out the HQ campus over the next decade. 
FB_IMG_1486571993109.jpg

Additionally, there is suddenly an influx of new projects around town, including:
A big new apartment block going in next to WalmartRefurbishment of 202. E. Hobson St. downtown next to Pat's Place into either new retail space or townhomes. (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9997...7i13312!8i6656)Refurbishment of the old garage/gas station across the street from Pat's into what I assume will be retail.212 S. Main: A couple of old homes have been demolished and the entire side of that block is being redeveloped. Rumor is that it will just be a strip mall, but at least that is new retail on a Main through-fare that is rapidly developing. (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9958...7i13312!8i6656)1234 9th St. : A bunch of old buildings were cleared off and a new QT is almost done. Huge improvement for Sapulpa's access point to I44 (https://www.google.com/maps/@36.0132...7i13312!8i6656)They just tore down the old Sapulpa Electric building to put in a downtown parking lot. Not usually a good thing, but if there were going to put parking anywhere, this was probably the best way to do it. (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9997...7i13312!8i6656)Ground has been broken on the new animal shelter. I believe it is somewhere around 76th st. 

In addition to those projects, there's a lot of infill house building, house flipping, new tenets in the industrial park, street rehabs in progress, and they are getting ready to redo several intersections along main street which will include pedestrian crossing improvements. I'm sure there's more that I can't remember off the top of my head right now as well. 

It's hard to get a lot of info on some of these projects since developers around here hardly have to prepare renderings or anything, and there's not a lot of good news coverage of our local affairs. I'll try to get out and get some photos this weekend though.

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## HangryHippo

Are they sure they've got enough parking for the HQ plan?

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## shavethewhales

Got a couple shots from this weekend of some of the projects:

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New downtown parking lot
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Still can't tell what this old car service building will become, but the inside is being totally rebuilt and they just tore up the parking lot.
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New townhomes or store fronts (still can't tell, but I'm guessing townhomes.) Will be interesting to see what happens to the bar next door.
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New expanded sonic just built on the corner of Dewey & Mission.
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The old sonic...
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A recent clearing of old buildings on main street. Possibly to become a strip mall.
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New SeneGence building built out of an old 1920's hardware store. 
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The big new apartment project underway. Still no vertical construction, but they've been working over the land for the past month or so.
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A panoramic view of the apartment lot.

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## shavethewhales

Developments in Sapulpa have been slow, but things feel like they are ramping up lately. 

The big new apartment project had a large delay, but construction started in earnest a few months ago and they are making steady progress. It will be called Timbers. Eventually they will develop some retail pads in front of it. https://www.tulsaworld.com/business/...2b68a99b1.html

The Senegence project that I mentioned in the first post is steadily advancing. Construction on utilities to the site is underway, and it has all been annexed into Sapulpa. Senegence's founder completed and moved into a huge new house near the turnpike over the summer. 

Speaking of Senegence, the big project that I'm really excited for in Sapulpa right now is the renovation of three big historic buildings in our downtown core. Senegence/Joni Rogers owns all three and plans to use them as various supporting businesses for the company including office space and a boutique hotel. There has also been talk of a high-end steak house and some kind of cutesy vintage retail/ice cream parlor similar to Ida Red's in DT Tulsa. https://ktul.com/news/local/cosmetic...wntown-sapulpa

Around town there have been other signs of life. A pediatric clinic is expanding into a brand new large purpose-built building. There's a new strip retail center going up on Main. We're getting an interesting new gas station built by a local entrepreneur that's been the talk of town. Plus lots of infill housing and a few other odds and ends. 
https://www.facebook.com/SapulpaTime...616241?__xts__[0]=68.ARBFsCA69NwUMcxUv1u7dYAGP2XPb2-2P-0LiVLxpq5dhXu5eRifjocFKFNHo9w2pou8YJRo69cd9DKxZLON  Rs9_XJCaEBT2hyxp5HlfSN-GzB1WWgqlPGeEDXVlqsvqpr2hjfVqj7NNaZsj2hRcTtpm5Zt5M  suHiSa1mlgyeG3dL7pLtsU1MreGDzuePsIORBsYH40CiKR_iBv  mrOUBrPweisw&__tn__=-UC-R

So all in all, not bad for a small town on the very edge of a big metro. My hope is that we continue to lure more quality development this way since Jenks and Glenpool are filling up a lot of their empty spaces.

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## BG918

I've always wondered why Sapulpa (and Sand Springs) lack the development of the other Tulsa suburbs like Jenks, Glenpool, Owasso and Broken Arrow.  Is it the school district or maybe the more industrial nature of these two cities?  Hillier topography making tract home neighborhoods more difficult?

