Vision 2025 Completion Nears Completion In Sand Springs

Monday, February 19th 2007, 10:04 am

By: News On 6

The landscape is changing in Sand Springs. City officials now say theyâ€™re close to knowing which stores and restaurants will be built in a new shopping area. The city is clearing the way right now for new development. News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan reports on the biggest retail development ever planned for Sand Springs.

The Director of Economic Development, Terry Walters, thinks a patch of almost empty land holds promise for Sand Springs, but no one is sure how much.

"That is the million dollar question, or the several million dollar question," he said.

The land to be used for development was once covered with run down houses, two churches and a couple of businesses. Those were all bought out, and now backhoes are finishing up demolition on the site. The one church that remains, according the city, is in talks with the developer, who wants to turn the 25 acres into a shopping area with several large anchor stores and restaurants.

Walters says it's long overdue.

"Between downtown Tulsa and Stillwater, there really isn't anything along the 412 corridor for anyone to stop and shop at," he said.

The Wal-Mart Supercenter is the main source of sales tax for the town now, with a reported $90 million in sales the first year. The new shopping center will be right across the street with at least a dozen stores and restaurants.

"I think we're going to be developing a really nice retail and shopping area for our citizens," said Walters.

The city hopes to continue developing more than just the 25 acres. An industrial area on the south side of the property is abandoned, and the city hopes to develop it next. Several large manufacturing plants have closed, leaving shells of buildings the city hopes to buy and demolish.

Clearing the land would create a link to the river that Sand Springs would like to develop, but that's down the road. Right now, there are utilities to be moved and streets to be dug up. By June the city expects to have a list of tenants, and work can start on rebuilding a blighted area into a business area.

The city started all this with $14 million dollars from the Vision tax to buy out and demolish buildings in Sand Springs.