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ULSA

ORLD

8 Southside

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

AVID

CHULTE AND

IKE

VERILL

World Staff Writers

Home starts are on pace to

reach a record high in Sapulpa,

while Sand Springs is seeing its

best start in more than 10 years.

West Tulsa is also remaining

steady with last year’s pace, with

new homes popping up in the Jen-

ks school district, near the Tulsa

Hills shopping center.

West Tulsa

Through the first quarter of

2007, 20 new homes were under

construction in west Tulsa, match-

ing last year’s total during the same

period, said Glenn Shaw, president

of the Home Builders Association

of Greater Tulsa, 11545 E. 43rd St.

In previous years, home con-

struction in west Tulsa has lagged

behind other parts of the city be-

cause much of the region lacked

the necessary water and sewer

systems.

In 2006, 58 new homes were built

in west Tulsa, which represented

8.5 percent of the 681 new homes

constructed in the city for the year,

according to information provided

by Home Builders Association.

“The problem from a developer’s

standpoint is that there has been

no infrastructure,” Shaw said.

That has changed within the

past two years, largely because of

the construction of the Tulsa Hills

shopping center in west Tulsa,

which has provided much of the

infrastructure.

The building of new homes is

under way at the Stonebrooke

subdivision, located on about 140

acres along West 81st Street and

Elwood Avenue, just south and

east of Tulsa Hills.

The addition is a four-phase proj-

ect that will bring about 300 new

homes to the area once it is com-

pleted, said Rob Miles, a partner in

the development.

The building of new homes has

already begun in the first two phas-

es of the project, Stonebrooke Park

and Stonebrooke Glenn, he said.

The price of homes in these

two phases will range between

$300,000 and $450,000.

The fourth phase, Reserve at

Stonebrooke, will be a gated com-

munity with about 40 homes.

Price of homes in the gated com-

munity will go as high as $1 mil-

lion, Miles said.

The Stonebrooke subdivision

will contain a clubhouse with a

pool, walking trails and a greenbelt

area.

The subdivision is in the city

limits of Tulsa but is a part of the

Jenks school district.

The entire subdivision is expect-

ed to be completed by 2010, Miles

said. Tulsa Hills could have a huge

impact on the construction of new

homes in west Tulsa.

“With the infrastructure in place,

you will see steady development in

west Tulsa,” Shaw said.

“I think that area is poised for

growth just because of the infra-

structure that has taken place in

the last two years.”

One subdivision that is under

review by the Tulsa Metropolitan

Planning Commission is Lookout

Mountain, a 57-home residential

development on 143 acres at the

southeast corner of 31st Street and

33rd West Avenue.

Lots are expected to be sold for

$250,000 or more.

No starting date for the con-

struction of homes has been set

for this development.

Sapulpa

Home builders have broken

ground on 46 homes through April

as construction has picked up

within the past two months, said

Lois Korn, administrative assistant

to the economic development di-

rector in Sapulpa.

Heavy snow and ice early in the

year delayed much construction,

but city officials expect the pace

of building new homes to increase

with warmer weather.

“If we stay on this pace, we will

have 138 to 150 new homes, be-

cause typically in the summer, you

have more building,” Korn said.

The 46 housing starts already

match the total number of new

homes in 2002 in Sapulpa. Since

then, the number of housing starts

has increased each year, reaching

129 new homes in 2006.

The construction of new homes

is evenly spread out through the

community, with the exception

of the north part of Sapulpa, she

said.

New subdivisions in Sapulpa

include Lakes at Cross Timbers,

Lakes at Jef ferson Heights, Hick-

or y South, and phase two of Free-

dom Park.

Construction of 53 homes has al-

ready begun in the gated commu-

nity of Lakes at Cross Timbers.

These homes will represent

some of the more luxurious homes

in Sapulpa, ranging between

$500,000 and $900,000, said Susan

Marshall, manager of the develop-

ment.

The gated community is part of

a 160-acre subdivision that sits on

Oklahoma 117 and 49th West Av-

enue in Sapulpa.

About 250 homes have been

planned for the subdivision, which

is expected to be completed within

four years, Marshall said.

Sapulpan Dan Newman is the

developer of Lakes at Jefferson

Heights, phase two of Freedom

Park, and Hickory South.

Construction of homes has al-

ready begun at Hickory South and

phase two of Freedom Park.

Hickory South is a 232-lot sub-

division near Hickory Street in

southwest Sapulpa.

