Last Of Tulsa's Vision 2025 Housing Projects Nearly Complete

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- A new downtown apartment building is getting some attention as the last of the Vision 2025 housing projects and one of the first new developments around ONEOK Field.

The apartments are full of contrasts: brand new appliances and fine woodwork next to unfinished brick walls and rebuilt, but original, windows in a 1920's building.

"This is kind of like a dream, I didn't know this was possible in Tulsa. I feel like I'm living in New York, but at one third of the rent," said Claire Jacobson.

Claire Jacobson moved to Tulsa from California to teach school. She moved downtown to an apartment overlooking Brady Village, after a year at 71st and Garnett in south Tulsa.

"Now that I'm here, it's 10 minutes to school, we can walk to McNellies, we walk to the ballpark, it's the best of both worlds," Jacobson said.

The new Detroit Lofts building is not finished, but its close. There are plans for a restaurant and small grocery store on the first floor that will open this fall, while the 16 apartments are upstairs.

City and County leaders toured the building Friday because it's the last of the housing projects financed through Vision 2025.

6/19/2008 Related Story: Vision Money Nets Downtown Lofts

"The downtown housing funds money from Vision 2025 is a loan, you pay it back over 10 years, but it's a great incentive to get people to do apartments downtown," Macy Snyder, Brickhugger LLC, said.

The project benefited from the new development all around it. The ballpark is just down the street, while overall the Brady Village is coming alive.

"The people living here now are here because they want to be downtown," Mayor Bartlett said. "They like the buzz, they like the access to entertainment and all the fun downtown. It really is exciting and this is a perfect example of how things are working now in Tulsa."

A typical two bedroom apartment rents for $1,200 a month; it's a dollar per square foot. Other lofts have already been built downtown and others are on the way, but this one is fully rented.