Gathering Place for Tulsa will be world-class park

[Dustin]

August update

[Swake]

Flyover of The Gathering Place by KOTV
http://www.newson6.com/story/3711001...athering-place

[Plutonic Panda]

Nice! This will be a beautiful park and will only become more beautiful as it matures. Is the children’s museum still on schedule?

Couple of side notes: if they ever go big on I-44 in between Tulsa and OKC after it’s widened to six lanes and build HSR, a bike path would be really cool to have between the two cities. What happening with development in Tulsa? Haven’t heard much lately.

[HangryHippo]

This is going to be incredible. I’m jealous.

[BG918]

Nice! This will be a beautiful park and will only become more beautiful as it matures. Is the children’s museum still on schedule?

Couple of side notes: if they ever go big on I-44 in between Tulsa and OKC after it’s widened to six lanes and build HSR, a bike path would be really cool to have between the two cities. What happening with development in Tulsa? Haven’t heard much lately.

The children's museum is part of Phase 2 that starts in 2019. That also includes a proposed mixed-use residential development on the south side of the park along Crow Creek and a trail connecting it to Brookside.

There is a lot of new infill development in downtown and in midtown either under construction or proposed. Not very many large projects but rather lots of smaller ones which is how Tulsa typically does urban infill. The two biggest proposed projects downtown are Santa Fe Square (the hotel portion is U/C, the office and apartment portions are supposed to start next year) and the PAC Block midrise apartments which may or may not have a grocery store included, that remains to be seen. Both of those projects fill huge holes downtown, and if a full service grocery is built will be a true game changer for future development.

[dankrutka]

Wow. The park looks just incredible... but I does not look like it'll be ready for people in January.

[BG918]

Saw this cool shot on FB, getting closer to being finished this summer!

[Dustin]

[Ross MacLochness]

Looks amazing.

[Dustin]

Great recent 4k drone footage of the park.

[Rover]

I’m sure it will be great, but looks like a park Disneyland. It looks like they just threw everything they could think of into it.

[5alive]

^^^^^^

[BG918]

Remember the main park is Phase 1 of the larger project which includes the reopening of Riverside Dr through the tunnels. Phase 2 will include more park space and a new building for the Tulsa Children's Museum where there is currently staging and construction offices for Phase 1 along Crow Creek. There is also the city-funded new pedestrian bridge over the river as well as the replacement of the existing low water dam and the creation of a whitewater rafting flume in the river that will open along with Phase 2. Phase 3 is mixed-use development where the Crow Creek apartments are currently located as well as a trail connecting all of this to Brookside along the creek.

[Swake]

Latest video of the half billion dollar park ($465 million) due to open this summer

https://www.facebook.com/tulsaworld/...5623982696446/

[Jeepnokc]

Latest video of the half billion dollar park ($465 million) due to open this summer

https://www.facebook.com/tulsaworld/...5623982696446/

Very cool. Definitely a step up for them and world class.

[BigTulsa]

Announced this morning that the park will open on Sept 8

[HangryHippo]

Latest video of the half billion dollar park ($465 million) due to open this summer

https://www.facebook.com/tulsaworld/...5623982696446/

That looks SO nice!

[PhiAlpha]

Very cool. Definitely a step up for them and world class.

Yeah from everything I’ve heard, this literally will be one of the nicest parks in the WORLD and that’s coming from several international business people that have been through Tulsa over the last year or so. It’s very impressive.

[soonerfan_in_okc]

I find it neat how OKC and Tulsa are both building great parks, but funded them in entirely different ways. 99%, if not every dollar, of the gathering place is being paid for by private funds. George Kaiser picked up the phone enough and made it something that companies & foundations felt like they would miss out on if they didn’t commit a few hundred thousand (or million) dollars.the location was already established which surely helped, but the park is a perfect way for outsiders to see how generous Tulsa is. Meanwhile, Okc citizens decided to take it upon themselves to turn around an important plot of land for a stronger community. . A perfect example of how OKC isn’t afraid to pay for things it believes in.

[Eric]

I find it neat how OKC and Tulsa are both building great parks, but funded them in entirely different ways. 99%, if not every dollar, of the gathering place is being paid for by private funds. George Kaiser picked up the phone enough and made it something that companies & foundations felt like they would miss out on if they didn’t commit a few hundred thousand (or million) dollars.the location was already established which surely helped, but the park is a perfect way for outsiders to see how generous Tulsa is. Meanwhile, Okc citizens decided to take it upon themselves to turn around an important plot of land for a stronger community. . A perfect example of how OKC isn’t afraid to pay for things it believes in.

It is quite generous of roughly 54% of the voters to FORCE one of the most regressive forms of taxes on those that can least afford it to pay for a park that they likely won't use. That's one take I guess.

I do share your sentiment that I think it is cool that both cities seem to be doing this simultaneously. I think in the long run the Tulsa park will be received better and used more than the OKC park. River Parks were already pretty heavily used and this appears to just be an extension of that. Plus tons of programming is being included. And Tulsa has been known to really utilize well designed parks, or at least well placed. I think Guthrie Green is an excellent example of this. Also a Kaiser project I believe.

[PhiAlpha]

It is quite generous of roughly 54% of the voters to FORCE one of the most regressive forms of taxes on those that can least afford it to pay for a park that they likely won't use. That's one take I guess.

I do share your sentiment that I think it is cool that both cities seem to be doing this simultaneously. I think in the long run the Tulsa park will be received better and used more than the OKC park. River Parks were already pretty heavily used and this appears to just be an extension of that. Plus tons of programming is being included. And Tulsa has been known to really utilize well designed parks, or at least well placed. I think Guthrie Green is an excellent example of this. Also a Kaiser project I believe.