Phase two of Freedom Park is a

90-home subdivision north of the

Creek Turnpike and east of Okla-

homa 66 near Freedom Elementa-

ry School, 9170 S. 73rd West Ave.

Both subdivisions are expected

to be completed by 2008.

Lakes at Jef ferson Heights is

Newman’s most recent subdivi-

sion in Sapulpa, with construction

of homes expected to begin in the

fall of 2008, he said.

The 232-home subdivision is lo-

cated on 80 acres west of the new

Jef ferson Heights Elementary

School, 1521 Wickham Road.

It will contain neighborhood

parks with playground equipment

and a recreation trail.

In the past three years, New-

man has developed about 435

new homes, ranging in value from

$100,000 to $150,000, in Sapulpa.

Korn cited several factors con-

tributing to the increase of new

homes in Sapulpa, including four

major highways that go through

the community.

Those highways are Oklahoma

66, Oklahoma 117, Oklahoma 97

and U.S. 75.

The Creek Turnpike and Turner

Turnpike pass nearby as well.

“Our highway system is un-

equaled as far we are concerned,”

Korn said.

“We can get anywhere in Tulsa

in 20 minutes, and we can pick the

highway that we want to pick based

upon where we are at.”

The building of Jefferson

Heights and Freedom elementary

schools, in addition to upgrades

to athletic facilities, also helped

attract new families to the commu-

nity, she said.

A more progressive city govern-

ment under the leadership of Tom

DeArman, city manager, has also

contributed to more residential

and commercial development in

recent years, she said.

“We are pro-growth and pro-

business,” Korn said. “There was

a time when Sapulpa really wanted

to be its own unique entity and re-

main small, but we don’t feel that

way anymore.”

Sand Springs

Sand Springs is on pace to have

more than 100 housing starts this

year for the fi rst time since 1998.

The city has 42 housing starts to

date, nearly double the 22 the city

had through the same time period

last year, marking the best start to

a year for the city since 1994.

“We’re having one of the best

starts to a year we’ve had in more

than a decade,” said Andy Temple-

ton, director of Neighborhood Ser-

vices.

“We’ve had some new additions

come along that have broadened

the range of housing opportunities

that people can look at.”

The homes being built in Sand

Springs fall into fi ve dif ferent sizes

and price ranges, ranging from

sub-starter homes to custom es-

tates costing more than $500,000.

Templeton said the home per-

mits issued so far this year have an

estimated value of $8.3 million.

He added that the majority of

the homes being built are in the

$150,000 to $350,000 price range,

with the average home costing

$197,000 to build.

Last year, the city had 62 hous-

ing starts and has averaged about

80 in previous years.

The average cost per home was

$207,613 last year and $198,625 in

2005.

Templeton credits the number

of housing starts this year to a rela-

tively stable economy.

“Interest rates are stable, and

the employment rate is healthy,

certainly locally,” he said.

Three subdivisions, Angus Val-

ley Farms, Stone Creek Estates

III and Brooklyn Heights, have

opened recently in the city.

Another, Walnut Ridge, is ex-

pected to open later in the year.

“We have a lot of subdivisions

in a lot of dif ferent settings and

price ranges,” Templeton said.

“The builders and developers are

of fering a lot of variety in housing

starts.”

Templeton said the key area of

growth is in the 51st Street corri-

dor west of Oklahoma 97.

“The area has a rural feel but

is only a few minutes away from

downtown Sand Springs, Sapulpa

and Tulsa,” he said.

Areas surrounding Sand Springs

in Tulsa and Osage counties are

also experiencing steady growth,

Templeton said.

So far, the city has issued 30

new water taps this year. Last year,

more than 100 were issued.

“Although they are not in the

city limits, the people moving

into new homes in the rural ar-

eas are part of the Sand Springs

community,” Templeton added.

City Manager Doug Enevoldsen

said the housing starts this year

are a sign of good things to come.

“The city is working with its com-

munity partners to assure we have

smart growth and can provide a

complete community in the years

to come that people will enthusias-

tically call home,” he said.

“I hope we can look back in a few

years and say this was the start of

many great things.”

MIKE AVERILL / Tulsa World

Through April, 14 of the 149 lots in the recently opened Angus Valley Farms subdivision in Sand Springs are being developed. The homes being

built vary in price and size.

Tulsa Hills infrastructure spurs housing starts

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