Construction of north Tulsa's latest housing development kicked off with a ceremonial groundbreaking Friday morning.
City political and business leaders gathered inside the Crossover Preparatory Academy auditorium — a change of venue due to cold weather — to christen Black Wall Street Square.
The 1.76-acre mixed-income townhome project is located at the northeast corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and East Reading Street.
"This is the model for what Tulsa’s gonna have to do for at least the next decade to get everybody in Tulsa a home who wants one," said Mayor G.T. Bynum, addressing the audience in the auditorium.
Bynum said he and the city council consulted experts about ways to solve homelessness in Tulsa.
"Literally every expert that we brought to the table - it didn't matter if they were government, nonprofit, private sector - everybody pointed out to us: Tulsa needs more housing," he said.
The development is the vision of the late Terry McGee, a housing developer and community advocate who died in 2022.
McGee's son, Dominic, honored his father's vision at the ceremony.
"My father always believed in bigger and better things for north Tulsa," he said. "He was a builder and developer ahead of his time."
City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who represents north Tulsa, told the audience the housing development is a positive step, but there is still a gap between Black and white Americans when it comes to homeownership.
"It moves progress for housing for the city," Hall-Harper said, "and that's important, but I'm more concerned about moving the process and success of Black homeownership."
One of the partners signed on to the project is PartnerTulsa (formerly the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity). PartnerTulsa had previously stirred controversy in 2022 after a plan to develop former Evans-Fintube site in North Tulsa fell through.
When asked what PartnerTulsa can do better address development in north Tulsa, Hall-Harper said "tell the truth and do what they say they're gonna do, 'cause they haven't."
The non-profit Boomtown Development Company, a key partner for the new site, said all planned units will include three bedrooms, two full and one 1/2 bathrooms. There will be 25 units. The site will also include a community gathering space.
