TULSA, Okla. — Phase one of seven for Phoenix at 36 North, featuring a 5,000 square feet complex with 100 mixed-income units, and 3,000 square feet of retail space, is now move-in ready in north Tulsa.
The Tulsa Housing Authority led the $210 million project backed by a $50 million investment Housing and Urban Development and donors to transform the former Comanche Park Apartments area.
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For Duewan Triplett, a former Comanche resident with four children, the new development represents hope for his community.
"The children is going to be safe, and we don't have to worry too much about everything that we used to have to worry about, with the drugs and the gangs and everything," Triplett said.
Triplett said living at the Comanche Park Apartments carried a stigma that he hopes the new development will help change.
"More focus on the north side. Instead of everything always being well, don't go there. Don't go this," he said.
When Triplett was asked to provide input on the new affordable apartment complex in 2018, he was skeptical about whether it would happen.
"It was kind of a, okay, we'll see. Because, like I said, we have heard it before that you gonna do this? But it didn't come into fruition until then," Triplett said.
2 News was there in June 2024 for the phase one groundbreaking and have returned multiple times to document the progress from framework to walls and floors.
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"Oh, it's absolutely beautiful. I love this building. It is absolutely beautiful," Triplett said.
Phase one includes not only the 100 mixed-income units but also a gym and an upcoming bodega grocery store called the ‘Grocery Box’. Aaron Darden, President and CEO of Tulsa Housing Authority says the new additions to the complex is for everyone.
“There are a ton of new amenities are going to be here, including the grocery box, which will be an on-site grocery store. And so, we're excited to see that come online, and then in the future phase’s things like an urban an urban farm, a food processing center, and a lot of green spaces with playgrounds for the kiddos,” Darden said.
The bodega coming soon to the complex is what Triplett said addresses a critical community need.
"So having the fact that you can go right downstairs instead of having to leave the property to get groceries, helps, because a lot of people don't have transportation or access to certain things to get food, so it actually helps," Triplett said.
Triplett speaks for many residents who are ready to see their neighborhood become a model for others.
"I'm just ready for the communities to realize that the North side is better than what they say," he said.
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Former residents at Comanche Park Apartments will get first dibs on applying for the new apartments.
Triplett tells 2 News he plans to move into the single-family home, which will be built in phase two.
Infrastructure work on phase two, planned for the original Comanche Park Apartments site, has begun and is expected to be completed around mid-2026.
The project will have 545 units when it’s complete, the old Comanche Park Apartments had 271.
To schedule a tour for 1or 2 bedroom apartments click here.
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