The economy remains sluggish, but that's not stopping the development of a high-end shopping center at 91st Street and Yale Avenue.
The retail component of Tuscana on Yale, a mixed-use development that includes a 20,000-square-foot office building completed last year, will feature two two-story buildings totaling 33,000 square feet.
Construction on the $9 million to $10 million project should begin next week.
Clint Brumble, co-owner of the development along with Bryan Hendershot, said it is already 50 percent leased out, and they're hoping to fill the rest with high-quality stores and restaurants.
"It'll all be high-end," he said. "We're not looking for just anything."
Keo Asian Cuisine, a Brookside restaurant, has committed to an additional location in Tuscana. Brumble said he and Hendershot are in talks with an Italian restaurant and a combination sandwich, yogurt and bagel place, along with spas and boutiques.
Brumble said the existing retail spaces in the neighborhood are all full, and he noted that Whole Foods Market has announced its intention to build a grocery store in the area.
"Whole Foods will help bring more attention to our corner," he said.
The two new Tuscana buildings will surround a courtyard that will be used for concerts and other live entertainment, Brumble said. The upper floors, totaling 8,000 square feet, will be office space.
Brumble and Hendershot have plans for an additional phase of Tuscana, and they're not waiting around. Brumble said they should begin construction on four 7,000-square-foot office buildings within 60 days.
Like the original office building, the new retail and office buildings will all share Tuscan-styled architecture.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=32&articleid=20120107_32_E1_CUTLIN403579
