Kendall-Whittier

The Kendall Whittier neighborhood - located between University of Tulsa and downtown and bordered by BNSF Railroad, 11th Street, Harvard and Utica - will be the strategic focus area for Tulsa Habitat for Humanity. There are approximately 300 vacant lots in the area and many condemned and substandard houses. The Kendall-Whittier community redevelopment strategy, led by Growing Together Tulsa, includes public, private and non-profit partners focused on education, economic development, sustainability, infrastructure, job creation and much more. Joining forces with numerous partners all focused on the common mission of redeveloping the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood allows us to focus on building quality and affordable homes.

Kendall Whittier Community Partners

Collective impact is a progressive, innovative approach to social change. It gathers people and organizations to work together to create lasting solutions to social problems on a large scale with coordinated efforts around clearly defined outcomes. The following organizations are working in partnership with Tulsa Habitat for Humanity in Kendall Whittier:

Growing Together Tulsa
The George Kaiser Family Foundation
The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation
Tulsa Area United Way
AmeriCorps
Capital Homes
City of Tulsa
Community Health Connection
IMPACT!Tulsa

Updated Home Design

In conjunction with the shift in strategic focus, Tulsa Habitat worked with community partners to create a new home design. The updated design, which features three-bedrooms, two-bathrooms and a one-car garage, models the craftsman style homes in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood. Tulsa Habitat for Humanity has worked with architects and engineers to update our house designs. The newly-redesigned homes focus on quality construction, exterior customization and energy efficiency while remaining affordable for homeowners. 

“As part of our new strategic focus in the Kendall-Whittier neighborhood, we wanted to make every effort to offer a home design true to the architecture of the area, remain affordable for our homeowners and appreciate in value over time. In close collaboration with the architects at Dewberry & Cyntergy AEC, we achieved all three. Now, all new Tulsa Habitat homes come standard with at least 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a single car garage." - Cameron Walker, Chief Executive Officer of Tulsa Habitat for Humanity

Design Process

“To kick off the project, the design team grabbed our bikes and rode through Kendall-Whittier to get a feel for the area. We wanted the home to seem like it belongs, but feels a bit special at the same time as a way to encourage the neighborhood. It was such a fun project for our team. It’s a really neat feeling to design a home for a family to grow in and create memories. This home is going to be a part of them and we feel excited and proud to be a part of their story.”  - Steve Vogt, Sr. Design Architect at Dewberry

The new home design was made possible thanks to the talented professionals at Dewberry, Cyntergy Architects and the Tulsa Habitat for Humanity construction team.