Following a two-year, community-led process to redevelop the Evans-Fintube site in north Tulsa, the City of Tulsa and PartnerTulsa have notified Be Good Development Partners that further negotiations with Team Alchemy for redevelopment of the Evans-Fintube site will not be pursued due to a material change to the development team, and failure to maintain qualification for selection as the Master Developer in accordance with the requirements of the Request for Proposals.
Evans-Fintube, a former industrial site in the Greenwood District, is a 9-acre site owned by the City of Tulsa.
PartnerTulsa is leading efforts alongside the City to redevelop the property into a destination, mixed-use project that represents community desires and needs with the goal of creating community wealth-building opportunities.
“Over the past two years, hundreds of Tulsans engaged in a process to help envision the possibilities for redevelopment of the Evans-Fintube site,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “Throughout these efforts, it was clear that North Tulsa residents, stakeholders and partners are eager to see progress and a development that brings economic opportunity to the neighborhood. While this is a disappointing setback, the City remains steadfast in its commitment to identifying the best approach to redevelopment that will support these long term goals.”
In September 2021, PartnerTulsa opened an RFP after releasing a shortlist of four developers.
After a community-driven process, Team Alchemy was selected on May 10, 2022, to redevelop the site.
Upon notification in February that Team Alchemy's co-development partners withdrew, which presented a substantial risk to the project’s viability, Be Good Development and Team Alchemy received a 120-day extension to respond to a Request for Project Documentation.
The Team was encouraged to find a new co-development partner matching the resources of its original co-developers and provide documentation that it possesses the experience, qualifications and financial capabilities to continue.
After careful consideration and review of the team’s June 1 response, further negotiations will not be pursued because of failure to provide necessary data and information to verify Team Alchemy and Be Good Development meets the minimum requirements to comply with the original RFP for submission and award.
“Development projects of this magnitude are incredibly difficult to bring from concept to construction to completion. While we are disappointed to have to take this step, we are committed to pursuing redevelopment of the Evans-Fintube site. In particular, we anticipate leveraging our learnings from this process to re-engage the community and re-envision our approach to the site,” said Kian Kamas, Executive Director of PartnerTulsa.
PartnerTulsa will host a community update meeting on Wednesday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Greenwood Cultural Center.
This meeting will explain the process to-date, update the community on the recent determination, and offer preliminary information on potential next steps.
Over the next 6-9 months, the City of Tulsa and PartnerTulsa will evaluate development potential based upon current local, regional and national market conditions and trends, as well as conduct additional community outreach and engagement.
Individuals interested in learning more can go online.