Outlook business 2016

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Tulsa metro area’s abundant resources add to welcoming business climate

TULSA

BARTLESVILLE

BIXBY

BROKEN ARROW

CATOOSA

CLAREMORE

GLENPOOL

JENKS

OWASSO

SAND SPRINGS

SAPULPA

SPECIAL SECTION | FEBRUARY 21, 2016

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The Tulsa metro area is blessed with an abundance of available water. The downtown skyline is shown from the west bank of the Arkansas River. Tulsa World ile

drawn into Tulsa Area ofers advantages for all businesses

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hen Berkshire Hathaway Media Group purchased the Tulsa World three years ago, they had a few things in mind: • They sought newspapers in moderate-sized markets. They weren’t interested in major metropolitan areas. Tulsa was ideal – a community with a rich history of strong businesses and community involvement.

• They preferred a community with a major university at its center. With the University of Tulsa at its center, Tulsa was likened to other BH Media communities such as Bryan/College Station, Texas, — home of Texas A&M University — and Waco, Texas, home of Baylor University.

• And, they were looking for a proitable company with a dedicated workforce that could continue to make a diference in the community it served.

The story of Berkshire Hathaway Media is a story that is repeated almost daily as businesses seek to ind the right it for expansion. But what is it that lures a business to a community like Tulsa?

That decision is linked to many variables, including inancial advantages, location and quality of life issues such as education, faith community and entertainment.

In Tulsa and our surrounding communities, we have advantages.

We are known for our lakes, rivers and an abundance of available water. While other communities struggle to provide water resources, ours abound. Whether it’s water to run a manufacturing facility or

water to transport goods for importing or exporting, our region has answers for any business.

That water also provides recreation. Grand Lake — about an hour’s drive from downtown Tulsa — is known for its retirement homes and water sports. It has ishing so good that in recent years Tulsa has twice lured what has become known as the Super Bowl of bass ishing — the Bassmaster Classic.

Grand Lake is among several fantastic lakes in northeast Oklahoma, an area known by many as “Green Country.”

In addition, while some communities across the country have struggled to provide suitable drink-

Bill Masterson Publisher, Tulsa World Media Co.

ing water for their citizens, our forefathers solved that problem nearly a century ago.

Our available workforce is another feather in our collective cap.

The quality and abundance of dedicated workers is surpassed only by the educational facilities that work with companies to train that workforce for suitable employment.

We have excellent public school systems in our area, and we are home to a variety of public institutions that continue to provide an educated and trained workforce.

Those include public schools such as the Oklahoma State University campuses in Tulsa and Okmulgee; the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa; Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Technology Center.

In addition, we have quality private schools and universities, including the University of Tulsa — which is annually ranked among the top 100 schools in the country

by U.S. News and World Report — and Oral Roberts University, which attracts students from all over the world.

And, lastly, we have an abundance of available, afordable land

Index

“What was once considered only an ‘oil town,’ has expanded to embrace and grow its energy roots while diversifying into healthcare, aerospace and technology related businesses.”

OnLIne

Gov. Mary Fallin: Water resources key to state �������������4

Skill, training keep Tulsa on path to progress ����������������������25

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett: Proud to be an OKIE ���������������� 5

Tulsa’s young professionals are passionate, inspired �������26

Tulsa’s water treasures draw businesses ������������������������������ 20

Water projects worthwhile ��27

10 to know about Tulsa ��������22

for development. When Julie and I host visitors from out of state, they are amazed at our wide-open spaces. Ours is not a community that is locked in on all sides, with nowhere to grow. Opportunities exist within the city limits and in every direction around Tulsa.

Just last year, Macy’s Inc. completed construction of a 1.3-millionsquare-foot fulillment center. The facility sits on 72 acres and employs more than 1,000 full-time workers.

On the other side of the city, an outlet mall has outlined major development plans.

The opportunities that exist within our community are astonishing.

What was once considered only an “oil town,” has expanded to embrace and grow its energy roots while diversifying into healthcare, aerospace and technology related businesses. The vision — and hard work — of our business and community leaders has ensured that the metro Tulsa area will continue to be ready for growth as we work together for the success of our existing businesses.

And, just as Berkshire Hathaway Media Co. decided three years ago that Tulsa was the right place for us, we welcome others who’ve found that the metro Tulsa region presents the right place at the right time for continued growth and success.

We have the resources. All we need is the opportunity to show them of.

Information key to future of manufacturing ����������������������� 30

About the section:

THE COMMUNITIES Bartlesville, Bixby�������������������� 31 Broken Arrow, Catoosa ���������32 Claremore, Glenpool��������������33 Jenks, Owasso ������������������������ 34 Sand Springs, Sapulpa �����������35

Read news about your community on sites dedicated to you� Let us know what’s going on in your community� Share stories about you, your family, your neighborhood and more from these sites: glenpoolworld�com bartlesvilleworld�com jenks-world�com bixbyworld�com owassoreporter�com baledger�com sandspringsleader�com catoosaworld�com sapulpaworld�com claremoreworld�com

Read any story you missed in this week’s special Outlook 2016 section online, and check back next week for more stories on Tulsa and the surrounding communities� tulsaworld.com/outlook2016

Tulsa and its surrounding communities are great places to do business� They all have something unique to ofer, and today, the Tulsa World presents the business Outlook for our region� Our 36-page special section features government leaders and industry experts who ofer their perspectives� It also includes stories from reporters and correspondents as well as custom content from advertisers� Next Sunday, the Tulsa World will publish an Outlook special section that focuses on quality of life in the area�

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Rowers on the Arkansas River in Tulsa pause to watch the sun glimmer across the water. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

Lifeblood of Oklahoma Water resources support work and leisure

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ater is at the center of all we do in Oklahoma.

It does more than just slake our thirst and nourish our crops. Water also provides endless recreational opportunities, generates low-cost electricity and even ferries our goods to market.

Water makes up as much as 60 percent of the human body, and it is the lifeblood of Oklahoma.

That is especially true here in Green Country, whose natural splendor can be attributed to its abundant waterways.

Those waterways inspired past Oklahomans, including former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Robert S. Kerr, to create inland ports that now allow state businesses to ship their wares to 20 states and around the world via the Gulf of Mexico.

Port and dock facilities along the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in Oklahoma are used by 80 industries, bringing nearly $5 billion in private investments, 8,700 jobs and $236 million in annual payroll.

Green Country’s natural attractions also drew nearly 3.9 million overnight visitors to state parks in the region in 2014. Those travelers pumped $535 million into local economies, according to a study commissioned by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.

I see many of those travelers while spending several weekends a year at Grand Lake with my husband and our children. I especially like those trips. There is no better place to spend time with my family and enjoy our state’s natural beauty than at Oklahoma’s beautiful lakes and parks.

Apparently, others think so, too.

I was heartened by the recent announcement of Shangri-La oicials on plans for a $15 million, 120-room boutique-style hotel to be constructed near the site of the original Shangri-La lodge. Should development proceed as planned, it will be ready for guests in spring 2017 on Monkey Island on Grand Lake, west of Grove in Delaware County.

While we treasure our bounty of water in northeast Oklahoma, keep

Mary Fallin Governor of Oklahoma

in mind that our state is home to more than 220,000 miles of shoreline in its lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. It also boasts more than 390 million acre feet of stored water in its aquifers. Those are valuable natural resources, as well as important pieces of our state economy.

Our great state is blessed with an abundance of water resources, but not so much that we can aford to take them for granted.

That is evident in simply looking back at 2015, which began with the state sufering from a prolonged drought and ended as the wettest year on record.

Such extremes, so common with Oklahoma’s weather, are why I’m so proud of the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan.

The 50-year plan, which was completed in 2012 near the beginning of my tenure as governor, is an indispensable resource for making decisions about water use and management. It remains the most public-engaged, sciencebased water plan in state history.

One of the major hallmarks of the plan was the Oklahoma Water for 2060 Act, which established a statewide goal to use no more freshwater in 2060 than we did in 2010. That is achievable despite growth in the state’s economy and

ABOVE: Grand Lake is a popular place for water sports. Boats can be seen in many of the coves towing inner tubes, water-skiers or wake-boarders.

Tulsa World file

LEFT: Bassmaster Classic qualiier Edwin Evers launches his boat at Grand Lake in 2013. The 2016 Bassmaster tournament is being held March 4-6 at Grand Lake.

Tulsa World file

boost those numbers come March.

Events like this illustrate the true value of our water in Oklahoma and why all of us – sportsmen, business leaders, lawmakers and others – should be focused on conserving it. population because of aggressive water conservation, reuse and recycling eforts.

I’m excited to see that the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce has taken the lead on regional water planning eforts in this area.

Folks here in Green Country understand the importance of our

water resources.

