Councilor warns Black community leaders that Partner Tulsa's Greenwood CDC lacks community legitimacy, asks GTAC to investigate

Councilor Vanessa Hall‑Harper, who represents Tulsa’s District 1, told the Greenwood/Tulsa African American Commission on Aug. 12 that she is raising a formal alarm about how Partner Tulsa and the Tulsa Development Authority have moved to create a Greenwood Legacy Community Development Corporation (CDC) and to transfer approximately 56 acres of land that once comprised the UCAT/Dollar Thrifty campus.

Hall‑Harper said the community that helped develop the Kirkpatrick Heights master plan was not given a meaningful role in selecting the initial CDC board and that five board members were seated without a community election or the advisory group’s reconvening. “They did it behind closed doors,” she told commissioners, adding that she opposes transferring the land to that CDC. Instead, Hall‑Harper asked TDA to place the parcels into a mayoral trust she said the mayor is preparing — a vehicle she said would include community‑selected leadership and stronger land‑preservation protections.

The councilor distributed letters of support for her position from state Rep. Ronald Stewart and from community planners who took part in the master plan process. She also said she had met with neighborhood churches and civic leaders and asked GTAC to join calls for a pause on any land transfers until the trust option and broader community governance models could be compared.

What GTAC did GTAC’s Policy Committee took the request seriously. The commission voted at the meeting to ask its policy subgroup to assemble background materials and to research: - the status and legal powers of the Greenwood Legacy CDC as presently constituted; - the TDA process required to transfer public land to a CDC or to a trust; - the draft mayoral trust described by the mayor’s office; and - models from other U.S. cities for community‑led land stewardship, including legal safeguards for long‑term land preservation.

The commission asked staff to prioritize the research and report back so GTAC can consider formal recommendations to TDA and the mayor. Members said they will seek public briefings and, if necessary, request a public hearing with TDA before any land transfer vote.

Why this matters The parcels at issue once served the University Center/Dollar Thrifty campus and were returned to public control after earlier agreements expired. The land is adjacent to Greenwood historic neighborhoods and Legacy Plaza, a nonprofit services campus. How the city transfers and governs the parcels will shape future development, affordable housing opportunities and which community organizations — if any — have long‑term stewardship and benefit from any proceeds.

Public comment and context Several GTAC members and neighboring pastors told the commission they want a process that ensures community selection of any board charged with stewarding Greenwood land and assets. Hall‑Harper and other speakers cited examples of past development processes that left local residents feeling excluded and urged caution. The councilor circulated a packet of letters from local civic leaders and planners documenting community engagement during the Kirkpatrick Heights planning process and urging more transparent governance of any land transfer.

Ending GTAC’s policy subgroup will report findings and options to the commission once staff and committee members gather legal, planning and precedential examples. The matter remains open; the commission did not take a formal vote asking TDA to halt a transfer but did ask for expedited briefing and for GTAC to consider a letter or recommendation after the committee’s review.