The City of Tulsa and Tulsa Public Schools are pairing up to offload vacant properties in hopes of building more housing.
It moves the city closer to Mayor Monroe Nichols’ goal of 6,000 new affordable housing units by 2028. And it gets more eyes on the district’s longtime surplus properties as TPS cut costs.
The city put out a call for prospective developers in June and met virtually with them July 14.
“Sell us on what you think would be the best use of those properties,” said Gene Bulmash, the mayor’s senior advisor on housing. “The city will review those applications, hopefully we get multiple ones that make sense.”
Of the four properties on the table, two are owned by the city and two by the district. Horsley Hill, more commonly known as Cry Baby Hill, is the only property in the group for lease instead of sale.
- Horsley Hill: Approximately 2 acres of vacant city-owned land at 815 S. Riverside Drive. Lease price not specified.
- Gilcrease Hills Village II: A city-owned 3.4-acre vacant piece of land at Pine Street and Gilcrease Museum Road, already platted into more than 70 townhouse lots. Sale price not specified.
- Ford Lot: A district-owned 10-acre field at 61st Street North and North Delaware Avenue near O’Brien Park and Highway 75. TPS is asking for no less than $160,000.
- Greeley Elementary: A 9.6-acre school site previously leased to Tulsa Honor Academy at 105 E. 63rd St. N. TPS is asking for no less than $300,000.
Bids are due to the city clerk by 5 p.m. Aug. 12. The city will review proposals for its properties with a focus on housing while the school board reviews bids for the district’s two sites.
“TPS is interested in proposals that are financially responsible, feasible and beneficial to the surrounding community,” Kathi Hayward, executive director of Business Operations Services at TPS, said Tuesday.
A third TPS-owned property was part of the original slate of surplus sites, but the school board unanimously approved a private sale of the former Sandburg Elementary Monday night for $105,000 — nearly three times lower than the minimum bid requirement set in the joint request.
Board documents show Vintage Housing LLC, an affiliate of LIFE Senior Services, plans to demolish the building at 18580 E. 3rd St. and build a multi-unit “affordable senior housing community” with up to 52 apartment homes. LIFE previously purchased the current home of KIPP Tulsa University Prep High School in June with plans to establish a hub in north and west Tulsa.
“We know that affordable senior housing is really at critical need, and we’re just really happy to have access to this property,” said Eileen Bradshaw, CEO at LIFE Senior Services.
Cry Baby Hill? More like Cry Baby housing!
According to the city’s request for proposals, a successful plan for leasing Cry Baby Hill should integrate housing with the Arkansas River and complement the surrounding neighborhood.
The vacant lot is beloved by the community for hosting the final day of racing during Tulsa Tough, the city’s annual three-day cycling festival.
“We need to make sure that the Cry Baby Hill bike races and everything can still happen,” said Lauren Branum, president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association.
She says the city communicated with the neighborhood about the property being put up for lease ahead of the call for developers. She hopes Tulsa Tough, which typically places a stage and several booths on the vacant lot, will not be interrupted.
“As a whole, the neighborhood loves the Cry Baby Hill event,” Branum said. “We don’t want to put a damper on that.”
Development should also add an “attractive public pathway” to the Cyrus Avery Plaza across Southwest Boulevard and wide, tree-lined sidewalks for viewing the river, according to the request. The developer may access up to $3.7 million in public funds to help complete the project — providing they’re spent to benefit the public.
Proposals will have to account for the hotly contested Cry Baby Hill statue, a publicly funded, 20-foot-tall crying baby on a bicycle headed for the area. The city’s goal is to post an addendum related to the statue’s placement on Horsley Hill by the end of the week, according to Donny Tiemann, purchasing director.
The city did not specify a specific number of units or types of structures for the hill or Gilcrease Hills Village II, just that the development makes sense, Bulmash said. They aren’t concerned with generating money from the Cry Baby Hill lease either, he adds.
“We are more (considering) what will be done, what you’re proposing to do on that property, than how much you’re willing to pay us,” said Bulmash.
Branum said she believes more townhomes would align with the character of the Riverview neighborhood, and she hopes the development benefits the neighborhood.
“We would still love a cafe or a bookshop (on the first floor) — something that the neighbors could enjoy, but also something that keeps the culture and kind of the energy of the neighborhood,” she said.
Trading schools for housing
In a home across from the former Greeley Elementary, Amanda Parson cares for seven kids. It’s a flat-out “no” from her to more housing in the neighborhood.
“Right now we’re spaced out, away from everybody,” she said. “(Housing), it’s just going to bring more kids, more hotness, more drama.”
Kids are already using the school lot as a park and green space, Parson said. She’d like to see the school building become a community center with an upgraded splash pad and athletic leagues — activities neighborhood families can’t drive to or afford at school.
“Something like that for the kids to be able to go inside and actually do something constructive,” Parson said. “Instead of doing the mostest with the dumb stuff that they have out here to do.”
Marvin “Junior” Bush once attended the school when it was operated by the district. He said no to demolishing the building. As an elementary student, he says his educators came from across the city to intentionally pour into the northside neighborhood.
“We were smart kids — we might have grew up poor — but we went around rich people and smart teachers,” Bush said. “So I wouldn’t knock down the legacy for nothing, that’s a legacy.”
If it won’t be a school, he wants to see it benefit neighborhood kids, like a child development center.
In March, Green Country Habitat for Humanity purchased another surplus TPS property, formerly used as the parking lot for Tulsa Honor Academy for $128,000. The organization plans to develop eight single-family homes on the lot.
Cameron Walker, president and CEO of the nonprofit, expects construction to be underway on all eight homes by the end of 2026. He hopes educators will take advantage of Habitat’s downpayment assistance fund.
“Our hope is that potentially there’ll be some teachers from (Tulsa Honor Academy) or from Tulsa Public Schools that potentially will want to find an affordable way to become a homeowner and actually live in very close proximity to where they work,” Walker said.
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