Broken Arrow City Council Approves Design Plan For New Orleans Square

The Broken Arrow City Council has approved new development options for the New Orleans Square area.

Leaders are trying to make it a hub for gathering in the city.

The city council approved the plans for the area near 101st and South Elm, but developers still have to sign on to the project.

Below is what the city wants the New Orleans Square area to look like.

The project would allow for more shopping options, residential areas, and even space for walking trails and an improved intersection. Leaders say they chose a more vertical option to maximize space without encroaching on the surrounding residential areas too heavily.

There is no specific timeline for the project since developers still have to sign on, but Community Development Director Larry Curtis said the construction will move quickly since the plans for what can be done here are already in place.

“The big thing about this plan is that it allows someone to come in and immediately see the plan and as long as they build to that plan their development pattern time is shortened they don’t have to go through a lengthy rezoning process or things like that it will kickstart the development of the area,” Curtis said.

They say this area has a dense population and within the next few years will be a heavily trafficked part of the city.

“This used to be the place to be,” Curtis said. “This was the connection for everything in the city but as you see everywhere in the US, those places that were great in the eighties are no longer the places to be. Broken Arrow wants to be ahead of the curve, that’s the reason for the redevelopment plan in New Orleans Square.”