BA Residents Give Feedback On City’s Plan For Possible Downtown Living

Broken Arrow's award-winning downtown district now wants to add housing, and the city wants to know what the public thinks.

About 100 people gave feedback on what they’d like to see during a public meeting Wednesday night.

The City said the Rose District is such a success when it comes to retail and commercial space that it now wants to add residential space into that mix.

Broken Arrow's Rose District is Chelsea Roger's go-to place, "I love downtown. I love to eat down here and go shopping down here."

She's not alone. The City said people are flocking to downtown Broken Arrow more than ever.

City Manager Michael Spurgeon said, "You can see the success we've had with the Rose District."

Spurgeon said when it comes to the Rose District's growth the proof is in the dollars; six years ago, before all the development, the district brought in about $20,000 in sales tax. This year they’ve seen $350,000.

Now the City wants to hear what Broken Arrow thinks about adding some downtown housing.

"That's what's cool about this, is we're trying to create the same vibe with residential that we did with commercial and retail," said Spurgeon.

More than 100 people showed up to learn about the City's plans and to give their own input.

12/14/2016 Related Story: BA Holds Public Forum On Rose District Residential Development

Some are concerned old houses would be forcibly torn down; others said they don't want more traffic clogging the area.

The district in question is a square-mile tract of land bordered by Kenosha to the north, Houston Street to the south, Elm Place to the west and 9th Street to the east.

The city's consulting firm said the district's re-zoning would not affect current houses, only future development.

The City said it will consider everyone's feedback to make downtown better.

Rogers said, "It's a nice place, so it would be a cute place to live."

The City hired a consulting firm out of Oklahoma City to handle the development plan. The firm will try to incorporate feedback from the public into its final proposal.