The group charged with driving Route 66 revitalization in Tulsa sees potential in a new plan to encourage development.
City officials started the process Monday of establishing two districts near 11th and Lewis where increased property taxes and the undedicated portion of city sales taxes would be set aside for 25 years. They could pay for public projects roughly along 11th Street from the IDL to Delaware and along Lewis Avenue from Archer Street to 15th Street.
"The heart right now that we see potential for is the connection between 11th and Lewis and First Street and Lewis, so Kendall Whittier District, and really trying to get that revitalized," said Tulsa Route 66 Commission member Ken Busby. "And so, the fact that they’re looking at this TIF sort of with a much broader approach that’s really capturing both alignments, I think is huge for Tulsa."
The tax increment financing districts would be set up around Mother Road Market and the former Tulsa Welding School site. Revenue could go toward street projects like transit improvements and streetscaping and toward financing assistance in order to foster private development in the corridor.
"I think this is a perfect, like, case study, if you will and that we can use this to then say, 'OK. Now, we did this here. It worked. Where else can we go from here?'" Busby said.
In all, Tulsa has 24 miles of Route 66 within city limits.
"We’d like developers looking at all of it because some of those large tracts of land, I don’t know what they could be, but anything that would generate additional tourism revenue, sales tax revenue, hotel/motel tax — all those kinds of things will only benefit all of us," Busby said.
In a finance committee meeting Tuesday, members of the Tulsa Route 66 Commission said a TIF could be helpful around 11th Street and Garnett Road.
The proposal for the 11th Street and Lewis corridor won’t be adopted until at least late November.