Grand Lake, one of my favorite getaway spots in the whole state, is preparing to host the Bassmaster Classic for the second time since 2013. The irst competition drew more than 100,000 people to events in northeast Oklahoma. Our familiarity with the event should

Gov. Mary Fallin is serving her second term as Oklahoma’s first woman to be elected governor. Fallin served two terms as a state representative and three terms as lieutenant governor. From 2007 until 2011, she served in Congress, representing the Fifth District of Oklahoma. She grew up in Tecumseh and graduated from Oklahoma State University.

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The International Space Station soars approximately 220 miles above the Earth. Components of the space station were manufactured in Tulsa. NASA/AP file

OKIE and proud of it Entrepreneurship keeps Tulsa moving ahead

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admit it … I clipped my dad’s iteration of the meaning of OKIE. And, I added something else to it. TULSA! Many out there have been the recipients of a gold lapel pin of the same name. I carry them with me everywhere I go, and I go everywhere, as many of you can attest. Some may have even received an OKIE lapel pin, long ago, from my then-governor or U.S. senator father, Dewey F. Bartlett.

When asked to write an article for this Outlook edition in the Tulsa World, I began once more to contemplate my dad and what OKIE meant to him. What does OKIE mean to me in terms of Tulsa?

Oklahoma, Key to Intelligence and Enterprise.

I was at an unveiling of a project recently at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.

I was reminded again of our long history in the aerospace industry.

Even in the late 1950s, research and development of the Delta Rocket Program happened right here in Tulsa. During the Apollo era, 50 percent of the external structure for the Saturn 5 rocket was manufactured here. The payload bay doors of the space shuttle and later the great truss structures to secure the habitation modules that make up the International Space Station were made just five miles from downtown.

In addition, the integrated electrical assemblies that orient the solar panels toward the sun and generate the electrical power for that space station were built for our national space program here, demonstrating Tulsa can reach the stars in its own right and contribute to the national agenda.

I remember when my father got together with American Airlines Maintenance Facilities Manager George Warde and created the impetus for and built the first jumbo jet hangar, largest in the world at that time.

No. We’ll never stop innovating, developing and building here in Tulsa. Look around, not just downtown; look all over town. Watch the projects that surround us all

Dewey Bartlett Mayor of Tulsa

and never stop, from streets (closing in on a $1 billion investment), to the development of apartments, hotels, restaurants and retail.

(More than $1 billion spent just downtown.)

Since the beginning of Tulsa in the early days of the 20th century to 2016 and forward, intelligence and enterprise are our mantra. You can see our mission develop all around us every day. You see entrepreneurism and the infrastructure that nurtures it in the Fab Lab and the new 36 Degrees North.

Entrepreneurs are our past. They are our present and future.

My father was onto something with this re-purposing of the word OKIE. I think about this term every single day when I meet people who live in Tulsa; and I think how important it is to share with them what they’ve accomplished here — how they’ve contributed to this city, the legacy we’ve inherited that they will pass down to their children.

It is important to me how the strategy of so many years ago plays such an integral part of what we are doing today, and how

ABOVE: A truss built at the Boeing plant in Tulsa is loaded into a Super Guppy at Tulsa International Airport in 1999. The truss was a critical component of the International Space Station. Tulsa World file LEFT: Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr., like his father, gives out OKIE lapel pins. Tulsa World file

newcomer or someone thinking about Tulsa as a place they might want to call home, encourage them.

Tulsa OKIEs are proud and they darn well deserve to be.

that strategy paints the picture of Tulsa’s tomorrow.

So if you have one of these OKIE Tulsa lapel pins, wear it as a badge

of pride and look for what Tulsa OKIEs are accomplishing every day in our city. When you have the chance to share our story with a

Dewey Bartlett Jr. was elected Tulsa’s 39th mayor in 2009 and re-elected in 2013. His father was Oklahoma’s second Republican governor from 1967 to 1971 and a U.S. senator from 1973 to 1979. Bartlett Jr. attended Bishop Kelley High School, and received a degree in accounting from Regis University and a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University. He is president of Keener Oil & Gas Co.

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Overlooked treasure Region’s abundant water access attracts new businesses

BY RANDY KREHBIEL World Staf Writer

About Tulsa

conomic development is the intersection of innovation and opportunity.

Innovation recognizes a need and perfects a product or service to meet it. Opportunity supplies the inancial, material and human resources to make it happen.

For Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma — and every other place in the United States — the trick is to low all of those elements together as smoothly as possible.

“When you have all of these resources available, you have to align them,” said Dave Stewart, chief administrative oicer of Mid-America Industrial Park in Pryor.

“You have to ask yourself questions like

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014 City of Tulsa: 398,404, 2nd largest in Oklahoma

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Metro area population: 969,224

Largest employers

• Saint Francis Health System, employment range 7,500 to 8,999 • Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, 6,000 to 7,499 • Tulsa Public Schools, 6,000 to 7,499

Key contact information: Tulsa Regional Chamber, 800-624-6822

SEE TuLsa O21 Customers enjoy dinner at sunset at the Pier 51 Cafe on Lake Keystone.

JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

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‘What are we good at? What’s going to be the industry of the future?’ Then you have to align needs with resources, and you have to do it well, because every city in America is trying for the same jobs.”

Almost everyone seems to agree that availability of a trained workforce is the top priority for most employers. Transportation, low operating costs, tax and regulatory structure and access to raw materials also play into decisions about where businesses locate or don’t.

But so do quality of life elements such as schools, housing, recreation and arts and entertainment.

“People want things to do,” said Stewart.

Underlying all of this are a few essential resources so basic they are sometimes forgotten.

One of these is water.

These days, when Tulsans talk about water, likely as not they mean it in aesthetic or recreational sense. Jogging along the Arkansas River. Fishing or boating on Lake Keystone or one of the region’s many other reservoirs and waterways.

But in its abundance, water is sometimes taken for granted in these parts. We forget it is essential to every aspect of personal, commercial and civic life. While other cities and regions struggle to find enough water to sustain their communities, northeastern Oklahoma remains well-supplied.

Water is the reason for Tulsa’s existence, the city beginning as it did as a tent settlement for workers building the first railroad bridge across the Arkansas River.

Tulsa thrived because Tulsans nearly a century ago invested in the infrastructure and resources to assure a bountiful supply of clean water from the Ozark foothills.

More recently, with the considerable help of the federal government, the region acquired the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System and with it a

An aerial view shows Tulsa’s skyline with the Arkansas River. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World

year-round water outlet to the sea that has driven economic development throughout Oklahoma and into surrounding states.

Initially, the ports at Catoosa and Muskogee attracted primarily oil and gas- and agriculturerelated business, and those are still the primary tenants. But, over decades, those industries have diversified and new ones have been created.

Port of Catoosa Director Bob Portiss said the Tulsa area has been doing a “wonderful job” growing new businesses.

“We have stories all over the place,” he said.

Using agriculture as an example, Portiss explained how the port opened up new markets for wheat and other farm products. At the same time, it attracted what was then a subsidiary of Williams

called Agrico Chemical, which made fertilizer. Now owned by CF Industries, the facility is one of the largest at the port.

Mid-America Industrial Park does not have a port, but its location on the Grand River is nevertheless important to its success.

Mid-America tenants use about 15 million gallons of water a day, Stewart said.

The Grand also forms Grand

Lake and Lake Hudson, which are important quality of life elements.

For economic development to be successful, Stewart said, all of these elements must fit together into a place where businesses want to locate and people want to live.

“All of these things add up to a good mix,” Stewart said. “The secret is to have them lined up so you can make the best use of them.”

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The Arkansas River lows through Tulsa, as shown, as well as Sand Springs and Bixby. It borders Jenks and Broken Arrow. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World

things to know about Tulsa

By RANDy KREHBIEL | World Staf Writer

Travelers head to Concourse B at Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa. Last year, 2.8 million passengers used the airport. Tulsa World ile

The irst barge to travel the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System arrives at the Port of Catoosa on Jan. 21, 1971, carrying a supply of newsprint for Tulsa newspapers.

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For a brief time in the early 1930s, Tulsa International Airport claimed to be the busiest in the world — mainly because of its prime location as a fueling stop for transcontinental flights. In 2015, 2.8 million passengers passed through TIA.

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The first cargo to arrive at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, on Jan. 21, 1971, was 600 tons of newsprint for the Tulsa World and Tulsa Tribune. Since then, a total of 77.2 million tons of material has passed through the port, with a high of 2.7 million in 2012.

Homes are shown in various stages of construction in a Bixby subdivision. Housing starts totaled 2,814 in 2014.

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Metro Tulsa’s 2,814 housing starts in 2014 were the most since before the Great Recession. The average new home sale price for Tulsa is about $172,000.

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Dylan Couch, a sign production worker at U.S. Sign & Screen Printing, makes a sign at the facility in December. The metro area employs about 450,000 workers. Tulsa World file

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Metropolitan Tulsa employs 450,000 workers, with an average hourly wage of $20.53. The unemployment rate in December was 3.9 percent, compared to 5.6 percent nationally.

