LAWTON – The Lawton City Council recently took the first step toward considering a redevelopment agreement with the beer distributor Fisher59, which wants to set up shop in the Airport Industrial Park.
Without comment, the council voted 8-0 Feb. 13 to approve a basic term sheet for the Fisher59 project and authorized staff to draft a redevelopment agreement with the company. The item appeared on the council’s consent agenda, which typically consists of routine items that can be handled with a single motion and vote.
Fisher59 already owns a distribution plant in Lawton and has acquired a second plant, Lawton-Fort Sill Economic Development Corp. President Brad Cooksey told the council in December 2023. The company plans to combine the two facilities into a single plant, which will be located on LEDC-owned property within the Industrial Park, north of the Pepsi distribution center.
Term sheet The term sheet calls for Fisher59 to buy the 15.71-acre project site in the Industrial Park from LEDC for $260,000. The company must also invest at least $16 million in building a new distribution center, which will include a 100,000-squarefoot warehouse, an 8,000-square-foot office, a paved parking area and a loading area.
Fisher59 is required to retain its 60 current employees and add 30 more workers over a 10-year span, with an average annual salary of $60,000, according to the term sheet.
In addition, the company must provide the city with design and construction plans for off-site water, sewer and road improvements. Once those improvements are completed, they must be submitted to the Lawton City Council for approval.
After the council approves the improvements, Fisher59 will send the city an invoice for the actual cost of those upgrades, estimated at $1.6 million.
The LEDC will put the proceeds from selling the property in the industrial park into an account, which will be used to reimburse Fisher59 for the cost of making the improvements.
For its part, the city will review and approve development plans along with plans and estimates for making the im provements. The city will also activate a tax increment financing (TIF) district, which will include the plant site, in the a rea.
An economic-development tool, a TIF district uses part of the sales tax do llars generated within the district to pay for water, sewer and road improvements in that area.
The Lawton Economic Development Authority, which is also involved in the Fisher59 project, will manage the tax r evenue from the project.