Dollar Thrifty’s former Tulsa home has new tenants and a new name.
The three-building complex at 5100 to 5300 east 31st Street is becoming part headquarters for five local social service nonprofits, part affordable and senior housing.
Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation Executive Director Bill Major said it’s now Legacy Plaza, partly for the legacy of Anne and Henry Zarrow.
"When a client utilizes services through Mental Health Association, that person's legacy will be changed," Major said. "When a student is provided a school uniform or an opportunity to better their childhood education, that child's legacy is changed."
Besides Mental Health Association Oklahoma, Assistance League of Tulsa, LIFE Senior Services, Community Action Project and Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits are committed. Mental Health Association Oklahoma CEO Mike Brose said it’s a rare opportunity for better service through teamwork.
"The people with needs in this community and in this state are so great, no one entity — no one entity — can solve them alone. The only way we can do it is coming together," Brose said.
Plans call for the nonprofits to own and operate the plaza once renovations are complete, including turning the 14-story western tower into 120 affordable apartments and turning the easternmost building into 50 units of senior housing.
Dollar Thrifty Plaza's rebirth as Legacy Plaza should have broad benefits. Tulsa Regional Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal said in its first year, Legacy Plaza will add 201 total jobs, $16 million total to the local economy and $862,000 in property tax revenue.
"Legacy Plaza is sort of a chamber dream come true, directly improving the prosperity of our economy as well as the members of our community," Neal said.
The purchase of the complex and planned renovations run about $60 million dollars. Legacy Plaza should open next year.
