Major industrial park development at former steel mill site to change heart of Sand Springs
The Sand Springs City Council has entered into an agreement to be a part of a major redevelopment plan for the former Sheffield Steel mill in the middle of the city.
Officials said the project will breathe new life into a very visible part of Sand Springs.
“This will be transformative for generations for the citizens of Sand Springs,” City Manager Elizabeth Gray said.
The Sheffield Steel plant and rail line to Tulsa were purchased by Gerdau Ameristeel, which eventually halted production in 2009. OmniTRAX bought the site in 2014, apparently with plans for redevelopment.
Major highlights of the proposal include the demolition of some of the former mill’s massive metal structures, which directly abut the west side of Oklahoma 97 and can be seen from U.S. 412 toward the south.
About 26 acres of the property are planned for retail development. For city officials, that could translate not only to jobs but also sales-tax revenue.
Per the development agreement Monday, the city eventually would have an option to buy a 10-acre parcel for use as a public-safety complex. Officials said that project has about $10 million through the city’s Vision renewal, which Sand Springs voters approved last fall.
Other public funding needed for the redevelopment would be for construction on Morrow Road along the project’s north border from Oklahoma 97 to Broad Street, Gray said.
“We’ve been working on this for about six months,” Gray said. “But we want to give as much credit to the OmniTRAX people.”
Sand Springs officials had previously planned the public-safety complex for property on the west side of the city, but met public pushback due in part because the proposed facility was not in a central location.
Gray and other officials said building the police, fire, 911 and municipal court facility on part of the former Sheffield Steel property is the perfect opportunity to keep it centralized.
“That’s not a done deal either,” Vice Mayor John Fothergill said. “We’re definitely going to take it to the public.”
Fothergill said he hopes residents agree that a public-private partnership to redevelop the former steel plant is a strong opportunity.
“It was something that we needed anyway,” Fothergill said. “We can put police just about anywhere, but you really want your fire department centrally located.”
Fothergill said OmniTRAX has a track record of buying rail lines and then fueling development all along the lines.
“I think it’s going to be bigger than this,” Fothergill said. “This is just the Sheffield site. That rail goes all the way through Sand Springs and into Tulsa and unincorporated (Tulsa) County property.”
Fothergill pointed at Charles Page Boulevard, which runs along the line, as an area ripe for redevelopment.
Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith said she hopes the redevelopment of the property will repair damage to Sand Springs done when the jobs at the steel mill were lost.
“When they lost those jobs, it was just brutal,” Keith said. “Elizabeth (Gray) is a hero in pulling this together. She’s bringing life back into the community.”
jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.comhttp://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/major-industrial-park-development-at-former-steel-mill-site-to/article_63d4aa59-e776-5dd0-b593-a53ac1b34859.html