"If the project proceeds at that level, it would fund essentially only the low-water dam," Jenks City Councilor Adam Abel said in a statement to the Tulsa Flyer in September. "The proposed river parks on both sides, pedestrian connections, and other public amenities included in the larger vision would not be part of the initial project."
"That level" is the least expensive of three scaled-down designs engineers have presented. Abel said it is the version now being pursued, and that it still faces a funding gap of at least $40 million.
You may be comparing homes along the Riverside Parkway corridor and hearing that a lake is coming. As of October 2026, the plan is narrower than that. A dam is still the plan. The parks that would make the lake something you use are the part without money behind them.
A Fixed Promise Meets a Moving Price
In April 2016, Tulsa voters approved up to $64.2 million for the project as part of the Vision Tulsa package, and Jenks voters approved their own share that same year. According to News On 6, the dam would create a lake on the Arkansas River from 71st to 101st Streets. A City rendering published by the Tulsa Flyer places the dam and pedestrian bridge near 103rd Street and Riverside Parkway.
The math that News On 6 laid out on October 1, 2026, using the City's own April 2026 project update:
- Tulsa construction funding: $64,214,000
- Jenks construction funding: $16,670,000
- Total voter-approved construction funding: $80,884,000
- Current estimate: $180 million
- Difference: about $99.1 million
There are two catches in that $180 million figure. It is a 10% design estimate, described as "Base bid + amenities + 15%," and it leaves out an operational endowment. The number could move in either direction as design continues.
What drove the price is the oldest problem in public construction. A ballot measure fixes a dollar amount on the day of the vote, and construction prices keep rising after it. "Think about where we were in 2016 and then going through 2020, you have inflation, you have COVID and get prices that are just going up and up and up," District 2 Councilor Anthony Archie told News On 6. Jenks Mayor Cory Box put it more bluntly in the same report: "I don't think anyone should be surprised that the actual cost of this project, in today's dollars, is significantly more than what was forecasted years ago."
The money also arrives in stages. The City's September 2026 report to the Sales Tax Overview Committee lists $55,175,041.91 as currently available, which counts City allocations through FY28.
Who Has Put Money on the Table
A second round of partners joined in December 2022. Jenks, the Indian Nations Council of Governments and the Muscogee Nation signed a memorandum of understanding committing roughly $33 million together. The standing of each piece has changed since then.
| Partner | Commitment | Status as reported in fall 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| City of Tulsa | $64.214 million, 2016 Vision Tulsa vote | Tulsa has offered to set up a committee to look for other funding sources |
| City of Jenks | $18.7 million, including $16.7 million from the 2016 vote | Has pledged about $10 million more in Vision surplus, bringing its total to about $27 million |
| Muscogee Nation | About $8.2 million from the Southern Villa TIF district | Not included in the latest development agreement, per the Nation's press secretary |
| INCOG | $6 million through a federal grant | INCOG's executive director says the organization remains committed |
The third row ties the dam to a separate project. "When we got the latest version of the agreement … the Nation's $8.2 million coming from the TIF district was not included in that," Muscogee Nation press secretary Jason Salsman told the Tulsa Flyer. "From our perspective, any involvement we'd have going forward, we'd have to go back to the drawing board and get that renegotiated."
Abel also pointed out that Tulsa officials have publicly reported about $100 million in surplus Vision 2016 revenue after covering approved projects. To his knowledge, Tulsa has not committed enough of that surplus to close the dam's gap.
The Amenities Are the Development Pitch
The Southern Villa TIF district is the financing tool behind the Riverline. That is the mixed-use plan from Rainier Development Company and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation for 37 acres at 81st Street and Lewis Avenue, across from River Spirit Casino Resort. KTUL reported that the Tulsa City Council approved the TIF in October 2025. Rainier's October 2025 announcement called it a $400 million project, with groundbreaking forecast for 2026 and Phase I finishing in late 2027 to early 2028.
Councilor Archie made the case for the dam's amenities in exactly those terms:
"Beauty is its own utility, and so when we create an environment that is really beautiful up and down that Riverside area, we extend the trails and different amenities, you're going to have private developers, folks that want to be there."
He said this to the Tulsa Flyer. Trails, river parks and pedestrian connections are the features Archie connects to private investment, and they are the features dropped from the least expensive design. Archie described the current design work with Jacobs and City staff as sorting "what are some of the things that you really need and what are some of those things that you want, but you can go without."
The newest Riverline update we found is a March 16, 2026 interview with Multi-Housing News. In it, Rainier said Phase I was slated to start construction later in 2026, with roughly 282 apartments and 120,000 square feet of retail and dining. The full plan calls for about 650 apartments and 200,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment. The developer described Section 404 review with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and coordination with the City on a new signalized intersection on Riverside Parkway. We found no later report confirming a groundbreaking or naming tenants. The Riverline's published timeline is still a forecast, not a schedule.
What Zink Lake Shows About Sequencing
Tulsa has already been through this once with Zink Lake, which came out of the same 2016 package. The City's Zink project page dates the opening to Labor Day weekend 2024, roughly eight years after the vote. Construction began October 18, 2020, and the City's September 2026 committee report lists construction as complete on March 26, 2026, with the contractor's final payment made in July 2026.
Most of what made Zink usable was funded separately, after the vote. The City's 2024 opening guide credits $5 million from the 2023 Improve Our Tulsa extension, $350,000 from TMUA and $190,000 for stormwater infrastructure to lake-area infrastructure and amenities. The Williams Crossing pedestrian bridge combined $15 million in Vision Tulsa funds, $9.4 million from other sales taxes, $3 million in savings from earlier capital packages, and donations from Williams, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, ONEOK and HF Sinclair. At a 2024 public meeting, the City said the phase then funded was the only funded phase, and any further development would depend on new funding and public input.
The south dam looks like it is heading down the same path, with the structure first and the amenities layered on later. Abel told the Tulsa Flyer the hope is "that some of the removed elements could be added back over time as funding permits."
Where the Project Sits This Month
The City's September 2026 report shows the design work is well underway. Jacobs is the design firm. The construction manager at risk delivery method has been selected, along with Obermeyer gates. Offers have been made on two west-bank properties, with one accepted and one countered. A funding subcommittee with representatives from Tulsa, Jenks and Muscogee Creek Nation began forming after a July 8, 2026 meeting to look for more public funds and private donors. Jacobs and Landplan have provided renderings without amenities to the City of Jenks to support that effort.
Notice to proceed on 30% design is targeted for mid-October 2026, which is now. The same report says "City leadership is evaluating next steps." The contractor and the anticipated completion date are both listed as TBD. Archie told News On 6 that a formal City Council agenda item is coming.
Quick Answers
Is the South Tulsa/Jenks lake funded? Voters approved $80,884,000 for construction. The current 10% design estimate is $180 million, so most of the gap is still open as of October 2026.
When will it be finished? The City lists the anticipated completion date as TBD.
Has the Riverline broken ground? We found no report confirming a groundbreaking after the developer's March 2026 interview, which described Phase I as slated to start later in 2026.
Which parts are most at risk? Per Abel, the river parks on both banks and the pedestrian connections are left out of the least expensive design.
If you are weighing homes near Riverside Parkway and want to know which features are built, which are funded, and which are still on a rendering, CG Realty Group can go through the public record on any address with you, in English or Spanish. Contact Us.