An American Airlines employee moves a ladder at the Tulsa maintenance base. The company employs more than 5,000 in Tulsa. Tulsa World file

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More than 35 Tulsa-area employers have at least 1,000 workers. These include the Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso, Tulsa and Union public schools; Saint Francis, St. John and Hillcrest health systems; American Airlines; Nordam; Spirit Aerosystems; Bank of Oklahoma; QuikTrip; AEP-PSO; and ONEOK.

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Tulsa became an important aerospace manufacturing center during World War II and produced some of the most important components of the U.S. space program. It is currently home to more than 70 aerospace companies accounting for more than 14,000 jobs.

A worker inspects an Airbus cabin window at the Nordam Transparency Division in 2015. Nordam is one of Tulsa’s largest employers.

MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

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Small businesses account for about two-thirds of Tulsa-area jobs, according to the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce. Each year the Chamber’s Small Business Connection presents Crystal Star Awards to 10 outstanding small businessmen and businesswomen.

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Tulsa’s Future III is a fiveyear, $21 million economic development program spearheaded by the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce, focused on business recruitment and retention, workforce development, innovation and quality of life.

Tulsa’s Future III has helped local businesses recruit talent to the area for high-paying jobs in a variety of industries. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World

Customers look at handcrafted items as vendor Holly Embry stands ready to help during a Small Business Saturday event at the Mini Indie Emporium. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

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Tulsa has the nation’s secondlargest oil and gasrelated manufacturing sector.

Although lower energy prices have had their efect, Tulsa remains noted for its expertise in oil and gas engineering, fabricating and construction.

The Williams Cos., a natural gas processing and transportation company founded in 1908, is headquartered in Tulsa. It employs about 6,700 workers worldwide. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World

Melton Truck Lines built a 77,000-square-foot headquarters building in east Tulsa in 2015. With six facilities across four states, Melton employs 1,100 truck drivers and 300 support staf, 220 of whom are based in Tulsa. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

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Trade, Transportation and Utilities is the largest employment sector in the Tulsa MSA. It includes wholesale and retail workers, transportation and warehousing, and utilities. Two of the metro area’s largest employers are AEP-PSO and ONEOK.

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Skills, training keep Tulsa on path to progress O N A CHILLY morning in November 1905, oil was discovered on a small, family farm south of Tulsa.

This finding quickly launched a drilling boom that made Tulsa the “Oil Capital of the World,” and an international name in the energy market.

Today, the energy industry is still greatly felt throughout the Tulsa region. Nearly a quarter of Oklahoma jobs are directly or indirectly tied to the energy sector.

Over the past year, the energy industry has felt an impact due to fluctuating prices in the global oil market. Even with the downturn in the energy industry, Tulsa’s low cost of doing business, low commute times and central location have made it a candidate for industry growth and expansion.

This year, the Tulsa’s Future Plan enters its third phase. Tulsa’s Future III is about industry and working to bolster the diverse industries that make up the region’s economy.

It is about jobs and, just as important, it is about people.

We’re confident that our newly developed four-pillar approach will help ensure Tulsa’s key industry sectors have the educated and skilled talent to meet the economic needs of the future, as well as the quality of community and entrepreneurial culture we need as a region to thrive.

Funding for the next phase of Tulsa’s Future will focus not only on job growth and retention, but also on developing the Tulsa region’s prosperous future, innovative future, skilled future and livable future.

With Tulsa sitting at full employment levels, it is more crucial now than ever that we ensure we are attracting and maintaining a young and talented workforce to fill our workforce pipelines.

A talented workforce is critical to the region’s economic growth. Tulsa’s Future will ensure the region takes the steps to ensure education curriculum meets workforce needs

Mike Neal

President and CEO, Tulsa Regional Chamber

of key industries like advanced manufacturing and aerospace to name a few, or risk losing current employers and failing to attract new businesses.

This year also brings another opportunity for our region to lay the foundation for future success throughout our economy, driving new bold and visionary projects through the renewal of Vision 2025.

In 2003, the region voted to make the first step toward transformation when voters overwhelmingly passed Vision 2025.

Twelve years later, we see the fruits of that investment. The BOK Center is annually ranked among top venues across the world in revenue and its ability to attract top talent and events; more than $1 billion in public and private development in downtown Tulsa has spurred a renewed sense of pride in Tulsans and impacted current and planned innovative investments like Guthrie Green and The Gathering Place.

Our regional communities continue to grow at exponential rates, and, through Vision dollars, now boast capital improvements to buildings and other areas that generate pride and revenue. Today, capital investments are more critical than ever as the Tulsa region competes with peer cities for young talent, business and industry, innovation, and tourism dollars.

When the right ingredients come together — major industries for skilled workers; fostering support for small businesses; low cost of living; education institutions graduating adults with postsecondary degrees and certificates who are employable by Tulsa area

ABOVE: Fans wait outside the BOK Center to attend a Garth Brooks concert in 2015.

LEFT: Concert-goers enjoy a free show at the Guthrie Green.

Tulsa World ile photos

renewal proposal that reflects the diverse needs and opportunities for our community.

I’m hopeful voters will be bold and foster continued growth and success of this region we call home.

companies; entertaining options and environment for families and individuals of all ages and backgrounds — that is when Tulsa will rise above our competitive peer set.

When one ingredient is in place, the others follow.

Through the first Vision 2025, our community began to slowly

make gains in the ever-expanding racetrack toward future progress and economic success in a globally competitive world.

In a strong show of unity, a unanimous Tulsa City Council, Tulsa Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr. and all three Tulsa County commissioners came together recently and built a

Mike Neal leads the chamber’s full-time professional staf in economic development, convention and visitor development, government afairs, small business and membership services. He served as president and CEO of Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce until 2006, and president and CEO of the Monroe, La., Chamber of Commerce for 12 years.

Neal is heavily involved in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a 1980 accounting graduate from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

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Tulsa’s young pros are passionate, inspired R

ecenTLy I aTTended the grand opening of 36 degrees north, a new entrepreneurial hub in the heart of the Brady arts district.

When the doors opened midmorning, the entire space came alive with a palpable energy as more than a hundred people welcomed this community downtown.

With the enthusiastic reception and its membership goals exceeded, 36°n is well on its way to being declared an unequivocal success.

Jessica Barber recently wrote in her Love Letter to Tulsa, “the people are what make Tulsa home.

They invest in their hometown to produce something incredible, but they also invest in each other.”

In that room at the opening of 36°n, I saw what Jessica explained irsthand: Tulsans investing in Tulsa to invest in one another.

What’s more, these investments are not just made by any Tulsans.

They are made by young Tulsans.

The founders of 36°n – aaron Miller, Brian Paschal and elizabeth Frame ellison – are all under the age of 40. dustin curzon, executive director of 36°n, has yet to celebrate his 40th birthday either.

Occupying the second story of the historic Ford building above 36°n is the Tulsa artist Fellowship, run by young professional Julia White. Walk next door to antoinette Baking company and you’ll ind Molly Martin and andrea Mohn, both young entrepreneurs (and fantastic bakers). across the street, Rob Stuart created magic with chimera cafe, a consistent host for young creatives any time of any day. Travel to the south side of downtown, where Justin and Katie carpenter have created a cofee haven for our urban core.

The impact of our city’s young talent can be seen in more than just the Brady district. elliot nelson opened an Irish pub in downtown Tulsa when nobody else saw the area’s potential. More than 10 years later, the Mcnellie’s Group

SHAGAH ZAKERION

Executive Director, Tulsa’s Young Professionals

owns and operates more than a dozen properties throughout the city and state.

Blake ewing, the proprietor of Blue Ox dining Group and its handful of establishments, is a consistent voice for young Tulsans as a city councilor. young Tulsans are at the heart of the city’s growth, cultivating and spreading Tulsa’s contagious energy. They are the dreamers, innovators and visionaries investing in Tulsa’s future.

In my ive years with Tulsa’s young Professionals, I have witnessed the impact of empowering young people with the tools, resources and support they need to be successful. TyPros founded the city’s irst small business incubator, The Forge.

Our members ran the “Bring It To Tulsa” campaigns that successfully attracted Uber and Trader Joe’s to Tulsa. Last year we launched the TyPros Foundation and funded a number of civic projects, including the revival of the 24-year dormant Great Raft Race.

We inspired community redevelopment through our signature Street cRed event, transforming parts of our city from imagination to reality.

I was asked to write about the outlook for young professionals in Tulsa, and from my perspective, the outlook of our city is inspired.

It’s passionate, energetic and adventurous, and it’s all around us. Our city has made incredible progress in the past 15 years, but I can’t help but wonder where our city would be today if elliot or Blake had been discouraged along the way.

We are well positioned for future growth, but that growth

ABOVE: Curtis Kline (left) with Kline Technology works at his desk at the entrepreneurial hub 36 Degrees North in the renovated Universal Ford building. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World LEFT: Co-owners Andrea Mohn (left), Molly Martin and Erin Turnage stand at the front counter at Antoinette Baking Co. in the Brady Arts District. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World

will not come without cultivating.

