Tulsa Designates June as Housing Month Amid Push to Expand Affordable Housing
One Community Update
June 5, 2026
Source: www.newson6.com
Mayor Monroe Nichols has officially designated June 2026 as Housing Month in Tulsa, underscoring the city’s ongoing efforts to address housing shortages, improve affordability and revitalize neighborhoods across the city.
The proclamation comes as city officials continue implementing a comprehensive housing strategy aimed at creating 6,000 affordable housing units and reducing the number of vacant, abandoned and dilapidated properties by 60%.
“Housing is foundational to everything we’re trying to accomplish as a city,” Nichols said in a statement. “Whether we’re working to reduce homelessness, create safer neighborhoods, improve outcomes for children and families, expand economic opportunity, or strengthen partnerships throughout our community, housing plays a critical role.”
Housing Month also marks an opportunity for city leaders to reflect on progress made since Nichols issued a housing executive order in 2025. Since then, the city has launched several initiatives designed to accelerate housing development and improve access to affordable homes.
Among those efforts is the creation of Tulsa’s first Housing Acceleration Team, which helps move large-scale housing projects through the permitting process more quickly. The city also launched the Community Builder Pilot Program, designed to help developers rehabilitate vacant and abandoned properties and return them to productive use.
Additional initiatives include a public Housing Unit Tracker that provides real-time updates on housing development, expanded permitting assistance through satellite permit services, and ongoing community engagement efforts focused on housing and neighborhood planning.
City officials also recently launched a Faith-Based Housing Initiative aimed at helping congregations and religious organizations explore housing opportunities on underutilized land.
Combined, city leaders say the programs are intended to reduce barriers to development, increase housing production and improve transparency surrounding Tulsa’s housing goals.
Housing advocates and city officials are also preparing for the next phase of investments funded through Improve Our Tulsa 3, a voter-approved package that included the largest public housing investment in the city’s history.
In 2025, the Tulsa Housing Impact Fund was selected to administer $47 million of the $75 million allocated for housing initiatives through Improve Our Tulsa 3. City officials said announcements regarding the first projects receiving funding are expected in the coming weeks and months.
“For the last several years, we’ve been building the foundation necessary to tackle one of Tulsa’s most significant challenges,” said Gene Bulmash, the city’s senior adviser on housing. “We’ve worked to align our policies, processes, partnerships and investments around housing because we know there isn’t a single solution to this issue.”
Several additional housing initiatives are expected to be introduced this summer. Among them is the launch of the T-Town Home Catalog, a collection of pre-approved housing plans designed to help developers move projects more quickly into construction.
City leaders are also preparing to discuss a new Vacancy Improvement Program that would utilize a recently enacted state law allowing municipalities to foreclose on vacant, abandoned and dilapidated properties and return them to productive use.
Additional proposals under consideration include ordinances that would waive certain city code enforcement liens on affordable housing projects and reduce building permit fees for qualifying developments.
According to the city’s Housing Unit Tracker, more than 1,800 affordable housing units have been completed or permitted since December 2024, representing more than 30% of the city’s goal of creating 6,000 affordable units.
Housing will also be a central topic during Mayor Nichols’ upcoming community conversation events scheduled for June 9 and June 23. Residents will have opportunities to discuss housing needs, learn about current initiatives and provide feedback on future housing strategies.
The city’s efforts are guided in part by a 2023 housing assessment that found Tulsa would need nearly 13,000 additional housing units over the next decade to meet projected demand.
Officials say Housing Month is intended to raise awareness about those challenges while highlighting ongoing work to expand housing options and improve neighborhood stability throughout Tulsa.
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