“If you look at the Tulsa skyline, there is nothing that has been disruptive to that skyline since about the ’80s, but we’re talking about the Tulsa of the future,” Abdalla said. “So we looked at what would have happened if it wouldn’t have burned in this area. What would have happened if development wouldn’t have been so cautious around going up?
“So we are saying it is time to disrupt the Tulsa skyline again with infrastructure and a beacon that calls people here.”
The proposal also calls for transforming the historic Evans building — also known as the Oklahoma Iron Works Building — into a coworking and retail space.
“We also have a maker space for arts and artisans, and then we have some dining,” Abdalla said. “We will be working with a local foundation here to figure out what that looks like.”
Team Alchemy’s vision for the site, Abdalla said, was shaped by three major goals: reclaiming the Evans-Fintube property, which has long been cut off by highways and railroad tracks from the communities that surround it; establishing a true destination spot that would attract tourists and drive wealth creation; and returning the land to the community that watched it burn to the ground a century ago.
“There was so much talk around the Race Massacre and the incidents that happened through redlining and urban renewal, we saw this as an opportunity to create a community land trust that is stewarded properly for community benefit,” Abdalla said. “So taking the 11 acres — ultimately the 22 acres, even the publicly held land that BMX sits on — and putting those into a land trust that would create public good because we want development in north Tulsa.”
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