LAWTON – The Lawton Economic Development Corp. is required to initiate at least 24 projects aimed at boosting the local economy each year, said LEDC President Brad Cooksey.
The organization worked on 78 economic- development projects four years ago, and that number dropped slightly to 76 the following year, Cooksey said. The LEDC initiated about 50 projects last year and again this year, for a total of more than 200 projects over the last four years.
“There’s some reasoning for that,” Cooksey said. “I think Lawton is on the map more. We’re marketing better.”
Cookey discussed his organization’s role in promoting economic development during the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce’s State of Economic Development Luncheon, which took place July 18 at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event was part of a series of Chamber-hosted events designed to update Lawton residents on issues affecting the community.
A nonprofit organization, the LEDC works to promote Lawton’s businesses, workforce training and other strengths to recruit new businesses, according to the organization’s website. The organization’s ultimate goal is to bolster regional employment, build a high-value industrial base and improve the area’s economic fortunes.
The LEDC is different from the Lawton Economic Development Authority, a public trust that deals with economic development. LEDA is tasked with helping Lawton and the state of Oklahoma use their resources to stimulate economic growth, which includes developing comprehensive plans to guide the city’s future economic growth.
LEDC’s project and operations manager, Richard Rogalski, also serves as the executive director of LEDA, Cooksey said. He added that the two organizations work hand in hand, and he communicates with Rogalski every day.
“Because of what LEDA does for the city – they are an initiative of the city – it’s important that we have those types of conversations and build that kind of relationship,” Cooksey said. “The fact that we’re two close entities and we work together, that’s a great thing.” Firehawk Aerospace Cooksey discussed LEDC’s current projects, which include working with Firehawk Aerospace officials to bring a 3D-printed rocket fuel manufacturing plant in Lawton. He praised the company’s co-founder and CEO, Will Edwards, for bringing the plant to Oklahoma.
“What he’s got is something high-tech and cutting-edge, and we’re fortunate enough to land it here in Oklahoma,” Cooksey said.
Earlier this year, Firehawk announced that it will invest $22 million in machinery and other improvements to equip a $23 million manufacturing plant, which is expected to create about 100 high-tech jobs.
Firehawk wants to lease a 320-acre site north of the SW Rail Industrial Park from the Comanche County Industrial Development Authority for its plant. That site, which is located between 112th Street and Goodyear Boulevard north of the railroad tracks, is currently classified as a general agricultural zone.
The plant would occupy about 160 acres of the site, and the rest would remain vacant.
Firehawk and LEDA originally proposed rezoning the entire site as a heavy industrial district, or I-4. That proposal concerned the residents of Pecan Valley South, a housing addition located directly west of the Firehawk site.
Recently, Firehawk and LEDA modified their rezoning proposal to include a 1,000-foot-wide buffer zone along the western edge of the site, which would be rezoned as I-1 – the most restrictive industrial zoning classification.
Another 1,000-footwide strip on the site’s northern edge would be designated as a light industrial zone, or I-3. The rest of the site, where Firehawk plans to build its plant, would carry the I-4 designation.
The final decision on zoning the site belongs to the Lawton City Council.