Residents Near Tulsa's Future 'Gathering Place' Brace For Demolition Day

Construction crews at Tulsa's "Gathering Place" are expected to tear down apartments this week to make way for the landmark park along Riverside Drive.

Residents moved out of those apartments before Christmas in preparation for the demolition.

“We hear the noisy ‘thump, thump' when they're loading stuff in dump trucks, but it's progress man," neighbor Carolyn Johnson said.

Some neighbors who border the Gathering Place project can't wait for Tulsa to get a new park and are willing to endure three years of construction to get there.

"I'm pretty excited about the project in general, so I think it's going to be you know long term progress, so it's going to be probably some bumps along the way during construction, but I think it will all be worth it," Brian Kidd said.

The George Kaiser Family Foundation and corporate partners broke ground in the fall.

Before the heavy construction starts, contractors started prepping the area around the park to support the project.

Read More Of Out Stories On The Gathering Place

Two apartment complexes will be torn down to make way for a park like this region has never seen.

“Of course, the demolition hasn't happened yet, so we're not looking forward to it, but I think we're willing to live with it," Stephanie Green said.

Green's fence line backs up to some of these homes where crews will start tearing down the apartments.

Stephen Burns knows once the construction is finished, Tulsans will have a new green space to enjoy.

“… but I look at that kind of stuff like it's---that's just necessary for progress. Sometimes you have to work around the tough stuff to what everybody wants," Stephen Green said.

Phase One of the Gathering Place is set to be completed in late 2017.

"I'm not worried about it all,” Johnson said. “Just bring it on."