We must ind the next generation of big thinkers, then support, encourage and lead them to bring their vision to life in Tulsa and not someplace else.

If Tulsa continues its history of

embracing its young pioneers and investing in its people, then the outlook for our city looks better than ever.

Shagah Zakerion is executive director for Tulsa’s Young Professionals, a workforce

initiative of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, whose mission is to attract and retain young professionals in the Tulsa region and develop the next generation of business and community leaders. She oversees the entire organization, leading the eforts of eight crews, planning and implementing approximately 80 events a year and handling member and sponsor relations. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2010, Zakerion joined the Tulsa Regional Chamber as program coordinator and then worked as program manager for TYPros.

She is a member of Tulsa Area United Way Women’s Leadership Council and Emerging Leaders Society, and is a board member of the Union Schools Education Foundation.

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Water projects proved worthwhile long ago The Tulsa Port of Catoosa transformed Tulsa into an inland international seaport city, providing low-cost waterway transportation to ports throughout the world.

BOB PORTISS Port of Catoosa, port director

T

he incredibLe sTOry of water resource development for the metropolitan area of Tulsa began in 1924 with the completion of the 55-mile-long water line from Lake spavinaw to the city of Tulsa.

This project resulted from the eforts of civic leaders who recognized the need for a reliable source of water for both personal consumption and industrial growth.

The success of this project speaks for itself: 92 years later, it still provides more than 50 percent of Tulsa’s water supply.

The dust bowl era spurred efforts toward conservation of both land and water and resulted in numerous other projects. A superb example of this type of conservation project was led by the Grand river dam Authority through construction of the Pensacola dam. completed in 1941, it created the Grand Lake o’ the cherokees. The GrdA served as a conservation and reclamation district for the Grand river, carrying out their mandate of controlling and storing the river’s waters to, in part, generate electricity.

Over the next several decades, this concept would be used repeatedly around Oklahoma to provide water conservation lakes. in 1946, congress authorized construction of the multipurpose Arkansas river Project, which included Oologah, eufaula and Keystone lakes and a 445-milelong navigable waterway extending from the Mississippi river to Tulsa.

The waterway would utilize the White, Arkansas and Verdigris rivers and end at the 2,500-acre Tulsa Port of catoosa.

The civic leaders who championed this project organized them-

TOM GILBERT/ Tulsa World

selves under an association called the Arkansas basin development Association (AbdA). it was led by the late col. “babe” Wilson, a retired Tulsa district engineer for the corps of engineers for whom the city of Tulsa-rogers county Port Authority would later name one of their towboats that still operates within the port today.

The AbdA successfully convinced senators bob Kerr of Oklahoma and John Mcclellan of Arkansas to seek authorization and funding for the waterway. On Jan. 5, 1971, congress named the canal the Mcclellan-Kerr Arkansas river navigation system. At a cost of $1.2 billion, it was the largest civil works project ever undertaken by the U. s. Army corps of engineers.

This impressive project solidiied Oklahoma’s position of having more miles of shoreline than our nation’s two seacoasts combined. it also transformed Tulsa into an inland international seaport city, providing low cost waterway transportation to ports throughout the world. Three bushels of grain can be shipped from the port to the Gulf of Mexico for less than the price of a irst-class postage stamp. in 1967, in order to ensure the waterway was constructed to reach the Tulsa area, the citizens of Tulsa and rogers county approved the necessary bond funds to construct the port. To this day, it continues to operate, as promised, without any additional local tax monies. This was made pos-

sible by the formation of a ninemember Port Authority board who, as volunteer civic leaders, have developed and operated the port without personal compensation and in a self-suicient manner over the past 45 years.

This success can be attributed to the port’s policy of leasing the land instead of selling it. Today, there are 72 industries at the port. A year ago, these industries reached an employment peak of 4,200 people and an annual average of 2.5 million tons of waterway cargo. Port and terminal facilities located between Tulsa and Muskogee collectively provide over 8,000 maritimerelated jobs and have attracted more than $5 billion in industrial investment.

Water, throughout our state’s history, has been developed in a manner that would ensure preservation of this vital natural resource and our “Oklahoma seacoast” for generations to come.

Bob Portiss has served as port director for the Tulsa Port of Catoosa since 1984. He is a ive-term chairman of the National Waterways Conference in Washington, D.C., and has also served as the chairman of the Inland Waterway Committee of the National Transportation Research Board. In 2015, he was named a “Champion of Change” in a ceremony at the White House for his eforts to develop innovative ways to use transportation to help his community reach new heights. Portiss holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics from North Dakota State University.

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Innovation key to future of manufacturing Phil Albert President of Pelco Structural, LLC

T

HE OKLAHOMA MANUFACTURING sector is experiencing rapid advancement leading to even stronger productivity and output.

Much like the transformation during the Industrial Revolution, the current wave of innovation is the fastest in history driven by the convergence of technologies. The industrialization of these technologies is reinventing not only what we make, but how we make it.

To realize the full potential of this renaissance, there are some things Oklahoma must do and some challenges we must overcome to compete in this new age.

Manufacturing employers recognize flexibility, adaptability, creativity, and problem solving are equally important to cultivate alongside deep technical knowledge. These skills are like raw material out of which exciting innovation breakthroughs are built.

However, these skills are fast becoming a commodity and are not readily available.

Nationwide, 52 percent of manufacturers using advanced techniques report unfilled jobs, and 74 percent of these employers cite deficiencies in STEM skills — science, technology, engineering, and math — as a major concern.

Invention is driven by ideas, but innovation is driven by insight.

In a January 2016 article, Bloomberg Business ranks Oklahoma among the least innovative states in the United States. The most innovative states, Massachusetts and California, are recognized for developing business clusters around their universities. The measurement included productivity; concentration of STEM employment;

research and development intensity; patent filings; and high-tech employers.

Oklahoma ranked high in productivity, but 45th in research and development and 47th in the number of science and engineer

Some of these advancements include research in unmanned aerial systems, food safety and security, energy technologies, biobased chemicals and water stewardship.

Furthermore, Oklahoma’s Economic Development Act established the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, which provides support and grants for innovative research in applied technologies and health.

In recent decades, these investments have assisted with diversifying Oklahoma’s economy, but as noted, Oklahoma still falls behind our competitors.

Successful innovation economies are truly collaborative communities, which cultivate networks across startups, industry leaders, government, investors, and higher education institutions.

Today, almost every “advance” in technology is heralded as a breakthrough, but several are as transformational as 3-D printing, advanced robotics and the Internet ABOVE: The OSU App Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University of Things, which is the network of in the Henry Bellmon Research Center physical objects, devices, vehicles, buildings and other items that are provides a space for students to bring ideas for apps and transform them into embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network confunctioning applications. nectivity, enabling these objects to LEFT: The Helmerich Advanced collect and exchange data.

Technology Research Center is on the How manufacturers embrace campus of Oklahoma State Universityand utilize these technologies Tulsa. Tulsa World ile photos are yet to be seen, but leveraging higher education institutions will opportunities that complement help show us the way. existing business and industry. Its new Radar Innovations Laboratory Phil B. Albert has more than 30 years of exat the Advanced Radar Research ecutive operating experience. He started his Center combines engineering and career in accounting and moved to manumeteorology to advance satellite facturing in 1981. Albert spent 23 years at technology, while the BiomediJEM Engineering, the last 10 as president. cal Engineering Center is makIn 2005, Albert, along with partner, Phil ing strides in improving cancer Parduhn, opened Pelco Structural, LLC, an diagnoses. infrastructure manufacturing company, degree holders.

Oklahoma State University located in Claremore. Pelco Structural, However, this is not to say that has established the Henry BellLLC designs, engineers and manufactures great strides are not being made. mon Research Center, a 160-acre transmission, traic and lighting, sports The University of Oklahoma’s Technology and Research Park, the lighting, cellular transmission, signing, and Center for Applied Research and Helmerich Advanced Technology substation structures. He is a graduate of Development was created to purResearch Center and the UniverOklahoma Baptist University. sue new research and development sity Multispectral Laboratories.

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Investment in new retail paying of About Bartlesville Population: 36,498, 12th most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +2.1 percent Median household income: $48,862 Median home price: $109,400 Unemployment rate: 5.4% Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

• Phillips 66 (2,100) • ConocoPhillips (1,950) • Jane Phillips Medical Center (1,139) • Bartlesville Public Schools (874) • Wal-Mart Logistics (638) Did you know: Bartlesville’s ¼-cent economic development sales tax helped create 447 direct jobs and 186 indirect jobs over the past ive years with a combined annual $29 million payroll leading to $22 million in yearly retail sales.

