Milestone Project on Schedule for Mid-Year Opening in Rose District
By BOB LEWIS
Contributing Editor
COMMERCIAL SPACE AND APARTMENTS: The four-story Milestone Project will offer 31,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 96 apartments on the remaining levels.
Work is progressing toward the expected mid-year opening of an $18 million mixed-used building that officials say will spur northward expansion of the city’s award-winning Rose District.
When completed, the four-story Milestone Project will have 31,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and 96 apartments on the remaining levels. Designed by Cyntergy Architecture & Engineering and being built by Cowen Construction, it is one of the largest single construction projects ever undertaken on Main Street.
City Manager Michael Spurgeon said, “it is an example of what we call a 3-P, which is public-private partnership. For a community to be successful, it cannot be the city that’s the driving force. The city has to create the environment and provide resources to stimulate those people who have the money to make those investments.”
Norm Stephens, Broken Arrow’s economic development manager, predicted, “you’ll see restaurants both inside Milestone and outside across the street. There will be jobs created not only with Cowen’s crew but in the district.”
An ultra-successful shopping, arts and entertainment area, the Rose District grew out of a tax increment financing district that includes downtown. The $13.5 million TIF district was approved in 2010, and money generated from sales and property taxes is being used to pay it off.
