Iron Gate announcing plan to move to county land near Day Center for the HomelessIron Gate will hold a news conference Wednesday morning to announce that it is moving its soup kitchen and food pantry to county-owned property near the Tulsa County jail, Iron Gate officials confirmed Tuesday.
The announcement will be made 10:30 a.m. at the Tulsa Press Club, 415 S. Boston Ave.
Tulsa County commissioners voted 2-1 last month to approve a 99-year lease with the nonprofit for a 1.77-acre property just west of the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless on Archer Street.
Shane Saunders, president of the Iron Gate board, said at the time that the board would need to review the agreement before deciding what its next step would be.
Under the terms of the lease agreement approved by county commissioners, Iron Gate would pay the county $300,000 in the first year and $300,000 in the second year, with no payments thereafter.
Iron Gate has been operating out of Trinity Episcopal Church, 501 S. Cincinnati Ave., since its inception in 1978. It began looking for a new site about two years ago, citing a need to build a new facility to accommodate its growing clientele.
After considering several sites, Iron Gate announced last year that it planned to open its new facility on 1.5 acres between Seventh and Eighth streets and Elgin and Kenosha avenues. But that move was blocked by the city of Tulsa’s Board of Adjustment, leading to a court battle from which the city has since withdrawn.
The new 20,000-square-foot facility is expected to include space to store food as well as space for a kitchen, dining hall and administrative offices. An enclosed courtyard where people would be able to wait to get into the building also is part of the plan.
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