History: Entrepreneurs have been drawn to Bartlesville since its days as an Indian Territory town, but it was oil that put the city on the map. The most famous oilman for Bartlesville is Frank Phillips, who founded Phillips Petroleum Co. Key contact information: Bartlesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, 201 S.W. Keeler Ave., 918-336-8708, bartlesville. com; Bartlesville Development Authority., 918-337-8086, 201 S.W. Keeler Ave., bda ok.org; Main Street Bartlesville, 401 S.E. Dewey Ave. , mainstreetbartlesville.org; 918-214-8500.

• The I-75 corridor and downtown are both seeing growth.

BY LAURA SUMMERS World Correspondent

BARTLESVILLE — An investment in retail development is paying of dividends in 2016 for Bartlesville, where construction of new restaurant, store and housing projects are underway across town.

Bartlesville began two years ago actively recruiting new retail development for the city with a push to increase the selection of stores and restaurants available in which local residents could spend their dollars in town. Today construction is underway on a new IHOP (International House of Pancakes) Restaurant and a new 70,356-squarefoot Atwoods Ranch and Home Store, while work is continuing on a proposed retail center and housing project planned for midtown Bartlesville.

Bartlesville Development Authority stafers David Wood, president, and Jared Patton, vice president for retail development, are ielding plenty of inquiries from developers interested in Bartlesville.

“Jared has just been inundated with requests for Highway 75 sites,” Wood said. “So with the addition of the new Atwoods, as other substantial frontage becomes available I think we will see more new arrivals.”

The city issued in December permits for construction of the new $500,000 IHOP restaurant, which will be at 1410 S.E. Washington Boulevard, in front of La Quinta Inn. IHOP has begun advertising open positions for the restaurant

New Leaf’s John Belzley and Ross Group’s Brenna Wells conduct a walkthrough at the Noble Lofts, a new development in downtown Bartlesville.

STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World

chain, which has been serving up pancakes since 1957 and now has 1,650 eateries across the U.S. And while U.S. 75 continues to be a hot spot for potential development, downtown Bartlesville also is carrying on the trend of recent years toward attracting new projects. Thousands of dollars of investment in renovating historic buildings for new storefronts, ofices and living spaces occurs each month in Bartlesville leading to new jobs and enhanced quality of life for residents.

The latest irms to join the downtown redevelopment are Tulsabased The Ross Group and New Leaf Development, which are renovating 1907-era buildings at 119, 121, 123 and 125 W. Second St. to create four retail spaces and 11 apartments including upper story lofts and ground loor eiciencies.

Chris Wilson, Bartlesville Redevelopment Trust Authority execu-

tive director, expresses great pride in the $2 million Noble Lofts development, a 14,000-square-foot project eligible for state and federal historic tax credits. The development, which Wilson describes as a “premier project for downtown,” took two years to come to fruition.

Jonathon Belzley, New Leaf Group principal, has been on-site for much of the transformation of the buildings, which through the years served as a hotel, dry cleaners, clothing store, pawn shop and brothels. The refurbishment of the buildings revealed a pass-through that had been located between two of them that was apparently covered up in 1976, he said. The properties are preleasing now with plans to open this summer.

Development also is underway in Bartlesville Industrial Park, where plans are progressing for two new building projects. Ground has been broken on a 50,000-square-foot

warehouse for Springs Global US Inc., a manufacturing facility that has been creating bedding products in Bartlesville for 17 years. Springs expects to add as many as 15 additional jobs to its 130-employee workforce when the expansion of its Bartlesville facility is complete.

While the energy sector in Bartlesville has been afected by lower oil prices slowing the economy on some level, there has been some growth in the market for primary industry jobs as well.

Bartlesville Development Authority in the last year had four projects that brought in a combined total of 50 direct jobs and 21 indirect jobs with an annual payroll of $2.5 million for the community.

Industries receiving trust authority assistance to help with job growth in recent months include Dilbeck Manufacturing, Element Integrity Group, Springs Global and Enhanced Communication Group.

Downtown revival gets a green light • Repurposed funding will create a new vision for Bixby’s economy.

BY STEPHANIE ANDRE World Correspondent

BIXBY — What is in downtown Bixby?

It seems like a simple question, but to some visitors, it is not very clear.

While neighboring cities like Broken Arrow have been able to capitalize on their own distinguishable downtown hubs like the Rose District, Bixby is yet to establish its own unique downtown scene to help attract the masses.

Until now.

Thanks to the recent approval of a sales tax extension, Bixby city oicials now have the green light to revitalize downtown — a move that will not only help bring in more business, but also bolster the community as a whole.

“Bixby is going to be transformed,” Mayor John Easton told a room of community leaders in December. “It’s going to be an interesting ride, and we hope you are all here to help us enjoy that.”

In November, voters approved propositions that will redirect a majority of funds from the expiring countywide Vision 2025 sales tax. Voters approved repurposing 0.55 cents per dollar of the 0.6 percent countywide tax for areas such as public safety, streets and economic development.

Construction will soon begin on Charley Young Park in downtown Bixby. By July 2016, the park will be converted into an event venue that will have the potential to host a variety of attractions such as an

Anna Evans, owner of Red Rock Market antique store in downtown Bixby, said she could see the location’s potential when she purchased the retail space almost two years ago. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

ice skating rink or a farmer’s market, according to city councilors.

Another part of the project will include an expanded streetscap-

ing initiative that will incorporate landmark and directional sign installation to clearly designate where the downtown Bixby area begins, something that has been unclear to visitors, according to research commissioned by the city council.

“What we’re doing sends a strong message to existing businesses and new commercial development looking at us about how progressive our city is going to be; not only why Bixby is a good investment, but a terriic investment for the future,” Easton said.

Anna Evans, owner of Red Rock Market antique store in downtown Bixby, said she could see the location’s potential when she pur-

chased the retail space almost two years ago. “(Downtown) used to be pretty special in its heyday and I could deinitely see it getting there again. I think that is where it’s headed and that’s what the city wants.”

In addition to reshaping downtown, funds will also go toward expanding upon two of Bixby’s biggest attractions: Washington Irving Park and Bentley Park.

Both parks are located on the Arkansas River and connected by pedestrian trails.

Though the park is still in its early planning stages, the city council has unveiled artistic renderings that re-imagine the banks of the Arkansas River as a tourist destination featuring boating, ishing and other water activities guaranteed to lure tourists.

City Manager Jared Cottle said that all residents will beneit from the plans in some way.

“We recognized that success at our destination venues at Bentley Park and Washington Irving Park hinged on their dual purpose-providing local quality of life facilities and attracting regional visitors,” he said.

“The work planned for the Charley Young Event Park in our downtown is the beginning of our plans to continue those themes.

Enhancing and expanding our destination status will provide public access points and parks along the Arkansas River and add additional investment in our downtown,” the city manager said.

“We believe that any venue or event that brings visitors to Bixby will also bring new commercial opportunities for our existing businesses and help attract new ones.”

About Bixby Population: 24,008, 18th most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +14.8 percent Median income: $71,321 Median home price: $189,200 Unemployment rate: 4.6% Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

• PostRock Plaza (600) • Bixby Public Schools (460) • Kimberly Clark (400) Did you know: In 2015, BTC Broadband in Bixby became the irst company in Oklahoma to ofer broadband Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second to residents in its service area, putting Bixby on par with cities like Dallas and Miami who already ofer the service to residents. Speeds of 1 gigabit per second, also referred to as “The Big Gig,” are about 100 times faster than the average, ixed high-speed Internet connection.

History: In the mid-20th century, Bixby was given the nickname “The Garden Spot of Oklahoma” because it was a major shipping center for produce. Even today, a few produce stores and several sod farms are still in operation.

Key contacts: Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce, 918-366-9445 or bixbychamber.com. “Like” the Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce page on Facebook, or email events@bixbychamber.com to join their mailing list and receive updates on business news and events in the community.

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Rose District investment a boon to area • An overhaul drew new businesses; fountain, streetscaping in works.

BY STACY RYBURN World Staf Writer

BROKEN ARROW — When retired Tulsa teachers Greg and Marilyn Bridges opened Southern Magnolia antique shop nearly three years ago, they igured Broken Arrow’s Rose District would be the perfect place.

They were right.

The burgeoning center on Main Street has undergone an overhaul in recent years, paving the way for new businesses of all shapes and sizes, including the Bridges’ shop.

The success largely can be attributed to a public-private partnership, Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon said.

A $5 million investment led to about $25 million in private investment, making possible vast improvements to streets, sidewalks, landscaping and other beautiication and infrastructure projects in the district, Spurgeon said.

The city also plans to put in another $4 million of public money.

A 1,200-square-foot interactive water fountain and four more blocks of streetscaping are in the works, Spurgeon said.

“I only see great things continuing in the Rose District,” he said.

When the Bridgeses were looking for a place to start their new business, they saw the potential blossoming in the district, Greg Bridges said.

