Peoria-Mohawk Business Park

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

GKFF developing industrial park in north Tulsa
North Tulsa revitalization plan nearly ready to go

A triangle of shrub-covered land bounded by Mohawk Boulevard, Peoria Avenue, Lewis Avenue and 36th Street North is proposed as the key to rejuvenating an underserved area of Tulsa.
The George Kaiser Family Foundation has, through a surrogate, quietly purchased more than a hundred acres over the past 26 months or so.
The Tulsa city website calls the site the Peoria-Mohawk Business Park.
Property records show a limited liability company has spent more than $2 million since May 2014 buying the land from about a dozen different owners.
Josh Miller, head of the project for GKFF, said soon the rest of the land will be purchased, too. Then site work, which involves clearing what from the street looks like a small forest, capping a few old oil wells and removing what Miller says became a "dumping ground" of spare car parts and trash. And there are zoning changes to be acquired.
It's not going to look like the envisioned end product overnight. The end product is a "1,000-job employer," ideally a manufacturer or something similar.
Miller said the foundation hopes some number of residents end up working there, though he acknowledged that it would be tough, and perhaps impossible, to mandate.
However, he said, there is the possibility of an overall benefit for the area from the park just by being nearby. He said workers could visit restaurants on their lunch break and buy milk on their way home.
There are other available sites to the north and east, but the foundation wanted it to be tucked in the neighborhood.
Mark Sweeney, a national site consultant for McCallum Sweeney, said GKFF is doing something that's commendable but not guaranteed to be a success. He saw a similar situation in another city, and said residents in the immediate area around the new employer were included in the recruitment process.
"If somebody like this ... doesn't take the initiative, if you don't do anything, nothing is going to change," he said. "It's beyond commendable."
He said the site, once environmental work is done, will be attractive to employers because of Oklahoma's business climate and Tulsa's solid reputation despite worries of tornadoes and the possibility of losing skilled workers to energy companies if the market rebounds.
"I don't think they're building this in a place that's not going to have any interest at all," he said. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."
Part of that interest will come from a proposed Bus Rapid Transit line that will go past the park on Peoria Avenue.
The BRT route and $10 million in infrastructure costs for the industrial park are among the list of projects passed with the Vision renewal vote in April.
Sweeney said the transit route will help the site attract interest because of industries' evolving "green sensibilities." He added the existence of nearby transit will allow workers to have another means of getting there except by car.
Miller said the proposed transit line "certainly a potential benefit for a future employer."
Risha Grant said she appreciates the effort and investment GKFF has poured into her community and is hopeful about the jobs its most recent initiative could provide.
"But north Tulsa needs commerce more than anything else," said Grant, who runs a staffing firm that helps companies hire diverse candidates. "There's no stores. You can't really shop in north Tulsa. It makes you spend your money in other parts of the city."
Grant is more enthusiastic about the proposed Bus Rapid Transit route.
"It could help change lives for some people," she said. "You hear people don't want to work. Some people can't get to work."
The bus route means transportation for some and a chance for investment for others.
The coming investments don't come without their risk. Development could fail to take off alongside the transit route.
Sweeney said as long as GKFF has patience, their project should succeed. But there's no guarantee.
"There's the risk that this thing doesn't do what you want it to do," he said. "You can't drive the risk down to zero."
Grant said the coming investment is only one factor in changing the place. The other is the will to do so. That will is more visible now than it's been in a long time. The racial strife and turmoil churned by up police shootings and protests across the country is multi-faceted, she said, and has grown into frustration with local economic stagnation.
There have been a lot of city plans to improve north Tulsa, Grant said, but many of them haven't yielded results. This time may be different.
"Everybody is awake," she said. "Especially within the black community. We know that we have economic power. It's become a conversation about economics and how we create and impact and change for our community."

