Tulsa ends plans with Black developer of $68m Greenwood project

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GREENWOOD Dist.–A year after Franchell Abdalla’s company was awarded the opportunity to construct phase one of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment project at Greenwood’s long-neglected Evans-Fintube site, PartnerTulsa announced on Thursday it had ended negotiations with the Black developer for the Greenwood project.

For the past year, the project has stalled as Franchell Abdalla’s Be Good Development company sought a redevelopment agreement from the city in order to gain necessary funding to begin construction.

Awarded in May 2022, the project seeks to transform the dilapidated Oklahoma Historic Iron Works building into a mixed-use destination for families, entrepreneurs and artists.

It would include a 64-key hotel with a social club, a locally-owned brewery, retail outlets on the ground floor, a makerspace and hybrid offices for artists and entrepreneurs, along with an art park and community greenspace.

On Thursday, the city announced that Abdalla failed to “maintain qualification for selection” as the master developer.

“The City of Tulsa and PartnerTulsa have notified Be Good Development Partners that further negotiations with Team Alchemy for redevelopment of the Evans-Fintube site will not be pursued due to a material change to the development team, and failure to maintain qualification for selection as the Master Developer in accordance with the requirements of the Request for Proposals (RFP),” PartnerTulsa stated in a press release.

Black developer calls foul on city’s decision to end negotiations on Greenwood project

In an interview with The Black Wall Street Times, Abdalla expressed outrage at the decision and accused the city of never intending to allow one of the largest projects in Tulsa’s history to go to a Black developer.

“Now that the Centennial is over and the lights are off, they don’t need a Black developer to do this development, and the world isn’t watching anymore,” Abdalla told The Black Wall Street Times on Thursday.

“They gave me a task to do that they knew could not be accomplished without the first step, which is a contract.”

Abdalla claims the city’s refusal to provide a redevelopment agreement for the Greenwood project hindered her ability to gain necessary partners and capital. In a presentation to the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity Board on May 25, Abdalla showed emails that revealed the difficulty she faced in gaining capital without proof that she had control of the site.

“As we’ve completed our initial analysis, we’ve concluded this project is far more speculative than we typically pursue. Given our robust pipeline and existing commitments, we are going to pass at this time,” McCormack Baron executive Vince Bennett told Abdalla in an email on May 19.

Meanwhile, the city says key partners of the project had already pulled out, causing the viability of the project to come under question.

“Smoke and mirrors”: City splits from Black developer on Greenwood Evans-Fintube project

Evans-Fintube, a former industrial site in the Greenwood District, is a 9-acre site owned by the City of Tulsa. Over the past few years the city has held several community meetings in an attempt to allow Greenwood residents to help shape the future of the project.

“Over the past two years, hundreds of Tulsans engaged in a process to help envision
the possibilities for redevelopment of the Evans-Fintube site. Throughout these efforts, it was clear that North Tulsa residents, stakeholders and partners are eager to see progress and a development that brings economic opportunity to the neighborhood,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a statement on Thursday.

Yet Abdalla believes the community meetings represent nothing more than “smoke and mirrors.”

In their announcement Thursday, the city says it will conduct a community meeting to explain the process and to gain feedback on June 14 at 6:30 p.m. inside the Greenwood Cultural Center.

‘I think that’s smoke and mirrors. They were prepared for this,” Abdalla told The Black Wall Street Times. “They only ever wanted to negotiate phase one.”

Abdalla says the full scale of the project would surpass $250 million but that throughout the process the city began to limit the project’s potential.

“It’s bullshit. It’s about covering up the fact that they never intended to move forward with a Black developer. But the truth of the matter is that community meeting is never going to stop us talking about that project. Community is robbed of the opportunity to redevelop land. June 14 is simply them legally covering their bases,” Abdalla said.

What does the city claim Abdalla failed to do?

For its part, PartnerTulsa representatives say they were eager to move forward with Abdalla and wanted the proposal to be successful.

“Development projects of this magnitude are incredibly difficult to bring from concept to construction to completion,” said Kian Kamas, Executive Director of
PartnerTulsa.

“While we are disappointed to have to take this step, we are committed to pursuing redevelopment of the Evans-Fintube site. In particular, we anticipate leveraging our learnings from this process to re-engage the community and
re-envision our approach to the site.”

PartnerTulsa claims that JE Dunn Capital Partners/Greyson Capital’s withdrawal from the project represented a “material change” to the development team. It also claims Abdalla did not provide necessary information required to move forward.

A timeline provided by the city shows they gave Abdalla a 120-day extension to find a new development partner. Yet after Abdalla failed to do so by June 1, PartnerTulsa says it had no choice but to terminate negotiations.

Meanwhile, Abdalla says that the JE Dunn was never an actual partner for the project and that she was handicapped from the beginning.

“Michael collins was an employee of JE Dunn. he was never my co-development partner,” Abdalla said. “[PartnerTulsa] never intended to follow through because if they did intend to move forward in good faith why wasn’t a contract included?”

What’s next?

Moving forward, the city plans to continue to find a way to move forward on redeveloping the area, beginning with a community meeting at the Greenwood Cultural Center on June 14.

“The community is expected to yell, to scream, but the city is prepared to wait Black folks out. I have done everything in my power as the developer of this project to move it forward, but the city believes Black folks don’t have staying power and that they don’t fully support this project,” Abdalla said.

“If there’s ever gonna be a time for community to stand up and get what it desires and hopes for itself, they cannot let up on this one because that is what the city expects it to do.”

Over the next 6-9 months, the City of Tulsa and PartnerTulsa will evaluate development potential based upon current local, regional and national market conditions and trends, as well as conduct additional community outreach and engagement, according to a press release. 

Individuals interested in learning more about the now-scrapped Greenwood project can sign up to receive project updates here.  More information can be found online. 

Detailed Timeline of Negotiations (provided by PartnerTulsa)