“Just knowing that the street was going to go through this total renovation, and knowing that we were able to purchase a building that was

About Broken Arrow Population: 104,726 4th most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +5.9 percent Median income: $66,250 Median home price: $152,000 Unemployment rate: 5.9 percent Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

Visitors enjoy the Rose District in Broken Arrow. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

right in the thick of it, it seemed like the ideal thing to do,” he said. “It just kind of lined up.”

Business has boomed, by Greg’s account. Aside from increased foot traic in the couple’s shop, surrounding businesses also have seen the beneits of the renovations, he said.

“You can come downtown, and it could be sometimes almost midnight and the downtown area really is still very lively as far as the restaurants and the bars that are going on,” Greg Bridges said.

Down the street, another business owner, JoAn Rainwater, said in the 10 years her store, Hollow Tree Gifts, has been on Main Street, the changes at the Rose District have

made the area more attractive to customers from all over.

Hailing from Okmulgee, she has seen people from her hometown routinely make their way to the district, not only to see her shop but to take in the whole scene, Rainwater said.

Rainwater didn’t initially embrace news of all the changes. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but after everything started rolling out, she changed her tune.

“Then I realized, well, you know, once in a while I can be wrong,” Rainwater said.

Another area of potential development will be Tiger Hill. Once the estimated $1.1 million of repairs are inished on the retaining wall in the

area’s north side, city oicials will eyeball commercial and retail development, Spurgeon said.

“We talk to people on a weekly basis about their interest in that property, and I have no doubts in my mind that once the wall situation is resolved we will reach an agreement with someone to develop it,” he said.

In the meantime, business opportunities in the city as a whole remain on the upside, Spurgeon said. The people, the location and the growth make Broken Arrow an enticing place to be, he said.

“Investing in Broken Arrow is a good investment,” he said. “You have a lot of folks here, which means that you have a lot of opportunities to capture this market.”

• Broken Arrow Public Schools (2,200) • Wal-Mart Stores (900) • Northeastern State University (800) • FlightSafety (750) Did you know: Broken Arrow currently has more than a dozen sites throughout the city available for development.

History: The completion of the Broken Arrow Expressway in the 1960s was a big factor in the beginning of the city’s growth.

Key contact information: Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce; 210 N. Main, Suite C; 918-251-1518; brokenarrowchamber.com

Catoosa Hills rolling with new tenants • The Cherokee Outlets project is projected to bring 1,000 new jobs.

BY LENZY KREHBIEL-BURTON World Correspondent

About Catoosa Population: 7,114, 56th most populous city in state Population change since 2010: -0.5 percent Median income: $50,625 Median home price: $102,100 Unemployment rate: 6.5 percent Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

• Tulsa Port of Catoosa (3,300) • Cherokee Nation (1,891) Did you know: The Tulsa Port of Catoosa is the second farthest inland U.S. port, trailing only Minnesota’s Port of Duluth-Superior.

History: Catoosa beneited as the Atlantic and Paciic Railroad laid tracks into town in 1881, sparking its transformation into a cattle hub. Although agriculture remains signiicant, the town’s location on Route 66 led to economic diversiication in the 1940s and 1950s.

Between the port, which opened in 1971, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Catoosa’s population grew from less than 1,000 in 1970 to more than 7,000 in 2012.

Contact info: catoosachamber.org, 918-266-6042

CATOOSA — Brought in by blackjack and barges, Catoosa residents are now getting more opportunities to shop closer to home.

Those opportunities can be attributed in part to Catoosa Hills. Located of Interstate 244 and 193rd East Avenue, the retail area had been in the works for the better part of a decade.

Among the tenants either already in business or coming soon to the shopping center include Freddie’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, GNC, Hibbett’s Sports, Dickey’s Barbecue, Mattress Firm, Great Clips, AT&T, Petco, Rue 21, Ross Dress for Less, Cato and Famous Footwear.

Those businesses join a 155,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter that opened in June 2014 as the center’s anchor, bringing 300 jobs with it.

Catoosa’s shopping district is expected to grow even more next with the addition of Cherokee Outlets on the west side of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.

First announced in November 2014, the 300,000-square-foot Cherokee Outlets is projected to bring more than 1,000 additional jobs to the area. Woodmark Properties’ Stephen Coslik conirmed that the project, originally slated to be inished later this year, is now on track to open in fall 2017.

Once complete, the outlet mall is expected to generate more than $120 million in annual sales and draw up to two million visitors per

The Catoosa Hills shopping area in Catoosa is expected to grow even more with the addition of Cherokee Outlets on the west side of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World

year. Among all of its holdings, including Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, Cherokee Nation Businesses already employs almost 1,900 people in Catoosa alone.

With the inlux of new businesses also comes additional revenue for city cofers. According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s records, Catoosa’s sales tax collections for December 2015 alone was $491,443 — up almost $200,000 compared to December 2013 ($298,503).

With both retail projects taking several years to come to fruition, municipal leaders have had time to plan how to accommodate both for the additional revenue and the additional strain on the community’s pre-existing resources.

Along with improvements to the

community’s roads and drainage systems, other municipal projects funded by the surge in sales tax funds include improvements at Catoosa’s two sports complexes and the addition of a brand new park featuring the town’s irst splash pad.

“This was a planned growth for us,” City Manager David Tillotson said. “We knew it was coming and planned for these types. The city council’s been good about that process and helping us create longterm sustainable planning so we’re not just jumping out and spending millions all once. We’re moving forward slowly with projects … so we can be continue to be iscally sound.”

Although more retail and hospitality options are regularly popping

up in the western Rogers County town, the Port of Catoosa remains the community’s largest job site.

The second furthest inland port in the United States — trailing only Minnesota’s Port of Duluth-Superior — the 2,500-acre Port of Catoosa is home to 72 companies employing more than 3,300 people, accounting for a combined payroll of more than $200 million. In 2015 alone, more than 1.4 million tons of cargo went through the port.

“When you deal with cities in Oklahoma, the reality is that we’re the only state that funds cities the way we do,” Tillotson said. “We rely on sales tax dollars. We have to chase those dollars some times … but Catoosa has been good about being well-rounded.”

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Individuals investing in renovations • Older buildings are being refurbished and repurposed in the city.

BY RHETT MORGAN World Staf Writer

CLAREMORE — Jason Scarpa, owner of Main Street Tavern, said he had a slew of reasons to invest in Claremore.

“I saw the city’s commitment to revitalize their downtown area,” said Scarpa, who opened a Main Street Tavern in Broken Arrow in 2011. “I saw a need for a place like Main Street Tavern.

“I think it kind of ills a void in the restaurant and bar oferings they currently have. Also, when I was doing my research and talking to people about possibly doing it, the level of enthusiasm was overwhelming.”

Main Street Tavern is among the latest ventures in Claremore’s newlook downtown.

Scarpa is sinking at least $1.2 million into capital improvements to convert former Claremore Senior Citizens Center building on Missouri Avenue into an upscale pub, a 6,600-square-foot space that will feature an banquet room for private parties, a bar and dining area and outdoor patio. It is scheduled to be completed sometime this summer, he said.

Another Claremore success story is Boarding House Books, which has been operating since 2009 in a downtown building that’s been around from more than a century.

Elsewhere, Claremore native Amy Gordon and her brother, Robert Melton, recently moved their business, moreclaremore.com, into a repurposed building in the heart

About Claremore Population: 18,971, 27th most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +2.1 percent

Median home price: $112,700 Unemployment rate: 8.8 percent

Audrey Thompson unpacks a shipment of books at Boarding House Books in Claremore in a renovated downtown boarding house. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World

of the city.

Gordon describes moreclaremore.com as “positive community journalism” that focuses on businesses, people and events. The venture started in Rogers State University’s Innovation Center more than two years ago.

“Claremore is a very event-driven town,” Gordon said. “It was getting to a point where people’s events were overlapping and competing with one another. We wanted to see an event calendar that had everything on it. That is our goal. Our main hub for moreclaremore.com is the event calendar so you can see what’s happening.”

When the Innovation Center lost funding last year, Gordon inquired about and in November landed in the building at 115 S. Missouri Ave. She learned from her dad that the venue was where her great-grandfather, George Melton, had founded a grocery store in 1929.

The refurbished, 3,700-squarefoot building now houses three other tenants and provides professional meeting areas, Gordon said.

Located one block north of Main Street, the common oice space was named North Block Common.

“It’s just kind of come full circle now that that’s back in the family,” Gordon said.

The community is moving forward on several fronts, city oicials say.

In his State of the City address in January, Mayor Bill Flanagan called 2015 a deining year and said that 2016 holds exciting opportunities.

Completing three new hotels and a conference center, Claremore added 240 new rooms in 2015, doubling its lodging capacity.

According to the Claremore Industrial & Economic Development Authority, the city has experienced about a $96 million increase (36 percent) in gross revenue sales from 2001 to 2015.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers: Baker Hughes (900); Rogers State University (600); Hillcrest Hospital (550).

