Even though the economy is tough, South Tulsa is seeing no slowing down of the construction of luxury apartments.

Tulsa, Oklahoma has seen an increase in its demand for downtown Urban living options. Personally, having lived in Tribune Lofts for quite some time and realizing all the pro(s) and con(s) to downtown Urban living, I can help offer a bit of insight. Downtown Tulsa has some extremely beautiful architecture, but you definitely have to get out and about to enjoy it. A neighbor of mine and I used to ride our bikes around downtown to the various locations we would visit. I know this is true for many downtown neighbors and especially those being able to live, work, and play downtown.

This article is going to be a part of a series, outlining some living areas and options in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Getting Around in Downtown Tulsa

Honestly, migrating from place to place in downtown is pretty simple these days. Unlike the past, downtown has been restructuring its streets allowing for more two-directional lanes (i.e. Boston Avenue). This has been a bit confusing to get used to driving, because most of the roadways were single direction until recently. The roads are always pretty clean though. There is enough space on the shoulders (near the curb) to ride your bike and not become a nuisance to any traffic. Most of the sidewalks are large and wide, allowing for both foot traffic and pedestrians on their bicycles.

The scenery in downtown Tulsa is more nice than not. If you ever have a chance to just stand in the middle of Boston Avenue, pick a direction (north or south), and you will understand the feeling I’m describing. The visibility is wonderful downtown. On one end you have Boston Avenue Church, which seems to just flow from the grass in which it sits, on the other end you have the BOKTower, which is definitely a sight to see. It is one of the tallest buildings in Oklahoma and seems to vanish into the sky on a cloudy evening.

Lining both sides of the street are various buildings: Atlas Life, Kennedy Tower, Mid Continent Tower, Thompson Building, PhilTower, and many more (I don’t know their names off-hand). The sidewalks and streets are usually pretty clutter free as their are a number of garbage containers along the walk-ways to allow pedestrians and commuters to throw away their garbage in route to their destinations. Tulsa and its citizens definitely appreciate the clean paths.

Vision 2025 promised a ton of downtown development to exist and there has been quote a bit, but I am not sure about $22M worth. However, if you’re looking for downtown living options in Tulsa, Oklahoma — let’s find something.

The Tribune Lofts in Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tribune Lofts at Main And Archer, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Some details about Tribune Lofts located at Main and Archer. The Tribune Builder itself is pretty dated, but is a great environment for Urban living in Tulsa. The building is near Caz’s (both bar and restaurant), Spaghetti Warehouse, Mexicali Cafe, Lola’s, Gypsy Coffee House, and numerous other locations up and down the North side of downtown. There are more locations on the South side of the tracks as you enter the downtown corridor: Arnies, McNellies, 1974, Dirty’s, and various other locations in the Blue Dome district.

The building was built back in the early 1900s and has a bit of history within it. The building has gone under renovations since its addition to the Downtown Tulsa Urban Living list in my head. My residence had concrete floors, spacious and generous areas for living, and an offset bedroom with three walk in closets. If you know me, you can appreciate me having three closets! The bathroom was large, with a spa/garden style shower/tub with a large vanity and storage area. The toilet, vanity, and sink for visitors was split off the main bathroom area. It was a nice feature that allowed guests to not see that I brush my teeth in the shower.

The units are lined with large windows (5′ x 8′). I had seven in all in my apartment. I was able to leave the shades open and rarely ever need any additional light in the day time hours. The evening brought a mysteriously anticipated and comfortable light and sound combination. It took some getting used to but the trains rolling through sent a resonated sound through the building and you definitely could not miss it. The lights outside shined in through the shades and foot traffic at the bar locations always made for an interesting evening to sit in the window seal and laugh at people.

Basement storage, roof access, elevator, and clean halls made Tribune a beautiful place to live. Parking is in abundance and there is a bit of lawn and greenery around the building to give any pets a small place to play.

More randomness about Urban living in Tulsa

Living downtown has some limitations. The closest grocery store I was able to find was AlbertsonsFood Pyramid at 15th and Lewis. It is located on the North-East corner and has a few other stores around it that make it a bit convenient to visit. Walgreens, Blockbuster, Office Depot, and some small liquor / wine store. Essentially, I was able to tend to a few errands while in the area. There is also Wild Oats on 41st and Peoria, near Brookside. Between the two locations you can definitely find about anything you need. Also by the Wild Oats is another AlbertsonsFood Pyramid.

Google map of downtown living

Other than grocery items, I tend to do most of my shopping online.. so it worked for me.

Additional Urban Living Locations

Mayo 420 | www.mayo420.com
Phil Tower | www.philtower.com
Central Park Condos | www.cptulsa.com
Uptown Renaissance Apartments and Tribune Loftswww.argtulsa.com
The Village at Central Park | www.thevillagebuilders.com

There are many projects currently under development in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma — when finished we should have even more possible living options in Tulsa. We’ll keep you in tuned to what’s going on.

Article Photograph: Tonight Tulsa, next-day the world.. by Justin Shattuck

Over the first quarter of this year, apartment rental rates here in Tulsa and in Oklahoma City rose. Based on commercial real estate data provider Reis Inc.’s recent information and apartment brokerage team surveys, both cities have made a turn for the better by reducing vacancy rates among apartment renters and seeing growth in the rental market thus far in 2008.

Is this a turn around? ThisTulsa thinks so.

Asking rent for properties in Tulsa has grown 1.1% the first quarter of this year. That’s huge. That’s 4.3% annualized crushing the national average rise in rentals by 3.2%.
The average vacancy rate also set a five-year best at 8.5% this quarter down 0.2% from the 4th quarter of 2007.

Foreclosure is affecting many these days as well. Where do these families that either cannot afford their over-valued homes, or who got sucked into the variable mortgage interest rate go? They rent…or move in with their parents.

Students and younger adults are also among those boosting up these renter rates. Local college admissions are on the rise, and all of these students don’t live on campus. Some of them rent.

Energy costs have to play into this as well. The cost to run a house is much higher than the cost to run an apartment. Sure, the size isn’t ideal for most…but the simple fact of energy in apartments is that you’re sharing walls, floors, ceilings with other who are paying their own bills. It’s almost social, community-esque bill sharing operation if you think about it. Each neighbor is helping the other by heating or cooling their own place. In a house, you’re always competing with mother nature on all sides, and she’ll always win…always.