Hope 6 Project near the Tulsa Country Club

The Williams Championship is taking place at the Tulsa Country Club. Lots of fans will be concentrating on the action there. <br><br>But just to the east, the Hope 6 housing project is in full swing.

Thursday, September 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Williams Championship is taking place at the Tulsa Country Club. Lots of fans will be concentrating on the action there.

But just to the east, the Hope 6 housing project is in full swing. And, it's a big improvement from last year. News on Six reporter Steve Berg says last year, if you were on hole number 3 or 4, you would see a housing complex.

Roy Hancock with the Tulsa Housing Authority, "From some of the greens and from some of the fairways and so forth, you could see the old buildings that were here and they were clearly an eyesore." The Osage Hills Apartment Complex was a frequent spot for crime and fires, not the kind of image that Tulsa wanted to project to prominent golfers and spectators from out of town.

But all that has changed. And the Hope 6 project is in its place. "Those that were here last year clearly will remember what it was like and those that are here now can see all the new construction going up." Hope 6 is the biggest project the Tulsa Housing Authority has ever done. $55-million and nearly 450 units. Instead of large, rectangular buildings, they will have a town home style. It's a mixed-income project, meaning that in addition to subsidized housing, some of these will be owned outright by the residents.

Federal officials say the strategy creates more stability for these neighborhoods. As a longtime Tulsan, Housing Authority Director Roy Hancock says he's excited to show off the progress with the golf tournament back in town. "You always want people to come to Tulsa and leave with a positive impression. And hopefully knowing the difference between last year and this year, they can see there's something new, something wonderful going on."

The first units will be ready for people to move in around March of next year. But the Hope 6 project will continue on for the next few years.