Judy Sledge was the first person to move in at the Surety Apartments when they opened in 2006. She said she and her neighbors have been test subjects of sorts.

“This building was a guinea pig,” Sledge said of the historic Surety Building on the corner of Third Street and Broadway. “If people build, people will come.”

Muskogee’s downtown population has doubled since the apartments opened, said city of Muskogee Planning Director Gary Garvin. In 2009, 16 apartments were built at the Doyal Bland building, at North Third and Court streets. And the Manhattan Building on Fourth Street and Broadway is set to open this month with 42 apartments. That should further boost the downtown population, which sits between 300 and 500, Garvin said.

While the downtown population represents less than 2 percent of Muskogee’s overall population, close to 10 percent — about 3,500 — live or work downtown, said Jonita Mullins, executive director of Downtown Muskogee Inc.

A high downtown population likely would mean more businesses there, Mullins said.

“You’re going to have the kind of amenities that people like, like a place to eat in the evening, entertainment, a place to get ice cream, that then gives everyone a reason to come downtown,” Mullins said. “Sometimes it just takes the one to spark the whole thing. I’ve heard story after story about that. Somebody takes the risk and opens a shop, and that just sparks the creativity, and then you’ll see a lot of people following them.”

The success of the Surety Apartments has proven there’s an interest in living downtown. There is a waiting list for those apartments, and the Manhattan building already has had dozens interested in moving in, said Denise Smalling, apartment manager for both complexes.

“There is a need for it,” said Smalling, who lives in the Surety Apartments with her husband. “It’s just so convenient downtown.”

The convenience was the appeal for Sledge deciding to move downtown, she said.

“You’re at the center of wherever you want to go,” Sledge said.

Guyla Miller, who also has lived in the Surety Apartments since they opened, has lived in Muskogee her entire life. When she saw the construction, she just knew she had to live there, she said.

“When they were building it, I drove by and picked mine out,” Miller said. “I live in my old dentist’s office.”

Miller said because the police station is downtown, she feels very safe living there.

On her downtown “wish list” is a grocery store, covered parking, more inexpensive restaurant variety and cleaning up the downtrodden buildings.

“We’re the older people in the economic bracket who don’t have the money we used to,” Miller said. “And I wish we could just clean up the storefronts.”

When asked what downtown needed, more than 10 residents mentioned at least one of the items on Miller’s list, with a neighborhood market like Braum’s at the top.

While living downtown is viable, in order for it to thrive, many need to be willing to spend their money there, Mullins said.

“But for that, you need the providers of the goods and services they’ll spend money on,” Mullins said. “You have to see a consumer base for it. It’s the chicken-and-egg thing. To get people downtown, you have to have amenities, and businesses need to see a need for it. We have to work on both of those things and we need to recruit both at the same time.”

Mullins said a downtown master plan would help determine what could help downtown thrive.

“We have to get a master plan in place,” Mullins said. “We’re working on trying to get funding for a master design plan to do those types of projects. That would help get some targeted efforts going on simultaneously. If you can work on things in tandem like that, you can make them happen.”

The reviving the downtown area and the mini-migration of population has been on the city’s radar “for some time,” Garvin said.

“We’re in process of updating the (city of Muskogee’s) comprehensive plan, and we talk about more people living downtown,” Garvin said. “We want to get people there, get people spending, and hopefully encourage more restaurants and more stores for those living in the downtown area. It’s definitely something we’re looking at under the comprehensive plan.”

The next step would be for younger people to live downtown, Mullins said.

“I know there are young professionals who would love to live down here too, but there’s not a lot of options for that,” Mullins said. “There’s an appeal to living downtown.”

As for the parking, Mullins said making the sidewalks more walkable would fix the issue.

“We need to make it a pleasure to walk a couple of blocks,” Mullins said. “There are a couple of parking areas that are never full. It’s really kind of a matter of changing peoples’ mindset to get out of the car and walk.”

Smalling, who worked downtown Muskogee in the late ’70s and early ’80s, said downtown has changed a lot since that time period.

“We used to go downtown and buy a dress or shop on lunch,” Smalling said. “It didn’t look as nice as it does now, but it was more active.

“Muskogee can really be like an old downtown Branson (Mo.).”

Mullins said making Muskogee’s downtown like Branson or Eureka Springs, Ark., would be the ultimate goal.

Sledge said with more apartments coming in, that could give downtown the boost it needs in order for that to happen.

“These buildings are getting used,” Sledge said. “People like downtown, especially if it’s a thriving downtown.”

Reach Mike Carrels at (918) 684-2922 or mcarrels@muskogeephoenix.com.