Infill homes

If you've driven down Lewis near 41st Street lately you've surely noticed the change. Houses, ripped from their foundations and waiting to be moved. It's part of a new trend in Tulsa real

Thursday, April 19th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

If you've driven down Lewis near 41st Street lately you've surely noticed the change. Houses, ripped from their foundations and waiting to be moved. It's part of a new trend in Tulsa real estate development. KOTV's Sean Mossman says trend is called 'infill.'

Basically, there's not enough land in desirable neighborhoods to build new homes. So, developers are buying old houses, tearing them out and replacing them with lavish, expensive new homes. Bobby Knight just scored a great house for really cheap. A home, previously located near 41st and Lewis, was torn out to make room for a new development. Knight grabbed the three-bedroom house for about $30,000. He'll put the home on a $30,000 lot and do about $20,000 in renovations. Total price tag, about $80,000, a real bargain. "Well when it's finished, it'll be worth about $150,000-$175,000, because you figure the average price in Tulsa's about $60 per square foot."

Knight got in on the cheap end of the new development planned for this area. 26 homes will be built in a gated community called Green Hill, all with a hefty price tag. "We're looking at somewhere between half a million to upwards of a million dollars." That's good news for homeowners already established in the neighborhood. Their property values will increase, but that also means higher taxes. That's part of the reason why neighbors are split over the idea of the new development in their neighborhood.

Gail Booth has lived on Atlanta Street for seven years and says all of the construction work is the reason she's against it. "And I'm sure it's gonna be at least a couple of years of confusion and dirt and noise, and problems. We've talked to the contractor's that are actually doing the work and we're gonna do the best we can to actually keep that to a limit." Regardless of neighborâ€™s objections, construction is set to begin soon. Road and utilities work will begin in two weeks. Construction on those million dollar homes will begin around September. And for buyers like Bobby Knight, they have until the end of the month to grab their discount homes and move them away. And what a great time to buy these homes, with interest rates dropping again.

The Kallay Group spent more than a year buying the nine existing homes at a cost of more than a million dollars. They say they've already begun planning a new 'infill' project in another area of town.