I think that’s a pretty weak take based on the success of all the maps projects, especially given all the private investment they’ve stimulated around them.

After spending extensive time in both cities, I would say that MBG is utilized as much as any green space in Tulsa so I have little doubt our park, which is also connected to the river, will be heavily utilized. No doubt though, the gathering place will be the nicer park. I just wish OKC would do something to beautify our river trails and parks..it’s definitely nicer than it was before being damned but the area around the river is so ugly right now outside of a few areas (like the boat house district, wheeler, etc). Hopefully the development spurred by the park will transform the area.

[BG918]

I think that’s a pretty weak take based on the success of all the maps projects, especially given all the private investment they’ve stimulated around them.

After spending extensive time in both cities, I would say that MBG is utilized as much as any green space in Tulsa so I have little doubt our park, which is also connected to the river, will be heavily utilized. No doubt though, the gathering place will be the nicer park. I just wish OKC would do something to beautify our river trails and parks..it’s definitely nicer than it was before being damned but the area around the river is so ugly right now outside of a few areas (like the boat house district, wheeler, etc). Hopefully the development spurred by the park will transform the area.

Hey at least OKC always has water in the Oklahoma River and had the foresight to build locks with the dams for navigation. The Arkansas River in Tulsa is at the whim of PSO releasing water from Keystone Dam and while the area of Zink Lake (by the Gathering Place) typically is full of water there are areas downstream that can be a giant sand bar several months of the year. It ruins what is otherwise a really beautiful setting with all of the trees and parks along the river banks.

There is funding in place for improvements to the Zink Dam to raise the water level by a few feet which will be good for keeping the river full by the Gathering Place and up by downtown, and for another LWD down by Jenks but these projects a ways out. It is too bad the new pedestrian bridge and dam improvements won't be finished when the park opens but hopefully will be by the time they complete the second phase (additional park area along 31st/Crow Creek and the new children's museum).

[Eric]

River Parks is at least a 6 mile long park. There is no way MBG is utilized by as many people as River Parks is. I'm not making commentary about how nice either are. Just that I expect one to get used by more of the population than the other. It's not insulting (or at least I didn't think it was). It just stands to reason that basically hitching A Gathering Place on to River Parks is only gonna make it that much more desirable.

Water in the Arkansas will do absolutely nothing to make Tulsa River Parks more desirable. It's all location. Like I said it's a 6+ mile long park. It goes by a ton of rooftops, as basically the entirety of Riverside Speedway has no commercial activity (except the 71st Street intersection area). It's not that kind of river either, at least at that point. I personally am a let nature be what it is gonna be type of person so I honestly don't mind it the way it is, and I don't think there is really all much stammering for water in the river in Tulsa either.

And the stimulation of River Parks is almost 100% to redevelopment of residential. Obviously this doesn't get the headlines. But it is happening.

Guthrie Green (a much smaller park than MBG) has done it's fair share of stimulating in my estimation. Come check out the Brady District (or whatever they call it now).

[PhiAlpha]

Hey at least OKC always has water in the Oklahoma River and had the foresight to build locks with the dams for navigation. The Arkansas River in Tulsa is at the whim of PSO releasing water from Keystone Dam and while the area of Zink Lake (by the Gathering Place) typically is full of water there are areas downstream that can be a giant sand bar several months of the year. It ruins what is otherwise a really beautiful setting with all of the trees and parks along the river banks.

There is funding in place for improvements to the Zink Dam to raise the water level by a few feet which will be good for keeping the river full by the Gathering Place and up by downtown, and for another LWD down by Jenks but these projects a ways out. It is too bad the new pedestrian bridge and dam improvements won't be finished when the park opens but hopefully will be by the time they complete the second phase (additional park area along 31st/Crow Creek and the new children's museum).

No doubt. It's a shame that it's taken them this long to realize that damming the river was a worthwhile expenditure especially after everything we've done with ours over the last 15 years. I'm excited for them to finally do it.

[PhiAlpha]

River Parks is at least a 6 mile long park. There is no way MBG is utilized by as many people as River Parks is. I'm not making commentary about how nice either are. Just that I expect one to get used by more of the population than the other. It's not insulting (or at least I didn't think it was). It just stands to reason that basically hitching A Gathering Place on to River Parks is only gonna make it that much more desirable.

Water in the Arkansas will do absolutely nothing to make Tulsa River Parks more desirable. It's all location. Like I said it's a 6+ mile long park. It goes by a ton of rooftops, as basically the entirety of Riverside Speedway has no commercial activity (except the 71st Street intersection area). It's not that kind of river either, at least at that point. I personally am a let nature be what it is gonna be type of person so I honestly don't mind it the way it is, and I don't think there is really all much stammering for water in the river in Tulsa either.

And the stimulation of River Parks is almost 100% to redevelopment of residential. Obviously this doesn't get the headlines. But it is happening.

Guthrie Green (a much smaller park than MBG) has done it's fair share of stimulating in my estimation. Come check out the Brady District (or whatever they call it now).

Though I didn't phrase it very well, I guess my point was that percentage wise, MBG is probably utilized as much or more than any green space in Tulsa.

Water in the Arkansas will definitely make the river parks more desirable. Obviously the aesthetic improvement will be huge but there are plans to add water activities along the river that are only possible if it's consistently full which will draw more people to the river parks.

Agreed about the residential development, the areas between Peoria and the river have started blowing up with new residential development as the Gathering Place progressed.

I basically lived in Tulsa 90% of the time over the last year or so. Spent a lot of time in the Brady (or whatever new PC name they came up with)