By KWGS News
Tulsa, OK – Mayor Dewey Bartlett has announced today that through a community partnership, the Tulsa Development Authority has sold 16 residential lots to Habitat for Humanity for construction of new homes in the Crutchfield neighborhood. These Habitat homes will be built and occupied by their owners within the next two years, promoting stability in this neighborhood undergoing revitalization.
"We have an opportunity to move Crutchfield forward," Mayor Bartlett said. "Through public-private partnerships such as this, we will turn the neighborhood around."
Cooperation among several community partners has made this development possible: the City of Tulsa Planning, Economic Development and Real Estate Management, and Working In Neighborhoods departments, the Crutchfield Neighborhood Association, the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG), the City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment, Tulsa Development Authority and Tulsa Habitat for Humanity.
The City of Tulsa Planning Department has worked with the Crutchfield neighborhood to develop its Master Plan for revitalization. These Habitat for Humanity homes directly support the goals of this Master Plan to encourage new residential construction on existing vacant lots. The Planning Department also has met with Habitat for Humanity to design the homes to blend with the early-20th century Craftsman style of existing Crutchfield homes.
The Working In Neighborhoods Department, through its Neighborhood Enhancement Team initiative, has helped to remove blighted structures and has sponsored cleanup efforts to spruce up the Crutchfield neighborhood. The Economic Development and Real Estate Management Department helped Tulsa Development Authority to acquire the properties, issue a Request for Proposals and facilitate the sale of the properties to Habitat for Humanity.
INCOG and the City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment have accomplished lot combinations in Crutchfield of two 25-foot lots into 50-foot lots and have issued variances for front-yard setbacks to match those of existing Crutchfield homes.
Tulsa Development Authority purchased land in Crutchfield for revitalization and redevelopment and has sold lots to Habitat for Humanity, an organization known for improving neighborhood stability and increasing property values through owner-occupied homes. Tulsa Habitat for Humanity helps families who need a little help to afford homes to participate in the construction of their homes and to make affordable mortgage payments.