City Offers No-Interest Loans To Developers To Build In Downtown Tulsa

Developers looking to build in downtown Tulsa now have new resources available through the city.

Starting on Thursday, the city is offering about $5 million worth of no-interest loans. Some of the money from this project comes from the Downtown Development Redevelopment Fund, which was approved by voters back in 2013.

It means more housing and businesses could be coming downtown.

To be approved, the city said applicants must have projects that are mixed use in nature and have a housing aspect to them. Previous projects that used this funding include the Meridia apartments, East End Village Apartments and the Boxyard.

The city said projects can be new buildings or ones that are being redeveloped and they must contribute to the creation or retention of new businesses and employment downtown.

This comes as the city recently released their downtown housing study and found that there is a strong housing demand for Tulsa's urban core.

Economic Incentives Manager Spencer Mitchell said this is exciting for the future of downtown.

"We know that downtown has had a lot of momentum over the last couple of years and we want to encourage that momentum to really stay alive," said Mitchell.

The city said an additional $4 million in funds will be made available over the next year as previous projects repay outstanding loans.