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## shavethewhales

It's a lot of little things that add up. Bad leadership and vision led to a lot of prime land being turned into industrial area and mobile home parks. Oakhurst is a real problematic area with massive crime and poverty issues, and it depresses all the area around it. 

There's also a lot of insular politics that tries to keep "outsiders" out. That's why we don't have really any non-fast food chain restaurants in Sapulpa other than a Rib Crib. There's some funny laws around liquor licenses here that are designed to make in unappealing to anyone who want's to come in with a Chili's or something. 

Our highway access looks good on paper, but in reality they have not designed our access points to foster development or even ease of access to Tulsa. It works, but it took forever for even a Quicktrip to locate near our primary I44 entrance. Again, bad leadership and vision. 

The schools aren't great... not _terrible_, but not great. The high profile meth teacher incident does not help the image. 

All of this is slowly changing, but it will require overflow from Jenks/South Tulsa to really push the hill billy aspects farther West.

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## PhiAlpha

> It's a lot of little things that add up. Bad leadership and vision led to a lot of prime land being turned into industrial area and mobile home parks. Oakhurst is a real problematic area with massive crime and poverty issues, and it depresses all the area around it. 
> 
> There's also a lot of insular politics that tries to keep "outsiders" out. That's why we don't have really any non-fast food chain restaurants in Sapulpa other than a Rib Crib. There's some funny laws around liquor licenses here that are designed to make in unappealing to anyone who want's to come in with a Chili's or something. 
> 
> Our highway access looks good on paper, but in reality they have not designed our access points to foster development or even ease of access to Tulsa. It works, but it took forever for even a Quicktrip to locate near our primary I44 entrance. Again, bad leadership and vision. 
> 
> The schools aren't great... not _terrible_, but not great. The high profile meth teacher incident does not help the image. 
> 
> All of this is slowly changing, but it will require overflow from Jenks/South Tulsa to really push the hill billy aspects farther West.


Yeah its crazy that it hasnt pushed that way already. Sapulpa and Sandsprings seems like they are a lot prettier natural setting wise than BA, Jenks, and Owasso. Especially with keystone lake out that direction.

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## BG918

> Yeah it’s crazy that it hasn’t pushed that way already. Sapulpa and Sandsprings seems like they are a lot prettier natural setting wise than BA, Jenks, and Owasso. Especially with keystone lake out that direction.


You could say the same for the east side of the OKC metro yet most of the new development is to the north and west.  Wide open fields are always going to be more appealing to developers over hills and trees.

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## shavethewhales

Just wanted to give a little update for those who care:

The big new apartment complex near Walmart is wrapping up construction. They have a cool time-lapse/construction cam here: http://www.cowenconstruction.com/pro...t/the-timbers/

They are also finally working in earnest on the new strip retail center on Main near downtown. It looks smaller than what was originally proposed. 

They still haven't gotten off the ground with the Senegence project, and it seems that whole thing has been scaled back quite a bit. That was the original source of my excitement for the town, since they billed it as potentially hundreds of new jobs and a kick-start to a bunch of new development on that side of town. They are still working on a big new sewer line to the area, but it hasn't even started construction yet because of design hang-ups. 

Meanwhile though, the owner of Senegence has been investing heavily into Sapulpa's historic buildings. In addition to the several downtown buildings I mentioned earlier in this thread, she now also owns the historic Burnett Mansion. Unfortunately they still haven't started on the downtown renovation projects because they are waiting on some storm water projects to improve drainage around the buildings. 

The good news to report right now is that Sapulpa is getting three new interesting downtown businesses that are really going to breath some life into the historic district. There's a gourmet popcorn/fudge shop, some kind of fancy ice-creamery, and another "mystery" business that are all going to open within the next month or so. 

It's been a lot of delays and slow-moving projects up here, but at least things are rolling along. There are also an impressive amount of new marijuana dispensaries around here, and some kind of new testing business?

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## T. Jamison

> Just wanted to give a little update for those who care


As a born and raised Sapulpan living in OKC, I appreciate the updates.

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## Plutonic Panda

I enjoy getting updates about smaller towns in OK. After seeing how cool small towns can be in the west and NE I wish the same would be true for oklahoma. Hopefully the smaller towns make a comeback.

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## shavethewhales

Here's a little update, because what the heck:

New downtown developments include the opening of Gigi's gourmet popcorn and fudge shop. It's actually really nice and I love the popcorn. CTX coffee moved from an out-of-the-way location to a bigger better location in the heart of downtown. The potential new ice cream shop may have fallen through... We're all still waiting on an update for the historic building renovations and new steak house that was promised. No movement on the supposed drainage project that needs to take place first. 

