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TULSA – Work is underway to polish the Pearl District.
It’s one of Tulsa’s oldest neighborhoods and it could soon join the ranks of the Blue Dome, Brady and Brookside as an entertainment district.
The area being developed sits on 6th Street just east of Peoria.
Several business owners want to revitalize the area and the city is cutting away some of the red tape so that can happen.
“We’re trying to be a place where you can live, work and play without having to drive anywhere,” Vanessa Somerville said.
She’s just about ready to start construction on her new art gallery and bar.
The Phoenix Cafe will also be opening soon, along with a recording studio.
Somerville says it’s been a long process to get here.
“Our building needs a lot of work and we’re just waiting on all of our permits and licensing to come through so that we can start working,” she said.
The city’s zoning restrictions have created a lot of red tape.
But the Tulsa Metropolitan Planning Commission started cutting away at that on Wednesday.
“With the new zoning I wouldn’t have had to do any of those things and I would have saved a little bit of money in the long process,” Somerville said.
The board approved a pilot program that will be tested on just this area of town.
Commissioners hope it will spur more growth.
“Eventually you’re going to see a more sustainable, more walkable urban environment,” Chairman Bill Leighty said.
Councilors still have to approve the pilot zoning program.
If the zoning adjustments are successful, officials expect it to be used citywide.
Somerville is hoping to open up her business in May.
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