Owasso seeks to add 3,000 jobs by 2011
Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 14, 2006 by Ted Streuli
The city of Owasso has launched an initiative to add 3,000 high- paying jobs over the next five years.
Those jobs will come through health care, office and professional services development, said City Manager Rodney Ray, and the jobs will pay $50,000 or more per year, plus benefits.
Long term, adding these jobs will enhance the attractive demographics Owasso already has and lead to further growth in the residential and retail sectors, said city Economic Development Director Rickey Hayes.
Not counted in the 3,000-job goal are the 800 positions that will come with two new hospitals scheduled to open this year: the 50-bed St. John Owasso Hospital, northwest of 129th East Avenue and 96th Street North, and the 53-bed Bailey Medical Center. Together, the hospitals will increase Owasso's health-care payroll from $2.4 million to $22 million.
The initiative pitches Owasso as a site for regional offices, corporate relocations and new office development. In January, the city launched www.whyowasso.com, which offers prospects demographic information and a list of available commercial property.
Commercial growth in the northeast Tulsa suburb has been on a rapid climb. In 2003, the city reported commercial property investment of $20.5 million. The following year, that grew to $32.9 million and nearly doubled in 2005 at $64.7 million. City officials are projecting 2006 will hit $100 million.
As an indicator of the city's viability, Ray pointed to the 2.5 million square feet of new retail investment over the past three years. That has lifted the city to second in the region for retail center space per capita at 28 square feet, behind the city of Tulsa's 40 square feet.
Sales tax revenue has followed. In 2003 - the last plateau before the current boom - Owasso already led the metro area with per capita sales-tax revenue of $614 per year, one-third more than Tulsa's $414.
When professional developers or site selectors come to Owasso, see what we have to offer, and say, 'Yes, we need to be a part of what's happening here,' you know the opportunity is real, Ray said.
The drive for high-end jobs comes 15 years after the city set out to minimize its reliance on Tulsa International Airport. At the time, some 80 percent of Owasso's working population was employed there. When the airlines had a bad year, so did the city.
Ray said the city's plan to change that was to attract retailers, which in turn would lead to residential development. Those rooftops would bring in still more retail, a cycle that would repeat three times. That's happened, Ray said.
This is a strategy, he said. This is the next logical step. We absolutely knew that 15 years ago. Our goal is to become the relocation center for the Tulsa metropolitan area, Ray said. When they look at Tulsa, we want them to see Owasso as the clear choice for access to the airport, affordable construction costs, a safe atmosphere. We envision those jobs coming from companies seeking a better quality of life for their employees and a better environment for their company.
But Owasso won't try to outbid competing cities. While attracting corporate offices has become a chess game of incentives for many locales, Owasso isn't having any of that. Sure, Ray said, the city would like to see Gov. Henry's proposed Opportunity Fund become a reality, and they'll take whatever help they can get. The intent, though, is simply to sell site selectors on Owasso's benefits.
I have yet to see one site selector who values the money more than the quality of the community, Ray said. The money comes second. They're all taking money because we're all offering money. We're not going to put a lot of money on the table. We're going to sell Owasso as the greatest place in the world to live and a great place to locate your company.
Ray said the city would retain its identity regardless of growth because the airport and zoo serve as barriers; unlike Broken Arrow, Jenks and Bixby, he said, you know when you're entering or exiting Owasso.
If you look at Tulsa, about 60 percent of every dollar that goes to government operations comes from outside their city limits, Ray said. We would prefer that more of those people stay home. We'd like to be partners with Tulsa. We need to be collaborative in nature, and I think you're going to see in Mayor Taylor someone who recognizes the regional nature and that our competitors are not each other - they're Dallas and Topeka and Kansas City.
Copyright 2006 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Apr 14, 2006 by Ted Streuli
The city of Owasso has launched an initiative to add 3,000 high- paying jobs over the next five years.
Those jobs will come through health care, office and professional services development, said City Manager Rodney Ray, and the jobs will pay $50,000 or more per year, plus benefits.
Long term, adding these jobs will enhance the attractive demographics Owasso already has and lead to further growth in the residential and retail sectors, said city Economic Development Director Rickey Hayes.
Not counted in the 3,000-job goal are the 800 positions that will come with two new hospitals scheduled to open this year: the 50-bed St. John Owasso Hospital, northwest of 129th East Avenue and 96th Street North, and the 53-bed Bailey Medical Center. Together, the hospitals will increase Owasso's health-care payroll from $2.4 million to $22 million.
The initiative pitches Owasso as a site for regional offices, corporate relocations and new office development. In January, the city launched www.whyowasso.com, which offers prospects demographic information and a list of available commercial property.
Commercial growth in the northeast Tulsa suburb has been on a rapid climb. In 2003, the city reported commercial property investment of $20.5 million. The following year, that grew to $32.9 million and nearly doubled in 2005 at $64.7 million. City officials are projecting 2006 will hit $100 million.
As an indicator of the city's viability, Ray pointed to the 2.5 million square feet of new retail investment over the past three years. That has lifted the city to second in the region for retail center space per capita at 28 square feet, behind the city of Tulsa's 40 square feet.
Sales tax revenue has followed. In 2003 - the last plateau before the current boom - Owasso already led the metro area with per capita sales-tax revenue of $614 per year, one-third more than Tulsa's $414.
When professional developers or site selectors come to Owasso, see what we have to offer, and say, 'Yes, we need to be a part of what's happening here,' you know the opportunity is real, Ray said.
The drive for high-end jobs comes 15 years after the city set out to minimize its reliance on Tulsa International Airport. At the time, some 80 percent of Owasso's working population was employed there. When the airlines had a bad year, so did the city.
Ray said the city's plan to change that was to attract retailers, which in turn would lead to residential development. Those rooftops would bring in still more retail, a cycle that would repeat three times. That's happened, Ray said.
This is a strategy, he said. This is the next logical step. We absolutely knew that 15 years ago. Our goal is to become the relocation center for the Tulsa metropolitan area, Ray said. When they look at Tulsa, we want them to see Owasso as the clear choice for access to the airport, affordable construction costs, a safe atmosphere. We envision those jobs coming from companies seeking a better quality of life for their employees and a better environment for their company.
But Owasso won't try to outbid competing cities. While attracting corporate offices has become a chess game of incentives for many locales, Owasso isn't having any of that. Sure, Ray said, the city would like to see Gov. Henry's proposed Opportunity Fund become a reality, and they'll take whatever help they can get. The intent, though, is simply to sell site selectors on Owasso's benefits.
I have yet to see one site selector who values the money more than the quality of the community, Ray said. The money comes second. They're all taking money because we're all offering money. We're not going to put a lot of money on the table. We're going to sell Owasso as the greatest place in the world to live and a great place to locate your company.
Ray said the city would retain its identity regardless of growth because the airport and zoo serve as barriers; unlike Broken Arrow, Jenks and Bixby, he said, you know when you're entering or exiting Owasso.
If you look at Tulsa, about 60 percent of every dollar that goes to government operations comes from outside their city limits, Ray said. We would prefer that more of those people stay home. We'd like to be partners with Tulsa. We need to be collaborative in nature, and I think you're going to see in Mayor Taylor someone who recognizes the regional nature and that our competitors are not each other - they're Dallas and Topeka and Kansas City.
Copyright 2006 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.