Did you know: The Belvidere Mansion, in Claremore, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Completed in 1907, it is a three-story Victorian style building with an L-shaped foyer and Italian tile looring, marble wainscoting and pressed-tin walls and ceilings.

History: When Oklahoma still was Indian Territory, two railways that dissected Claremore set the stage for its early growth. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Union Paciic Railroad serve the city to this day.

Key contact information: Dell Davis, president, Claremore Chamber of Commerce, 918-3412818.

City to meet needs spurred by hospital • The Saint Francis campus is designed to grow with area needs.

An artist’s rendering shows the future Saint Francis Health Systems’ 49,000-squarefoot emergency center and physicians complex in Glenpool.

Construction has begun and is expected to be completed in 2017. Courtesy

BY BRITT GREENWOOD World Correspondent

About Glenpool Population: 11,855, 41st most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +9.7 percent

Median annual income: $60,800 Median home price: $121,300 Unemployment rate: 7.9% Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014

Largest employers

• Glenpool Public Schools (328) • Wal-Mart (300) • XPO Logistics (170) Did you know: 45,000 vehicles drive through Glenpool a day on U.S. 75 History: In addition to putting Tulsa on the map, the discovery of the Glenn Pool launched the communities of Kiefer, Jenks and Mounds Key contact information: Glenpool Chamber of Commerce: GlenpoolChamber.org

GLENPOOL — Where you could once view a 15-acre meadow at the corner of U.S. 75 and West 151st Street, now stands a bare parcel with moved, lattened earth.

The land is newly graded in preparation for a $23 million, 49,000-square-foot Saint Francis health complex — a milestone for Glenpool’s business climate attesting progression is underway.

“With an estimated completion date in summer 2017, the new freestanding Saint Francis health complex in Glenpool will be the irst of its kind in northeastern Oklahoma, providing medical services to an underserved area,” said Barry Steichen, executive vice president and chief operating oicer of Saint Francis Health System.

Services at the facility will include emergency care, primary care physicians, outpatient services, women’s services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, diagnostic imaging services and laboratory services.

“Saint Francis Health System always seeks to anticipate and meet the needs of the communities it is fortunate to serve,” Steichen said.

“This new development in Glenpool is meant to bring primary, specialty and emergency services to an area that has not had this full array of services within its city limits.”

Steichen said the Saint Francis campus in Glenpool is speciically designed to grow as the region’s need expands.

Areas included in the medical facility’s target reach include southwest Tulsa, Creek and Okmulgee counties — all locations in demand of state-of-the-art healthcare within a reasonable proximity.

Glenpool Mayor Tim Fox said the commitment from Saint Francis Health Systems is a massive investment into the community.

“This will be the irst of many phases, and I’m excited to see this level of medical care available to our residents of Glenpool,” he said.

“But putting aside the great opportunity for this level of medical care, this facility brings the potential for huge growth along the 151st (Street) corridor.”

The mayor was surprised to ind the spike in retail interest while attending the International Council of Shopping Centers Retail Conference in Dallas in November.

“When talking to potential developers and retail, you could see their

ears perk up when the hospital was mentioned. The hospital will also be a great employer for many residents in Glenpool,” Fox said.

The health facility is one of many markers in business growth. Commercial projects are dotting the map across the community. Businesses are recognizing and attempting to meet the desires of Glenpool, and the city is beginning to attract corporate relocations.

Claiming the irst corporate transfer and oice building in Glenpool, DuMond Companies will house the headquarters for J&H Foods, parent company of Simple Simon’s Pizza and CheeZies Pizza.

The oices will be constructed in Southwest Crossroads shopping center of 121st Street and U.S. 75.

Within the same shopping complex, AutoZone and Glenpool Medical — a 5,600-square-foot facility — are also in the building process.

Along the same pattern as the

Saint Francis health center, most new development is transitioning to the southern portion of the city.

This year, the southern corridor of Glenpool will see the opening of a new mini-storage facility, an R.V. supercenter store and the home oice of a general contracting and rooing business in addition to residential construction.

Home construction is set to see a spike with almost 500 new lots under consideration in three separate subdivisions. All three projects start at 151st Street, moving south.

“To support development in the southern portion of Glenpool, the city is constructing a new water tower near 156th and Highway 75, and will also be taking to the voters in April a Vision 2025 extension package that will improve stormwater and sewer infrastructure, roads, signalizations, public safety and quality of life,” said Glenpool city spokeswoman Mandy Vavrinak.

OUTLOOK 2016

O 34 n n Sunday, February 21, 2016

Business-friendly attitude lures developers • A FlyingTee oicial praises the city for being easy to work with.

BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staf Writer

JENKS — Breaking ground this year along the Creek Turnpike, a new premium outlet mall is soaking up a lot of media attention when it comes to economic development in Jenks. And no doubt, local oicials are very excited about it.

But they’re almost equally excited about the new FlyingTee Entertainment and Golf Complex, which might not be generating as much news coverage but promises to lure a lot of visitors to Jenks when it opens later this year.

With a three-story $22 million building under construction, the FlyingTee will be the anchor for a rejuvenated RiverWalk, a retail and entertainment complex on the west bank of the Arkansas. In addition to a state-of-the-art driving range, the FlyingTee will include family-oriented games, restaurants, a sports bar and space for parties and corporate events.

“It’s going to have a great efect,” said Josh Driskell, president of the Jenks Chamber of Commerce. “It’s going to pull a lot of people into the area.”

Opening in April, the FlyingTee will use cutting-edge technology to track the golf balls hit by every guest, regardless of skill level.

Developers considered several locations across the Tulsa area before deciding on the Jenks riverfront, said James Vollbrecht, director of technology for the FlyingTee. Drawn partly by the location itself — with its scenic view of the down-

About Jenks Population: 19,951, 22nd most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +17.9 percent Median annual income: $84,758 Median home price: $184,600 Unemployment rate: 3.1 percent Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

A worker walks past a piece of construction equipment Dec. 22 in Jenks. The road project is near the site where a Simon Property Group outlet mall is planned. IAN MAULE/Tulsa World

town Tulsa skyline in the distance, and favorable demographics within an easy driving distance — investors were also impressed by the community’s business-friendly attitude.

“Let’s just say that not all towns are equally easy to deal with,” Vollbrecht said. “Jenks has helped everything go very smoothly.”

Simon Premium Outlets will bring as many as 90 new retailers to Jenks’ River District, where a 2013 bond issue is helping fund $18 million in road improvements. Both the mall and FlyingTee will generate a lot of traic to downtown busi-

nesses, which are already beneiting from a renewed appreciation for Jenks’ historic central district. Retail space has near zero vacancies.

In another major economic development, Gateway Mortgage Group is building a four-story, 85,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at the southeast corner of U.S. 75 and West Main Street. That would represent a signiicant economic boost itself, but Gateway will occupy only half the space while ofering the rest for lease, plus 14 adjacent acres are being actively marketed for development. The

city hopes to attract restaurants, oices and retail tenants as well as possibly a hotel, creating an all-new Gateway District on the west side of Jenks.

Meanwhile, a parking lot near downtown will turn into a park that will be similar to downtown Tulsa’s Guthrie Green. Located across from Jenks High School, the new park will include a large lawn, a stage to host events, bike racks and public restrooms. And the city is about to begin a major construction project that will widen Main Street between Elm Avenue and

• Jenks Public Schools (1,300) • Kimberly-Clark (400) Did you know: In 2007, Money Magazine ranked Jenks No. 43 in its “Top 100 Best Places to Live in the U.S.,” making it the only city in Oklahoma to make the list.

History: Opened in May 2003, the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks has become one of the top tourism destinations in the area with more than half a million visitors a year.

Key contact: jenkschamber.com

U.S. 75 to improve traic low into downtown.

“Roads projects aren’t the funnest thing in the world,” Driskell said. “But this is going to be great for us.”

City makes strides on customer base • Luring the larger employers could be key to high-end retailers.

BY RHETT MORGAN World Staf Writer

The Macy’s fulillment center, which opened near Owasso in August, helped increase employment in the Tulsa area this year. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World ile

An artist’s rendering shows the east entrance to the future Owasso City Hall.

Courtesy

OWASSO — The city of Owasso continues to reel in the retail, but to reach that next economic level, the municipality needs to piggyback its assets with a southern neighbor.

Tulsa.

“We have land, which is becoming more and more rare,” said Chelsea Levo, the city’s economic development director. “We’re building relationships to introduce Owasso as part of the Tulsa market to site selectors.

“It’s making them aware of Owasso to say that we’re part of Tulsa. We can’t survive without them and vice versa.”

The last Owasso-Tulsa partnership, which included contributions from the state of Oklahoma, Tulsa County and the Cherokee Nation, resulted in Macy’s fulillment center being built in the Owasso school district. The 1.3 million-square-foot center boasts about 1,500 core jobs.

Attracting retail remains a priority but to the get high-end stores and eateries, the city must lure the large employers, Levo said.

