$4 million elderly facility approved in Van Buren

story by Marla Cantrell
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They sat together in four rows at Monday night’s city council meeting in Van Buren, waiting for the vote to rezone a piece of property off Pointer Trail. The dozen or so residents, in varying degrees of agitation, were there to express concerns over the issue, which would pave the way for a Tulsa developer to build a 60-unit apartment complex for those 55 and older on one of the city’s busiest streets.

John Rupe, with Tulsa-based TCP Partners, addressed the audience, hoping to calm the fears of those in opposition to his plan to develop Pointer Oaks, which will be on the same site as the Malco Theater.

“We initially went in for apartments, but nobody liked it, so we changed it,” Rupe said. ”We settled on housing for the elderly. … I looked at what’s out there. It’s interesting, you either have to be low income or have a lot of money. … We are in between. We’re not HUD housing. We came up with units in the $1,000 rent range, which is for the average, normal, middle class person.”

Rupe said the $4 million dollar project will include one and two-bedroom units, ranging in price from $1,000 to $1,300 a month. There will be catered meals, a hair salon, chapel, meeting areas, exercise rooms, planned vacations and cruises. He has not done a study to see if there is a need for such a facility, but believes it will fill up even before construction is complete.

Rupe, who called it “the best thing ever,” said there is only one similar complex in Tulsa and it has only 32 units. He plans to use the Van Buren facility as his pilot project for elderly developments in other cities.

But the age of the residents was not the major concern for the group opposing the construction. Realtor Alice Medlock was the first to speak about the congestion on Pointer Trail, especially during the months when Van Buren High School is in session.  She said there are certain hours during the work week when those living in the nearby Heritage Heights neighborhood can’t get in and out of their subdivision.

“It would be a serious injustice to put more people there, especially if he’s saying they’re going to be elderly,” Medlock said. “It will be putting their lives in danger, especially during the hours we’re talking about. God forbid there’s an emergency, or a fire, or the police need to be called because there are three lanes and they’re full for over an hour twice a day.”

“The value of age is that they’ve learned not to pull out during school hours,” Rupe countered.

Kevin Clifton, also a Realtor, lives across the street from the proposed development.

“About 10 years ago the same complex was built near the Catfish Hole in Alma. Initially it was for 55 and older, the same as this situation,” Clifton said. “Toward completion, without funds and without finding a buyer for the property, the owner came back and asked for it to be switched (from elderly to multi-family) and sold. … If you go by, you’ll understand. At least look at it and see what it’s done to property values.”

Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman assured Clifton that the Pointer Oaks would remain a facility for older residents even if Rupe decided to sell.

With that, aldermen Teena Sagely, Mary Ann Dodd, Johnny Ragsdale, Donna Parker and Bill Swaim voted unanimously to rezone the Pointer Trail property from Commercial 2 to Residential 3.

Freeman said the city needs growth and while some improvements, such as the widening of roads, don’t keep up with the pace of progress, it is still critical to move forward. He reminisced about a time when the council rezoned five properties during one session, because developers were constructing subdivision after subdivision. Those days dwindled with the recession.

Rupe said he expects to begin construction within four months and should have the 60-unit complex completed within nine months after that.