New Developer Investing $6M Into Downtown Lofts Project

A downtown loft project, stalled for almost a decade, is up and running with the help of a new developer.

Ross Group says it’s going to pump $6 million into the 1st Street Lofts and get it ready for 22 new tenants.

Downtown Tulsa is seeing a boom in redevelopment; but for the past decade, the 1st Street Lofts project sat on the sidelines.

The spaces above the ground floor at 1st and Detroit got new windows, infrastructure and fire suppression upgrades. And for the last year and a half, developers at Ross Group worked behind the scenes to take over the building from the previous developer and continue construction.

"There's a lot of excitement with downtown living, and what we want to do is capitalize on that excitement and offer more product for people to live downtown," said Steven Watts with Ross Group.

7/7/2016 Related Story: 1st Street Lofts Project Gets New Developer

They say they’re going to bring 22 loft-style apartment units to the building. Once completed, tenants will get views of downtown, Blue Dome and Brady districts.

Watts said the top two floors will be converted into two story units.

"We're going to hold the Ross Group standard to this project and it's just going to be a wonderful addition to downtown Tulsa," he said.

Ross Group is investing $6 million into the project.

The 98-year-old hotel will be preserved by people wanting to call downtown Tulsa home.

Watts said, "We think Tulsans will be excited about it too when they see the final product - even when they see our renderings, I think our plan is exactly what Tulsans are looking for. So we're super excited to bring this project to completion."

According to the Tulsa Development Authority, the original developer received a $1.63 million loan from Vision 2025 funding. Ross Group said it will repay that loan by 2024.

The building will be move-in ready by next summer.