“We need to continue to work on illing in that primary job market, whether it’s complementing our hospitals or medical care that we have in this market or the aerospace industry,” she said. “The best thing that we can do is look for companies that would diversify the economy.”

Owasso has a curious dynamic.

Eighty-four percent of its population works outside the city, and 86 percent of those working in the city don’t live there, Levo said. A couple of years after the 2008 recession, “stores were disappearing” at an alarming rate, she said.

But Owasso has reversed the trend.

“In 2015, we illed them all in and it was a great thing,” Levo said.

“It’s something that we feel good about because it said something about the customer base in Owasso. That funnel theory is working.

People are still coming here to shop.”

Sales tax numbers continue to rise, and the city last year bulked up its backing for public safety. In January 2015, voters OK’d a halfcent sales tax increase as a permanent, dedicated revenue stream for police (35 percent), ire/EMS (35 percent) and streets (30 percent).

City Hall and police personnel also soon will get a change in scenery.

By late spring or early summer, city stafers are expected to move into a renovated City Hall in the former First Bank of Owasso building, 102 W. Second St. Currently, City Hall houses municipal oices and the Police Department at 111 N. Main St. In August 2013, the council voted to move City Hall into the former 28,000-square-foot bank building, allowing for the expansion of police headquarters in the existing City Hall.

“You will see the improvements in employee morale with the police department and with city hall employees because we have more room to stretch out, especially the police department because they are so crammed in their spaces,” Levo said.

About Owasso Population: 33,773, 13th most populous city in state Population change since 2000: +16.8 percent

Median home price: $149,800 Unemployment rate: 5.5 percent Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014

Largest employers

• Owasso Public Schools 1,000 • Wal-Mart 715 • National Steak and Poultry 350 Did you know: The city has a public arts initiative called “Timmy and Cindy.” It began in 2004 as part of the city’s centennial celebration.

The bronze castings, each displaying an active young boy and girl, have been purchased by individuals, families or organizations.

History: The city’s proximity to Tulsa and two highways, U.S. 169 and U.S. 75, have made Owasso an attractive destination and regional retail player. As Tulsa’s second-largest suburb, it likely will maintain that appeal.

Key contact information: Chelsea Levo, Owasso economic development director, 918-376-1500

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Sunday, February 21, 2016 n n O 35

Tourism at forefront of city’s plans • Youth ball ields, lake recreation and hiking could draw visitors.

BY MICHAEL OVERALL World Staf Writer

Sand Springs hopes to entice visitors with attractions such as the 1,300-acre Keystone Ancient Forest. Tulsa World ile

SAND SPRINGS — In the shortterm, like most Tulsa suburbs, Sand Springs will keep trying to lure more restaurants and retail outlets to town, giving residents more options and letting the local government capture more sales-tax revenue.

And in the longer term, again not unlike other suburbs, Sand Springs will work to attract manufacturing and white-collar jobs to the area.

It’s the mid-term strategy for economic development in Sand Springs that might surprise some people.

“Tourism,” said Mayor Mike Burdge. “That has a lot of potential for us.”

Not that Sand Springs is going to become a vacation destination.

But it can attract more out-of-town visitors, Burdge said.

The Keystone Ancient Forest, with 1,300 acres of virgin timber that includes 500-year-old cedars, is already pulling hikers into the area. And Sand Springs is a short drive from Skiatook and Keystone lakes, making it a hub for boating and ishing.

But Burdge sees the most potential in bringing youth sports tournaments to town, especially with the soccer and baseball ields at Rivercity Park along the north bank of the Arkansas.

“We have one of the best, and probably the best, baseball facility in the state,” he said. “And I think it’s under-utilized. If we work with

About Sand Springs Population: 19,553, 25th most populous city in state Population change since 2010: +3.4 percent Median annual income: $50,920 Median home price: $118,800 Unemployment rate: 5.4% Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

• Sand Springs Public Schools (820) • Webco Industry (575) Did you know: The RiverWest development currently has a CVS Pharmacy, IHOP, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Starbucks and a Holiday Inn Express.

History: Oilman Charles Page founded the city in 1911. He built

“There’s momentum building there, and everyone is excited about it.”

SAND SPRINGS MAYOR MIKE BURDGE On the new River West development

Little Leagues, we can bring a lot of activity to Sand Springs.”

Meanwhile, the new River West development has several retailers negotiating for space, although Burdge wasn’t at liberty to reveal their names.

the still-standing power plant in the same year and that plant has been targeted for renovation at the end of this year to become a brewery and restaurant.

Key contact information: Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce, 918-2453221

A 30-acre site between the Keystone Expressway and Adams Road, River West is a Vision 2025 project aiming to boost the city’s sales-tax revenue.

An O’Reilly Auto Parts opened there in 2012 with a Starbucks and Holiday Inn Express coming last year.

“There’s momentum building there,” Burdge said, “and everyone is excited about it. But retail developments can only go so far. What the state really needs is more jobs.”

Toward that long-term goal, Sand Springs hopes to redevelop the old Gerdau Ameristeel mill site, which has been dormant since 2009.

“The current owners (of the property) are willing to sell,” Burdge said. “And there are any number of possibilities for how it could be put to use.”

Auto museum a positive development • Oicials say the Route 66 attraction will draw visitors from all over.

BY STACY RYBURN World Staf Writer

SAPULPA — With a downturn in oil prices comes a double-edged sword — it’s good for consumers, and bad for energy companies.

Sapulpa has found itself right in the crossroads. Many of its energybased businesses will feel the adverse efect of cheaper gasoline; however, more people could lock to the city to be a part of its burgeoning attractions.

One such attraction will be the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum, set to open in the spring. Housed in the old 12,000-square-foot armory right on the historic stretch at 13 Sahoma Lake Road, the museum will have a little bit of something for everyone, said Richard Holmes, who established the attraction along with his wife, Lina.

A large collection of classic cars, an educational display on how the military once used the route, a kids’ section and recreated garage from the 1940s will be among the main pulls that likely will bring people from all over, he said.

The cornerstone of the attraction will be a 66-foot-tall old-time gas pump that will tower over the building and be widely visible.

American Heritage Bank recently announced that it would be naming sponsor for the iconic addition.

Construction is still underway on the project as a whole. Museum oficials hope to have a soft opening in March and be ready to open the doors to the public by June, Holmes said.

About Sapulpa Population: 20,432, 21st most populous city in state Pop. change since 2010: -0.5 percent Median annual income: $39,969 Median home price: $104,300 Unemployment rate: 8 percent Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Population estimates as of July 1, 2014; other igures American Community Survey 2010-2014 Largest employers

A 66-foot-tall gas pump will mark the site of the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum, which is slated to open in Sapulpa in the spring. Courtesy

“It should be something for every interest,” he said.

The museum will serve as a new employer in the city of Sapulpa, as well as a new source of sales-tax revenue from its gift shop and other features, Holmes said.

Not to mention, the people who come from out of town will in all likelihood make a day of it and dine in Sapulpa, do some shopping, buy gas and maybe even stay in town, depending on where they’re coming from, he said.

Ted Fisher, economic developer for the city, said the museum is highly anticipated.

“We have lots and lots of interest from car enthusiasts and a very sol-

id board of directors that is guiding that train,” he said.

Getting to the museum also will be easier. Thanks to an extension on a half-penny sales tax that passed in 2015, a “very aggressive” streetimprovement program will be happening this year, Fisher said.

Among other economic boosters, progress on the 150-acre Polson Industrial Park is nearing completion.

The land between Interstate 44 and 65th West Avenue has only about 35 acres left to develop, Fisher said.

Looking ahead, the city is seeking to grow anywhere it can; there is not necessarily a geographical focus or emphasis on one type of industry.

“We are cautiously optimistic, but the energy prices have us concerned,” Sapulpa Chamber President Suzanne Shirey said. “Our pipeline industries are maintaining, and our glass industry has seen an upward curve due to the craft beer industry.”

The people of Sapulpa are what keeps the future looking bright, Fisher said. Two new apartment complexes being built on the west side of town hint at a growing population.

“We have a very, very progressive populace that has voted for progressive things,” Fisher said. “We’re really blessed with a great citizenship.”

• T.D. Williamson (500) • John Christner Trucking (500) • Sapulpa Public Schools (300) Did you know: Sapulpa bills itself as Oklahoma’s most connected city because of ive four-lane highway options, but the irst transportation bragging rights came with the junction of the Atlantic and Paciic Railroads in the 1880s to easily transport walnut logs.

History: That railroad connection was called Sapulpa Station in honor of Chief Sapulpa, the irst permanent settler who befriended the railway workers. The railroad access became instrumental in Sapulpa’s growth after discovery of the Glenn Pool oil ield in 1905.

Key contact information: cityofsapulpa.net and sapulpachamber.com

O 36 n n Sunday, February 21, 2016

OUTLOOK 2016