Broken Arrow's Rose District is expanding.
Today the city announced they have purchased the old Assembly of God church, and the surrounding areas, near Main and Detroit streets.
The has been abandoned for ten years and was "an eyesore on Main Street," according to Broken Arrow City Manager, Michael Spurgeon.
The property was purchased for $600,000 using capitol improvement funds from the city. "When you make an investment, especially in city government, of $600,000," Spurgeon says," you better make sure that there is going to be a return on those public dollars." He wasn't worried about fulfilling that promise, though. "We feel very comfortable that the investment is going to pay off for us," Spurgeon added.
The city manager says they will demolish it this spring and take bids for construction shortly after.
The church was originally on the market for private investors, but there were no bites. "I understand that there were some concerns about the condition of the building and the price of the demolition," Spurgeon said when discussing the lack of public interest in the property. "As a result, that has kept someone from the private sector from actually buying it and moving forward."
Spurgeon says the bids for reconstruction will be a mixture of retail, commercial and residential properties.
Broken Arrow's Chamber of Congress leaders say they want the Rose District to compete with any other entertainment district in Green Country.
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