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/realestate/gkff-developing-industrial-park-in-north-tulsa/article_8e2c9c6b-2208-565b-91a9-5ce9839952d5.html

[carltonplace]

Very cool. Would love to see a Tulsa Hills type development here that is not stupid like Tulsa Hills.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

It looks like this would be a good location for an industrial park since there are others in that area, but looking at it on Google Earth there appears to be a few old stripper wells and storage tanks and there are a couple of exposed pipelines towards the western portion of the area, and what looks like a former land fill on the north eastern side. Would this fall under some type of super fund clean up site? I would think that with those issues it might not be a shopping type location because of those environmental issues. I could be wrong, just curious.

[mrrbot1]

AGREE!!!!!

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Update on this industrial park:

Planning commission sends north Tulsa industrial park zoning to council

Planners agree to send the zoning change to city council for consideration

What was once forceful opposition from residents to aspects of a planned north Tulsa industrial park melted into agreement before the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission on Wednesday, leading the planning commission to approve rezoning for the project.
Provided it clears the Tulsa City Council, Peoria-Mohawk Business Park will have its industrial zoning, which paves the way for any development on the site. It's a George Kaiser Family Foundation project that's scheduled to receive $10 million in Vision funding in fiscal year 2019, according to city plans released Wednesday.
The project's goal is to bring 1,000 jobs to north Tulsa. Progress was slowed late in 2016 when residents told the planning commission that they were concerned about truck traffic along Mohawk Boulevard and what the development would do for the neighborhood.
In two meetings over the past month, the foundation and residents have hashed out an agreement. Instead of entrances at both ends of Mohawk Boulevard, the foundation agreed to limit entrances along Mohawk to the west end of the street, away from the neighborhood on the south side of Mohawk and the one remaining house on the north side of the street.
The owner of that remaining house, Charles Williams, said Wednesday that the project will benefit the community and the area around it now that the foundation has changed plans.
He's the last holdout on the north side of Mohawk Boulevard. He has refused to sell the foundation his land, and it plans on building on around him. It was Williams and Corinice Wilson who helped organize area residents to voice their concerns about the project.
That organization garnered praise from planning commissioners John Dix and Nick Doctor, who said it's among the best they've seen.
Josh Miller of the foundation said the passage was what happens when the community comes together and works with those most affected to reach a solution suitable for almost everyone.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/employment/planning-commission-sends-north-tulsa-industrial-park-zoning-to-council/article_5457b013-41cc-5151-99f5-ba246622d018.html

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Local manufacturer brings $50 million expansion to Peoria-Mohawk Business Park


The first recruit in what backers envision as a transformative public-private collaboration, Tulsa manufacturer Muncie Power Products Inc. announced Friday that it is investing $50 million into a new facility at the Peoria-Mohawk Business Park.


Located at Peoria Avenue and 36th Street North, the 120-acre park marks the cornerstone of redevelopment plans in north Tulsa and represents the united efforts of the City of Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation to inject commerce and jobs into the area.

"When I came in as mayor, I met with my team and I said we have two big goals from an economic development standpoint," Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said at a news conference Muncie's current facilities at 7217 E. Pine St. "One is to make Tulsa a globally competitive city in the field of economic development, and two is to bring that economic revitalization to north Tulsa that those folks have waited so long for. I am incredibly thankful that the voters approved through Vision Tulsa the funds to bring infrastructure into this site.


"And I'm so thankful that we have a community partner in the George Kaiser Family Foundation that spent the years and the hard work and the funds that it took to compile over 120 acres of land for the Peoria-Mohawk Business Park."


GKFF is donating the park's land, and site development will cost about $10 million and be paid for by Vision Tulsa, a sales tax renewal package OK'd by Tulsa voters in 2016. The city also will develop a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) district to allow for additional investment and redevelopment in the north Tulsa.


"It just validates the effort that the north Tulsa community is a viable place for economic development," said Josh Miller of GKFF. "We've known that for a long. Now, this just proves that point that it's ready and it's going to be a great stimulating effect for other things to come in the future."


The 300,000-square-foot facility will be a relocation of current local operations, which employ about 240 people. Construction on the first phase is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2019 and take nine to 12 months, Muncie President and CEO Ray Chambers said at the news conference.


