USA Today in their list of charming Main Streets across the USA included Broken Arrow’s Rose District in the top 50 list.
“The national recognition is really awesome to see, because of all the hard work the Broken Arrow City Council, staff and our partners the Chamber of Commerce and the Broken Arrow School District have put into revitalizing Main Street,” said Craig Thurmond, Broken Arrow Mayor. “Our residents and business owners should also be proud. They supported the public initiatives that allowed our Main Street to become successful.”
The City Council kicked off a Downtown Revitalization Plan in 2005, with a goal to make this area as vital and successful as it was in the last century. The City created a local Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District to begin funding improvements, and voters later approved General Obligation bonds in 2011 and 2014 to continue improving key infrastructure. Public projects, worth over $65 million, included the renovation of historic buildings, a new 1,500 seat Performing Arts Center, a new pavilion to hold a farmer’s market and community gatherings, a 1,200 square-foot interactive water feature, new brick paved sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, decorative street lamps and landscape planters. Private sector funding surged, as many new business, with expenditures of over $25 million, relocated into this once declining district. An additional $60 million in private development is currently on its way.