Developers Incorporate Historic Pieces Of YMCA Building Into New Apartments

A unique Tulsa landmark will soon open its doors as apartments.

The developers said they are trying to both modernize the old YMCA building downtown, and showcase its history.

Manager Shelby Snyder said, "Reuse, repurpose and recycle - that is the whole goal of doing historic renovations.”

Not much is allowed to be altered with historic renovations. So, some stairs are made from the floor of the old yoga studio, and some units have remnants of the old women’s gym.

“It does pose some challenges, but also gets you to be really creative and work on the unique spaces, and work these really cool apartments for people to enjoy,” Snyder said.

The old YMCA on Denver sat empty in the heart of downtown for years. But, in a few months, there will be 79 apartments for rent starting around $500 a month - a dollar a square foot, give or take.

Snyder said, “And, as we know with development in Tulsa, we can’t have empty buildings and we can’t be tearing down buildings.”

And they're not even tearing much off the walls. Even an old scoreboard is staying to be a built-in wall piece for some of the units.

“So we kind of saw this gem in the middle of Tulsa to make a really cool place for people to live,” said Snyder.

Pre-leasing should begin in June.