4 Developers Competing to Revitalize Tulsa’s Evans-Fintube Site Near Downtown

The City of Tulsa is one step closer to revitalizing a building in the Greenwood District and the area around it, that has been empty for decades. The area is right next to the new USA BMX headquarters which is expected to be finished later this year.  

The revitalization project is still in the early stages, but four developers are now competing for the job. One thing they all have in common: they pledge to work with the community and give people what they want.  

There are 11 acres of potential at the Evans-Fintube site. The old building has been vacant for decades and is in disarray. It is on the National Registrar of Historic Places.  

Related Story: City Of Tulsa Seeks Developers To Work On Abandoned Industrial Site

"Well this is a very unique opportunity,” Director of Construction Management for Twenty20 Management Greg Shaw said.  

Despite what it looks like now, local developer Twenty20 Management said its vision for the property is an entertainment and sports hub, with restaurants and housing too.  

"People can come here, visit the museums, visit Greenwood Cultural Center and then come here to an entertainment district and have fun,” Shaw said.  

"Be Good Development" is another one of the firms wanting the job. In a biography provided by the City of Tulsa, the firm said, “In partnership with the community, Be Good is poised to co-create a development vision that both acknowledges the generational harm caused by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and rebuilds an ecosystem for prosperity and innovation.” 

Rose Rock Development Partners is also on the short list. The group said in an email it feels it has "...the perfect project team to create a redevelopment plan."  

L+M and McCormack Baron Salazar is also in the running to transform the area. The firm said its vision includes affordable housing and long-term homeownership in the neighborhood.

Whoever gets the job, Shaw looks forward to the future of the area.  

"It's a great opportunity and to honor, not only the Greenwood community and the Black community and the North Tulsa community, but the history that's built around the Fintube building itself and all the steel that came out of this building that helped build Tulsa and to build this region,” he said.  

The city said the next steps are to have a few community meetings in the fall and make a decision on the developer in November.