Get A Glimpse Of 'A Gathering Place For Tulsa' Tonight

The public unveiling for "A Gathering Place for Tulsa" is 6 p.m. Tuesday at TCC's Center for Creativity, 910 South Boston Avenue.

The George Kaiser Family Foundation will unveil designs for the new waterfront park planned for Riverside Drive along 26th and 33rd Streets. The Kaiser Foundation purchased more than 50 acres for the park development with groundbreaking expected in summer 2014.

Park elements include areas called Adventure Playground, The Lodge, Mist Mountain, Boathouse and Sky Garden.

"This will be a legendary park that will become the envy of cities nationwide," said Michael Van Valkenburgh, of the Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates landscape architecture firm.

6/14/2013 Related Story: Kaiser Foundation Has Big Plans For 'A Gathering Place' In Tulsa

"A Gathering Place for Tulsa is a diverse and highly active waterfront park that will complement existing urban amenities and strengthen the connections between the city and its natural environment," he said in a news release.

Ken Levit of the Kaiser Foundation says civic efforts like A Gathering Place and Guthrie Green - also a Kaiser Foundation project - can lift up the city's economic future and help attract and keep people who want to live in a town with "wonderful public spaces."

Learn more about A Gathering Place for Tulsa.

Plans call for removal of two apartment complexes and the Blair Mansion to create a lake surrounded by trails. It will all connect with Riverside Drive and River Parks with a new pedestrian bridge.

The estimated cost for construction of Phase I is $200 million. Completion of the first phase should be in early 2017.

Watch News On 6 at 5 p.m. for more from reporter Emory Bryan.