A new face will soon welcome visitors to the north end of the Rose District. The City of Broken Arrow, the Broken Arrow Chamber and Milestone Capital LLC announced on Aug. 2 a new mixed-use development for the empty lot at 305 N. Main Street.

The development will be a 4-story building with 31,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor and three levels of apartments above. The 89,000 square feet of residential space will house approximately 90 units.

“We consider this project to be a pivotal development to the future growth of the Rose District,” said Michael Spurgeon, City Manager. “It’s an incredible success resulting from the on-going economic development efforts to bring new jobs and businesses, as well as more opportunities to shop local. Additionally, the investment of both private and public dollars will bring density to the Rose District, which is important for increasing day-time traffic to support our existing businesses in and around the area.”

“This is a game changer for both the Rose District and Broken Arrow,” said Wes Smithwick, president of the BA Chamber and Economic Development Corporation. “This is different from anything we have seen in our community; it is an entire city block being transformed from the ground up.”

The building was designed by Cyntergy Architecture + Engineering, and Cowen Construction will oversee its construction. The project will cost nearly $18 million, financed through Milestone, a company specifically created for this development and future Rose District projects.

The City will provide some infrastructure upgrades, including the construction of an additional block of streetscaping to match the Rose District aesthetic.

Steve Easley, director of development for Cowen Construction, said this is different than anything currently in Broken Arrow.

“We set out to design a building that would both change the landscape of the Rose District and serve as an impressive greeting to visitors as they enter the district,” he said. “We are confident that we have accomplished that.”

Construction should begin spring 2018.

About the property

The site for the development was formerly the First Assembly of God Church, then became First Baptist Church in 2002. The building was shuttered in 2006 and remained mostly vacant for more than 10 years. The City of Broken Arrow purchased the property in February 2016 and had it demolished that summer. A second bid request had to be made for ideas for the property after the first bid fell through on funding issues.