Elsewhere, there are plans for a new subdivision at 81st and Frankoma. Still a number of infil housing developments going on here and there. We've also got a million new dispensaries, an MJ testing center, and apparently a new commercial grow house coming along. 

New clearing at Poplar & Bryan where a couple rent houses used to be. Hard to say if this will be commercial or new residential. 


The strip development on Main is coming along. Should include a new gym and maybe something else.


New apartments are just about finished. Some buildings already occupied.

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## shavethewhales

Just announced last night after I posted: A block of dilapidated downtown buildings are being saved from the wrecking ball and converted into lofts.
https://sapulpatimes.com/sapulpas-ol...vestment-firm/

This is a huge win for Sapulpa and another big step forward for our downtown revitalization.

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## Plutonic Panda

Didn't even know about this building but I am VERY glad to hear this.

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## Plutonic Panda

https://tulsaworld.com/business/sapu...df1615838.html

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## shavethewhales

^That one was a huge surprise to me, especially because the sewer lines in that area aren't great so I didn't think they could support this kind of development. It's also kind of a pain to get access to I44 in that specific location due to the lack of on/off ramps. Hopefully this will lead to more great things up and down that corridor going into Sapulpa. As the article states, this is the second Sapulpa project by that company and they are looking to keep the ball rolling!

Also going on: https://sapulpatimes.com/downtown-ma...ation-project/
Voters approved a bond to revitalize Sapulpa's downtown and the planning seems to be going well so far. Voters actually approved a whole bunch of proposals including park additions, a new fire station, and a new community/rec center. 

The big senegence stuff that led to me starting this thread has apparently fizzled out. The company downsized their plans, but maybe it all worked out for the best. They are now occupying several buildings downtown. They intend to have around 150 people working downtown by next year as I understand it. This will provide some traffic to support the businesses that Sapulpa is trying to bring in to revitalize the area. The concept on everyone's minds is BA's Rose District. We'll see!

I'll have to get out and get some updated photos soon!

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## shavethewhales

https://sapulpatimes.com/updates-com...ioof-building/

An interesting development in downtown Sapulpa. A real estate investor with a noted history of restoring historic buildings has purchased a large building in the heart of downtown Sapulpa and plans to put in lofts, office space, and maybe even a restaurant or two. Big shot in the arm for our downtown. This also adds to several other renovation projects that are ongoing or recently completed in downtown Sapulpa.

More progress has been made on the downtown revitalization project as well, with plans underway to take the main road through downtown down to two lanes and enhance the streetscape similar to what Broken Arrow did years ago. 

Meanwhile, the north side of town is turning into a giant construction zone with the Turner turnpike expansion and another big new apartment complex going up. There's also a new neighborhood development with over 100 housing lots going in just north of town.

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## shavethewhales

Cool new mural in downtown Sapulpa.

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## T. Jamison

I love it. Really well done. I remember being in the Burnett Mansion on election night 2008, driving by that drive-in every day on my way to work and spending Friday nights after football games at First Baptist. I even have a Frankhoma set at home. It encapsulates Sapulpa really well.

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## shavethewhales

https://sapulpatimes.com/teepee-driv...y-summer-2021/

Sapulpa's old drive in movie theatre has been a ghostly remnant of the route 66 hey day for many years now, but our local millionaire benefactor has purchased the property and plans to rebuild and reopen by this summer. Just another interesting addition to Sapulpa's growing dominance of Route 66 attractions in Oklahoma. We also have the world's largest gas pump with associated auto museum, a 1920's iron truss bridge that is part of Route 66, a bunch of original Route 66 alignment, a Carnegie library on Route 66, a restored gas station from the 30's, old courthouse and post office also right off of Route 66, etc.

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## Plutonic Panda

RT 66 through Sapulpa to be resurfaced: 




> Oklahoma 66 between the Interstate 44 junction just west of Tulsa and the Creek Turnpike interchange will have various lane closures as part of a resurfacing project starting Monday.
> 
> The $1.3 million project to resurface three miles of Route 66 in the Sapulpa area is scheduled to begin Monday.
> 
> The project in Creek County will affect traffic in the corridor and drivers are urged to plan ahead for extra travel time, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said.
> 
> During the project, there will be various lane closures and traffic shifts on east and westbound Oklahoma 66 (it runs north/south in this area) between the I-44/Turner Turnpike junction and the Oklahoma 364/Creek Turnpike junction.
> 
> Route 66 runs parallel to the Turner Turnpike/Interstate 44 in the affected area.
> ...


- https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/ro...5dbf38d6c.html

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