OklahomaTuba
9/7/2006, 09:36 AM
Way to go Tulsa! Another dumbass idea on how to save the city.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/images/2006/060907_A1_Group58692_channels7.jpg
Group unveils river plan
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
9/7/2006
The Channels described as bold, visionary
A $788 million river development project that would create a 12.3-mile lake and three linked islands was unveiled Wednesday by Tulsa Stakeholders Inc., a nonprofit group founded by six Tulsans.
The plan, called The Channels, "is achievable. It's now up to greater Tulsa to embrace it," said John-Kelly Warren, one of the principals who make up Tulsa Stakeholders.
"Today will mark Tulsa's tomorrow. It is time to be bold. It is time to be visionary. It's time for both the private and public sector to come together and do what is right for Tulsa," he said.
To accomplish the project, the group is proposing a public-private partnership that would include $100 million in private funds, $600 million in public funds and $88 million from the sale of energy created by the project's hydroelectric dam and other renewable energy sources.
Warren told a crowd of about 500 at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown that the three goals behind The Channels are to retain and attract talented residents and quality jobs; to improve on the sense of strength in the community; and to bolster the sustainability of the city's tax base.
The premise, he said, is twofold: "educate and promote healthy
lifestyles, and to create opportunities for everyone to prosper by leveraging Tulsa's unique assets."
The group compared the project, dreamed up around a kitchen table, to the visionary ideas that spawned the Spavinaw water line and Tulsa International Airport.
The project would be "a place that will impact our future just as the early visionary projects of Tulsa put us on the world stage," Chris Lambert, another of the Tulsa Stakeholder principals, told the crowd.
The Channels would consist of 40 acres created on three man-made islands linked by small bridges. Not only will the links between the islands create two channels on the river, but the islands themselves will have channels. The islands would sit between the 21st and 11th Street bridges.
The project includes constructing an 18-foot impounding dam that would create a 12.3-mile navigable lake with 24.6 miles of shoreline extending into Sand Springs. The dam would include hydro-powered turbines.
The project includes levee improvements, which would reduce flooding risks.
The Channels would be home to 3,000 residents "of all walks of life," Lambert said. Because there are no land sales or ground leases required, the project has the flexibility to provide affordable housing and rent.
The middle island would feature a large public space in the form of an open air market beneath a state-of-the-art canopy that contains solar panels that generate electricity. The canopy is designed to alter temperatures by 13 degrees so that it is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Restaurants, cultural and entertainment venues and retail would be there.
In addition to the solar-paneled canopy, the project would have solar energy panels in other areas, hydroelectric power from the dam and wind energy from a windmill farm near the refineries on the west bank of the river. The renewable energy sources would be the main revenue source for The Channels through the sale of the energy to the businesses and residents on the island with the potential of selling excess back to the power grid.
The project would implement sustainability strategies such as rain harvesting, wetlands remediation that would help clean the river and wastewater remediation.
A public-private trust would be created to oversee the specific developments on the islands.
Warren said Tulsa Stakeholders believes that the proactive way to address issues such as rising health care cost, crime and failing education is through the creation of a quality of life like no other.
Tom Cooper, a Tulsa Stakeholder principal, said The Channels would not only increase the tax base through attracting more people and businesses to the area, but would generate excess cash flows to fund the project's debt service, maintenance cost, and new expenses, along with funding other city needs.
Warren questioned why Tulsa should focus on "playing catchup with other cities, when we should focus on leapfrogging other cities."
Cooper said that cities across the nation are in a global battle.
"The battle is over (employee) talent, and the city with the best vision wins. It's not an option; we have to do it," he said. http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060907_Ne_A1_Group58692#
:pop:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/images/2006/060907_A1_Group58692_channels7.jpg
Group unveils river plan
By P.J. LASSEK World Staff Writer
9/7/2006
The Channels described as bold, visionary
A $788 million river development project that would create a 12.3-mile lake and three linked islands was unveiled Wednesday by Tulsa Stakeholders Inc., a nonprofit group founded by six Tulsans.
The plan, called The Channels, "is achievable. It's now up to greater Tulsa to embrace it," said John-Kelly Warren, one of the principals who make up Tulsa Stakeholders.
"Today will mark Tulsa's tomorrow. It is time to be bold. It is time to be visionary. It's time for both the private and public sector to come together and do what is right for Tulsa," he said.
To accomplish the project, the group is proposing a public-private partnership that would include $100 million in private funds, $600 million in public funds and $88 million from the sale of energy created by the project's hydroelectric dam and other renewable energy sources.
Warren told a crowd of about 500 at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown that the three goals behind The Channels are to retain and attract talented residents and quality jobs; to improve on the sense of strength in the community; and to bolster the sustainability of the city's tax base.
The premise, he said, is twofold: "educate and promote healthy
lifestyles, and to create opportunities for everyone to prosper by leveraging Tulsa's unique assets."
The group compared the project, dreamed up around a kitchen table, to the visionary ideas that spawned the Spavinaw water line and Tulsa International Airport.
The project would be "a place that will impact our future just as the early visionary projects of Tulsa put us on the world stage," Chris Lambert, another of the Tulsa Stakeholder principals, told the crowd.
The Channels would consist of 40 acres created on three man-made islands linked by small bridges. Not only will the links between the islands create two channels on the river, but the islands themselves will have channels. The islands would sit between the 21st and 11th Street bridges.
The project includes constructing an 18-foot impounding dam that would create a 12.3-mile navigable lake with 24.6 miles of shoreline extending into Sand Springs. The dam would include hydro-powered turbines.
The project includes levee improvements, which would reduce flooding risks.
The Channels would be home to 3,000 residents "of all walks of life," Lambert said. Because there are no land sales or ground leases required, the project has the flexibility to provide affordable housing and rent.
The middle island would feature a large public space in the form of an open air market beneath a state-of-the-art canopy that contains solar panels that generate electricity. The canopy is designed to alter temperatures by 13 degrees so that it is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Restaurants, cultural and entertainment venues and retail would be there.
In addition to the solar-paneled canopy, the project would have solar energy panels in other areas, hydroelectric power from the dam and wind energy from a windmill farm near the refineries on the west bank of the river. The renewable energy sources would be the main revenue source for The Channels through the sale of the energy to the businesses and residents on the island with the potential of selling excess back to the power grid.
The project would implement sustainability strategies such as rain harvesting, wetlands remediation that would help clean the river and wastewater remediation.
A public-private trust would be created to oversee the specific developments on the islands.
Warren said Tulsa Stakeholders believes that the proactive way to address issues such as rising health care cost, crime and failing education is through the creation of a quality of life like no other.
Tom Cooper, a Tulsa Stakeholder principal, said The Channels would not only increase the tax base through attracting more people and businesses to the area, but would generate excess cash flows to fund the project's debt service, maintenance cost, and new expenses, along with funding other city needs.
Warren questioned why Tulsa should focus on "playing catchup with other cities, when we should focus on leapfrogging other cities."
Cooper said that cities across the nation are in a global battle.
"The battle is over (employee) talent, and the city with the best vision wins. It's not an option; we have to do it," he said. http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060907_Ne_A1_Group58692#
:pop: