This last weekend I visited KC and a friend took me to a new development just outside of town. I know some will disagree with me, but i really liked what I saw and wished Tulsa had something like it.
Imagine a mythical, perfect, small town downtown.There were bustling, tree and lampost lined streets with lots of shops and restraunts. Several small "Town Square" areas replite with fountains, park benches and sidewalk cafe's and restraunts. It had the charm and walkability of a bygone era, but had all the stores and more that you would find in a nice modern mall. There was multilevel parking outside the periphery and the taller buildings had loft apartments above. We grabbed some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, sat on park benches, watched the children playing in the fountains while music waifted through the air. Then caught a movie at the cinema plex. It was quite nice.
Then I thought about the new mall Tulsa is supposed to be getting and wished it would be something like this instead. Suddenly the thought of another indoor mall sounded very boring and outdated. Here is a website of the development I saw. Check out the photo tour, though it doesnt capture the feel of the place at all.
http://www.zonarosa.com/
