LAWTON — The U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development is supplying a $1 million grant to complete the first phase of the FISTA Innovation Park, located in Central Plaza.
The authority unanimously approved a grant agreement with HUD, along with a document retention and electronic document repository policy for the grant, during a special meeting March 21 at City Hall.
The funds will cover the cost of furnishing the conference center and offices in FISTA 1, installing data connections for tenants and providing secure audio-visual equipment, said Authority Chairman Clarence Fortney. He added that the authority worked with the consulting firm Knightsbridge Partners and U.S. Rep. Tom Cole’s office to secure the grant.
“This is a project that we have worked on well over two years,” Fortney said.
He said HUD has approved the grant but has not released the funds yet. The authority does not need to supply matching funds for the grant.
The authority is converting part of Central Plaza into a hub for defense contractors who can work with the military base on Fort Sill on modernizing the U.S. Army. The first phase of the project, known as FISTA 1, is located in the former Sears store at the mall.
Future plans call for remodeling the rest of the old Sears store, as well as the former Dillard’s building in Central Plaza.