LAWTON – The FISTA Development Trust Authority has received a $2.5 million state grant for various projects.
The board, which oversees the FISTA Innovation Park at Central Plaza, voted unanimously Oct. 7 to approve a funding agreement for the grant among the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority, the city of Lawton and the board.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce offers the grants through a program funded by the taxes paid by civilian employees on the state’s military installations, said FISTA President/CEO Dr. Krista Ratliff.
“They award that out to organizations looking for economic development that supports the warfighter or the installation,” she said. “This is for $2.5 million for tenant spaces, for technology and infrastructure.”
Ratliff said the Department of Commerce previously awarded FISTA a $2.2 million grant, but the state hasn’t issued those funds because FISTA hasn’t started that project yet.
Also the state previously awarded FISTA a $2 million grant to install new lights at Interstate 44 and Rogers Lane, but $1 million is still sitting in the state’s coffers, Ratliff said. That money will go to the city of Lawton when the city bills FISTA in increments for progress on the lighting project.
“Once that $1 million is awarded and that gets us started, that last grant will be completed,” Ratliff said.