"Muncie Power Products Inc., would like to thank the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Tulsa Regional Chamber and the City of Tulsa for their support in acquiring this build site for facility expansion," Chambers said in a statement. "We are proud and excited to be the first business located in the Peoria-Mohawk Business Park. This new facility will allow us to better serve our customers and support market demand while also providing the best possible working conditions for all of our employees."


A member of the multinational Interpump Group, Muncie Power Products manufactures power take-offs and fluid power components for vocational trucks. It has eight facilities outside Tulsa.


"It's a huge step," City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said of the facility announcement. "As I've said before, the potential is there. I'm not going to say it's going to happen until I see statistics, until I see numbers, until I see quality of life improved."


She cited high unemployment numbers for north Tulsa and the roughly 10-year life expectancy gap between north Tulsa and other parts of the city.





"Employment is a huge determinant in improving that. ... I'm excited about that opportunity. Now we have to partner, make sure that not only Muncie but other companies that come in the future are aware of the concerns and issues we have in north Tulsa as it relates to unemployment and health."


Future improvements for the area include the state's first Bus Rapid Transit system, Aero Tulsa, which is set to launch this summer. The Tulsa Housing Authority also is reconstructing nearby Comanche Park into a mixed-use, mixed-income community, with a focus on increasing walkability.


Oklahoma Senator Kevin Matthews called Muncie's move a game-changer.


"It's so exciting that people in this city have come together to decide that an area that has such high unemployment, an area that has not had the resources of the rest of the city, to make this type of investment," he said. "Now we have Educare, where young people at the earliest age can get a good education, Now we're starting to try to work on our schools statewide.


"Even more important is being able to have a livable wage where people can walk to work in areas why the highest unemployment exists."


Mike Neal is president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber.


"We are thrilled that Muncie Power Products has chosen to expand its operations in north Tulsa and invest more than $50 million in northeast Oklahoma," he said in a statement. "This project is the result of strong public-private collaboration, and we applaud the City of Tulsa and the George Kaiser Family Foundation for their leadership in the creation of the Peoria-Mohawk Business Park. The park is an invaluable addition to our region, and we're confident it will continue to attract high-quality jobs to Tulsa."

https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/local-manufacturer-brings-million-expansion-to-peoria-mohawk-business-park/article_3a8c3446-8201-5c67-87a2-774ce697b75b.html







 

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

The 300,000-square-foot facility will be a relocation of current local operations, which employ about 240 people. Construction on the first phase is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2019 and take nine to 12 months, Muncie President and CEO Ray Chambers said at the news conference.

The article and announcement seem a bit misleading. It says "expansion" but then "relocation of current local operations". Maybe they should pump the brakes on this being very big news. Looks like this is just a lateral move where the company will take advantage of the $10 million in Vision funds to get a cheap upgrade in facilities. No new jobs, just a steeply discounted upgrade for their facilities.

[Rattle Trap]

The article and announcement seem a bit misleading. It says "expansion" but then "relocation of current local operations". Maybe they should pump the brakes on this being very big news. Looks like this is just a lateral move where the company will take advantage of the $10 million in Vision funds to get a cheap upgrade in facilities. No new jobs, just a steeply discounted upgrade for their facilities.

That was exactly my thought when reading the article. Seems like that company is just taking advantage of the opportunity to upgrade facilities. I'm surprised they're approving this.

[DTowner]

I agree this announcement seems over hyped for what is actually happening.  However, since it's been over 2 years since this business park was announced, I suspect they are hoping finally getting someone to move there will create momentum for getting others to follow.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

I bet it will create momentum. Others will see a big company moving its local operations to take advantage of huge financial incentives, largely on tax-payer dime and will follow suit. I hope I'm wrong and I hope this is a lot better than what was mentioned in the article or this is disappointing news.

Maybe you're right and 2.5 years later they're just desperate for anything to keep the bills being paid. I guess it's an opportunity for whoever takes over the old Muncie building.