Three neighbors have already moved into City Lights Village, the new 75-home community tucked off 46th Street North between Peoria and Lewis avenues in Tulsa, with more arrivals expected in the weeks ahead. The 23-acre site held its grand opening Friday afternoon, marking the culmination of years of fundraising and construction aimed at giving Tulsans leaving chronic homelessness a permanent place to call their own.
According to Tulsa World, the fully furnished cottage homes measure about 400 square feet each and rent for $400 a month. The land itself was donated in 2021 by Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma, according to the same report, while City Lights Foundation — a nonprofit with roots tracing to 2013 and formally established in 2015 — reached its $26.1 million capital campaign goal about a month before the opening. Tulsa World reports that campaign funds went toward construction costs, an endowment fund and ongoing operating expenses.
As KTUL reported, City Lights has now raised more than $26 million altogether to build the community, which spans the full 23 acres and includes the 75 homes alongside a shared community center. Sarah Grounds, City Lights Foundation's executive director and co-founder, told the station the project finally brings every piece of support under one roof. “We've really combined all of those pieces right here at City Lights Village,” Grounds said, per KTUL's reporting.
A Waiting List 1,400 Names Long
Not everyone who wants in can get in right away. Per Tulsa World, City Lights Village already has a waiting list of about 1,400 people, and the community prioritizes those who have experienced chronic homelessness for more than a year and have a disability. Residents who do move in, the outlet notes, may stay for as long as they want.
Grounds described the opening as an emotional milestone after years of planning. “It is surreal,” she said of the day, according to Tulsa World's account, adding that permanent supportive housing paired with wraparound services can help residents move back toward stability. She also said the project reflects an ongoing effort by local agencies to learn how to better care for their neighbors, the newspaper reported. Among those touring the grounds Friday were Clinton and Donna Whitehead, according to Tulsa World.
City Lights itself describes the mission in similar terms. The organization says its City Lights Village neighborhood is meant to pair affordable, permanent housing with comprehensive supportive services, and on its Homefulness page, the nonprofit says case management, mental health resources and relational care help residents move from surviving to thriving.
What's Still Under Construction
The village isn't entirely finished. Tulsa World reports that gardens, orchards, chickens and a second laundry facility are still planned additions rather than completed amenities. An earlier construction update from Construction Owners had described the community center as designed to include partner-agency rooms, gathering spaces, medical rooms and a laundry facility as the project took shape.
The scale of the finished village reflects a shift from earlier plans. A previous report from TulsaPeople described Phase 1 as 30 homes and a community center, with $19 million raised at the time toward a $26.1 million goal, and Phase 2 adding 45 more homes with a target completion of summer 2026. Around the same period, NewsOn6 reported the project was estimated to cost $26 million and was still seeking $5 million in additional funding to finish the work. TulsaPeople had also reported that future residents would be chosen from a coordinated entry list managed by A Way Home for Tulsa.
How the Village Fits Into Tulsa's Broader Homelessness Picture
City Lights Village's opening lands at a moment when Tulsa County's overall homelessness numbers have essentially plateaued. KTUL reported that the county's 2026 Point-in-Time Count identified 1,443 people experiencing homelessness on the night of January 22, compared with 1,449 counted in 2025 — the first year without an increase in five years. The same report found unsheltered homelessness fell by nearly 32% compared with the prior year, and noted that lack of affordable housing ranked as the top reported cause of homelessness in the county.
KTUL also reported that partner agencies working through A Way Home for Tulsa rehoused more than 1,100 people in 2025, a 28% jump over the previous year, while the county's homeless response system expanded from 42 active projects to 51 and bed capacity grew from 2,058 to 2,218. The station described City Lights Village as the product of more than a decade of relationship-building with Tulsans experiencing homelessness and a recognition that permanent housing paired with ongoing support was needed to move the needle on those numbers.
