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Jenks will soon become home to Village on Main, a smart-growth and new-urbanism-inspired development featuring a blend of businesses, residences and entertainment options.
An idea that started small — a 5-acre development in Jenks — has grown into a smart investment. Nestled on the riverfront, just south of RiverWalk Crossing, the development on Main Street is aptly named Village on Main. Duane Phillips, developer and Jenks resident, purchased the land over a period of three years, and it has now grown to almost 20 acres in size.
Jenny Paden Laubach, Village on Main media relations and marketing director, says Phillips chose Jenks for the development because he wants to give back to the place he and his family call home.
“The concept began as a typical strip mall, but in listening and asking what was best for Jenks, it was discovered that there was a great need for something much bigger and better,” Laubach says.
The bigger and better need is incorporating smart-growth and new-urbanism principles into the project. This smart-growth development will make the most use of the land by constructing multi-story buildings. The development will also be pedestrian friendly and filled with green spaces, wide sidewalks and both national and local retailers.
A smart-growth community offers daily necessities, such as groceries, and is built on the concept that one could live, play and work there, says Annette Bowles, Jenks Chamber of Commerce president.
“If we adopt smart-growth principles, people will have the choice on whether to drive or not because everything one needs is within walking distance,” Bowles says.
New urbanism is based on principles of planning and architecture that work together to create human-scale, walkable communities. The longevity and design of the new urbanism developments differ drastically from traditional strip malls and “big box” shopping centers, Bowles says.
“When you combine the two, it really creates a phenomenal community,” she says.
A set of design guidelines — developed by Sasaki Associates, a Boston-based international master planning and design firm — will govern the architecture and construction of Village on Main. And with these guidelines, the project will embrace the full village concept.
“They say it takes many people to build a village, so with design guidelines, you can hire many different builders and architects and they can create their own building look, but it has to follow the guidelines, which will create diversity, but there is uniformity to it,” Bowles says.
Village on Main is in negotiations with a civic building, financial institution and hotel, as well as businesses. Developers also expect to attract a niche grocery store and boutiques. Village on Main will also feature a privately funded, free WiFi hot zone near the shops and restaurants, which, when finished, could be the largest of its kind in Oklahoma.
“The word ‘village’ creates atmosphere and it’s a concept where people are getting out of their homes and into the community,” Laubach says. “It takes a village to create a community.”
Not only will Village on Main present a unique mixed-use lifestyle option for Jenks residents, but it will also create “daytime traffic,” according to Bowles. That traffic will attract new retail and bring sales-tax dollars into the city, which, in turn, will help fund the budget to provide better city services that enhance citizens’ quality of life.
“A lot of people live in Jenks, but they don’t always shop in Jenks city limits,” Bowles says. “With the primary source of city funding coming from sales tax, that’s a huge dilemma for our city. So to have a local, sustaining economy, Village on Main will really contribute to that.”
