Tulsa resident Tim Bakamjian remembers when the former Marriott Hotel off 41st Street and Garnett Road was active in the 1980s and 1990s, bustling with conventions and meetings.
Now, it’s an eyesore that has sat abandoned for several years.
After the Flyer reported last month on the City of Tulsa’s plans to demolish two abandoned hotels, the OYO and Studio Star, Bakamjian reached out to get updates on the blighted hotel at 10918 E. 41st St.
“I hope it’s not torn down. I hope somebody finds a good use for it,” he said. “You know, either reopening the hotel, maybe different management might be able to do something differently with it.”
Good news for Bakamjian: Plans are in the works to use the property for housing.
The property will be converted into 188 units, said Raymond Lord, general partner with the Colorado-based TAG Multifamily, which acquired the property about three years ago.
“This property is approved to convert into multifamily, and that’s what they’re moving forward with,” he said.
The property opened in 1983 as the state’s first Marriott Hotel. It changed hands through the decades to become Sheridan and Radisson hotels. In June 2011, it was rebranded as a Wyndham Hotel that featured the popular water playground Leapin’ Louie’s Lagoon.
Renovations will begin in the next 30 days with a projected timeline of 18 months, Lord said. He estimates the project will cost between $15 and $18 million.
TAG Multifamily is known for completing property renovations for reuse, he said, pointing to previous projects creating housing at the Reese Tower and The Tulsan at Midtown.
Tulsa City Councilor Lori Decter Wright, who represents District 7 where the property is located, said it’s a desirable location.
”It’s got elevators, which would then make it very accessible for people living with disabilities or senior citizens who don’t want to live in a facility or an apartment complex that has stairs,” Decter Wright.
The hotel closed in 2020 while owned by Ruffin Companies of Wichita, Kansas, Lord said.
Between March and July 2021, the hotel was used for Housing Solutions’ “Hotel to Housing” program. It opened during a dangerous freeze to provide people experiencing homelessness a safe place to stay. The nonprofit extended the program to place clients into more permanent housing.
However, the initiative later became controversial. Former staff told the Tulsa World about potential mismanagement and illegal behavior occurring on the property.
Decter Wright said it’s inaccurate to say the property’s use by Housing Solutions led to its current state.
“It was already unoccupied, and Housing Solutions operated it as a hotel during that polar vortex,” Decter Wright said. “It was not operated as a homeless shelter, and unfortunately, people have spread those kinds of things around in a way that I think is unhelpful.”
Then, in July 2023, TAG Multifamily announced it had acquired the dormant property. Decter Wright said it was rezoned for housing several years ago. She’s heard from constituents about missing the water park and the memories made there.
“The analysis that the professionals in the space have done have told me that it won’t come back as a hotel, so the choice is either to bring it to the ground or redevelop it,” Decter Wright said.
Plans to revamp the property have earned Bakamjian’s stamp of approval. He called it an “excellent use.”
“It should slightly improve the citywide housing shortage, create downward pressure on rental rates and add valuable real estate to the city’s tax rolls,” he said.
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
