Revitalizing a Neglected Relic into a Vibrant Community Resource for Historic Greenwood

Partnering with some of Tulsa’s most passionate and driven developers and design professionals as Team Alchemy, we were honored to be part of the efforts to revitalize the historic Evans Fintube site. A competitive RFP process resulted in a strong public preference for our proposal, which prioritized the needs and desires of Greenwood’s Black community through a collaborative and empathetic engagement process. The resulting program provided residents with a sense of ownership and aimed to holistically support their needs in terms of community spaces, affordable housing, entrepreneurship opportunities, and more.

Built in 1911, the Evans Fintube building housed many crucial businesses across its lifetime, most significantly as steel manufacturing companies that played a significant part in the development of the region’s oil production equipment and structural steel for large buildings. The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre changed the future of Greenwood forever, with many residents killed and large portions of the neighborhood destroyed or seized, while the City of Tulsa changed the area’s zoning code only three days later to prevent the recreation of the Black Community’s highly successful economic center. A central tenet of this project was to envision this site as if that racist rezoning had never occurred, with Greenwood allowed to continue to grow and thrive as was its trajectory prior to destruction, providing spaces and opportunities that other districts in Tulsa take for granted.

The existing Evans Fintube building, abandoned for decades and deep in disrepair, was proposed to be restored to historic standards as feasible, with new programs including mixed use, local business incubation and vendor space, and a large brewery and food hall. The site would be anchored by a new mixed-use housing tower at the northeast corner and live-work units at the southwest corner, with a significant community plaza between them. A pedestrian bridge would connect the site to the heart of the Historic Greenwood neighborhood, creating a convenient access point for residents’ daily use.

Publications:
(Partner Tulsa | Press Release | Tulsa World)