Jenks Gets Smart With Growth
NEW DESIGNS: Jenks is planning a new development that will utilize the Smart Growth concept. The Village on Main will incorporate the traditional character of the community as well as reflect the future of Jenks.
Courtesy of Jenks Chamber of Commerce
(JENKS) – The 20-square-mile suburb of South Tulsa with rapid growth and a highly educated population (64% college educated) is getting smarter about planning and development. Duane Phillips, the visionary and developer of Jenks-based Village on Main, seeks to create the optimal community experience with his newest project east of downtown Jenks. This multi-million dollar development was officially announced to the public at a press conference held on Friday, June 5.
Village on Main is not your typical conventional suburban development that is constructed with cookie-cutter big box retail stores and a sea of asphalt. Rather, this mixed-used development will feature diversity of architectural form, function and appeal based on Smart Growth principles and New Urbanism design.
Village on Main will be comprised of 150,000 sq. ft. of high quality retail and restaurants, 100+ units of urban residential living, 120,000 sq. ft. of professional office space, 22,000 sq. ft. Hillcrest Utica Park Clinic healthcare facility, 100+ room hotel and community events center. There will be significant amount of green space, as well as extra-wide sidewalks and a smart layout of parking spaces throughout the development. ?Village on Main was positioned to be a pedestrian community, a place where you meet your neighbors and share life together,? stated Phillips. Once the development is complete, residents will be able to leave their front doors and walk to shops, restaurants, work and other daily conveniences within minutes. Phillips has vast experience in the business of residential and commercial development, and therefore, understands the current and long-term demand for this type of development, which is proving success nationally.
Recent trends indicate that demand is increasing for more compact, walkable and high quality living, entertainment and work environments for the estimated building boom that will occur over the next two decades in America, according to a report published by The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. Therefore, half of the places people will call home twenty years from now have not yet been built. Long-term planners and developers see both opportunity and demand in this statistic. Village on Main is creating a sense of place to accommodate this growth.
Since the Smart Growth concept is in the introductory stages in Oklahoma, Village on Main mixes both the New Urbanism principles with traditional development. This design concept is known as a hybrid. This type of development both preserves the traditional character and reflects the future of Jenks. ?Our existing Main Street business owners will enjoy the 1,600 feet extension of Main Street commerce through increased pedestrian traffic and the linkage of the River Parks trail system, which will flow through the development,? said Mayor Vic Vreeland. ?Through collaborative efforts of Village on Main , Jenks City Council, Jenks Planning Commission and community stakeholders, we are able to provide this one-of-a-kind destination on the west bank of the river.?
Located on the riverfront entrance of Jenks, Village on Main will also contribute to river development as outlined in the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan. The plan includes detailed concepts for mixed-use development on both banks of the river, additional infrastructure for recreational trails and the addition of low-water dams for water recreation and eco-system restoration. This plan was developed with extensive citizen and stakeholder input and was adopted by the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, Tulsa City Council and the Tulsa County Board of County Commissioners as an element of the region?s comprehensive plan.
?Jenks has become a regional model for riverfront development, and Village on Main enhances the current development that is happening at the gateway of our community,? stated Annette Bowles, Jenks Chamber of Commerce President. ?Village on Main is the integral piece that connects the Oklahoma Aquarium, RiverWalk Crossing, Historic Downtown and Riverview.?
For leasing information, contact Lee Cohen, Broker/Owner of C&C Commercial Realtors at lcohen@cctulsa.com or 918-902-5268. Visit the website at Village on Main to visually see the future of Jenks, America.
Updated 06-15-2009
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