Broken Arrow's Rose District Is Getting Bigger

Broken Arrow's Rose District is growing.  

The Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce announced Friday morning they are more than doubling the size of the district.  The plan is to build onto the district, moving south and adding four square blocks.  

It's only three blocks now, but public improvements have sparked private investments and new businesses.

11/18/2015 Related Story: Broken Arrow's Rose District Awarded For Diversity, Character

The expansion will take the beautification work of the Rose District north and south. The city figures continuing the public investment will lead to even more private investment.

The Rose District is now the heart of Broken Arrow's downtown business district.

The century-old buildings are filling with new shops and more people.

Everything changed when the city came in to spruce up downtown with better sidewalks, new planters and street lights. 

"Business has definitely increased – tremendously," Michelle Turner, the manager of Nouveau Chocolat said.

What followed was a resurgence of people coming in to shop at places like Noveau Chocolat.

"They'll go and see us and stop in and just fall in love; it's amazing," Turner said.

The success of the Rose District -- 30 new businesses in two years -- is the reason the city plans to expand it. 

The city spent $5 million to improve the streets, but business owners followed with five times as much investment.

"You want to create something where people go to enjoy time with their family, but also a place of economic and commerce and that's what we've created here,” Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon said.

The look of the Rose District will soon extend south to the railroad tracks and north to Detroit Street.

The signature element will be an interactive fountain on the south end -- to draw even more people in and encourage them to spend more time downtown.

“And when people come, places, restaurants and stores come, and now we've housing coming along behind it and numerous buildings under renovation,” Wes Smithwick, BA Chamber President said. “And we've seen more than $25 million private investment in the last two years with more on the way.”

The streetscaping work starts soon, and the biggest individual part of the project -- the fountain -- is expected to be done within the year.