The City of Tulsa has picked two finalists for a Route 66 mixed-use development near the Arkansas River, but not the group associated with the Route 66 Alliance.
The Tulsa World reported last week the Hund Capital and Sharp Boulder Enterprises LLC to design and build on the tract near the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza and historic 11th Street Bridge.
Hund Capital is a real estate development company founded by Cody Brandt. His development work in Tulsa has been primarily in the Pearl District.
Sharp Boulder Enterprises was founded by David Sharp, a longtime local developer. The company has also invested $16 million in properties in the River Parks and Riverview area.
Ross Group Development and Continental Overseas LLC had also submitted proposals for the development.
Ross Group was associated with the Tulsa-based Route 66 Alliance.
Two city councilors, however, said Ross Group and the other applicant still might be in the running for the project.
Several media outlets in Tulsa reported in January the Route 66 Alliance was part of a proposed $35 million complex at the site. That was before the other three applicants were known.
The City of Tulsa in October announced a request for proposals for a new Route 66 center at the site. The city has $5 million in public funds available to assist with the project.
The city requires the development to have a Route 66 Interpretive Center, parking, and restaurant and retail spaces. The request desired architecture that would create an”iconic-style destination” that is “compatible with views of the river and skyline.”
Jack Blair, the city’s chief operating officer, told the newspaper follow-up interviews with the developers would happen later this month, but he gave no timeline for a final decision.
The Route 66 Alliance announced the initial 42,000-square-foot, $19.5 million Route 66 Experience project at the site in May 2015, with a projected groundbreaking of summer 2016. Such a facility in Tulsa had been proposed as far back as 2003.
But fundraising for the project continued to come up short, and projected groundbreaking dates were repeatedly pushed back.
(Image of the pedestrian bridge at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza site in Tulsa, near the proposed site for the Route 66 Experience and hotel)