A Tulsa nonprofit is wrapping up construction on more than two dozen homes for some of the city’s unhoused residents.
On Thursday, Sarah Grounds led a tour of construction on the 23-acre City Lights Village near 46th Street North and North Peoria Avenue — a development of affordable homes for unhoused Tulsans. Grounds, the founder and executive director of City Lights, has spent nearly five years working on the project. Now she’s seeing her dream come to fruition.
“We have incredible builders on site to come out and help with this project,” said Grounds. “It is one of my favorite things to do, coming out here and seeing what is happening.”
Sarah Grounds, founder and executive director of City Lights, speaks during a media tour of City Lights Village on Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Molly McElwain / Tulsa Flyer 
City Lights Village, pictured during a media tour on Oct. 23, 2025, plans to complete 30 affordable homes by December. Credit: Molly McElwain / Tulsa Flyer 
The interior of a finished home at City Lights Village, a 23-acre affordable housing development in Tulsa, is pictured Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Molly McElwain / Tulsa Flyer 
City Lights Village, pictured during a media tour on Oct. 23, 2025, will include 75 homes by summer 2026. Credit: Molly McElwain / Tulsa Flyer 
The interior of an unfinished home at City Lights Village, a 23-acre affordable housing development in Tulsa, is pictured Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: Molly McElwain / Tulsa Flyer
City Lights has served Tulsa’s unhoused community for 12 years, helping restore the lives of people experiencing homelessness. The group launched a $26 million fundraiser in September to build City Lights Village and have now raised all but $6 million.
Plans include building 30 homes by December and another 45 by summer 2026. Residents will have access to various services, including mental and physical health, and training to find jobs.
“We are really building community here,” said Grounds.
Grounds says plans for the village started during former Mayor G.T. Bynum’s administration and continued when Mayor Monroe Nichols took office last December.
More than 1,300 people are on the city’s waiting list for supportive housing, Grounds said.
To qualify for housing within the village, the individual must have experienced chronic homelessness in Tulsa for at least a year and report a disability. They must also pay $400 a month in rent, which can be paid through disability income. Residents can also work as on-site staff, Grounds said.
Housing development efforts are just a small part of City Lights’ focus, Grounds said. The nonprofit also provides meals and other resources for about 350 people each week through their weekly Night Light Tulsa outreach program.
“We are constantly having those conversations about what are the needs, where are the gaps and what can we do better,” Grounds said.
The effort comes at a time when homelessness in Tulsa has been at the center of headlines following Gov. Kevin Stitt’s sweeps of Tulsa’s homeless encampments. Service providers have previously said they are struggling to rebuild trust and locate people they were working to put into permanent supportive housing.
“For the stuff that has been going on with the state, we know that we need real solutions,” Grounds said. “And this is a real solution.”
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
