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Idea to send: |
| Topic | Downtow Tulsa- Competes as First Choice Location for Businesses |
| Content | Downtown Tulsa as a Competitor for Business Relocation:
For a revitalization to happen in Tulsa, we need to understand why our Downtown is not a first choice destination for primarily businesses, educational institutions, and employers. I have read a statistic that only 10% of our population really wants to live in an urban environment so we must look to other non-residential activities as well, to support revitalization. In short, it is our own suburban communities that are providing easier, accessible, cheaper supported use of their infrastructures that are the real competitor for Downtown Tulsa, more so than other cities.
Concept:
Support the infrastructure and amenities that make Downtown a preferred competitive choice for location.
• Office rental rates have not significantly increased in over a dozen years in Downtown while construction costs have risen over 40% in the same period. Rental rates are artificially suppressed by the heavy parking fees required to pay down the cost of construction of new garages. The City ends up having to support Downtown services and infrastructure because there is not a strong enough tax base, comparable to the base of suburban areas, to support the maintenance required.
• There are many services and considerable improved infrastructure Downtown that we are not promoting in a competitive manner; Downtown is greatly more accessible, and ADA compliant for elderly and people with physical limitations than our sub-urban market competitors. Downtown has the closest corner on the density needed to provide a culturally rich urban environment.. and more.
If City of Tulsa provided subsidized parking –causing competitive parking costs, then Landlords could raise rental rates, increase revenue and willingly pay higher taxes to support better infrastructure. Perhaps the City would buy the Williams complex of garages or use some of the City property that is to be studied in its up coming Land Use review for privately developed - City subsidized new garages to offer low rate downtown parking. This would be one step to reverse the cycle of declining infrastructure and assist landlords in becoming viable candidates for relocating businesses.
Rachel W. Zebrowski, AIA
(918) 625-1495 |
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