County ready to tear down a bank, build a parking lot

Comanche County has the contractor in place and is ready to launch plans to build a new parking lot for those who use the Comanche County Courthouse in downtown Lawton.

Commissioners hired RCJ Construction, Lawton, setting a $674,828.96 contract to demolish the old American National Bank building at the corner of Southwest D Avenue and 6th Street, then build a paved parking lot in its place. The project attracted six bidders, and while two contractors bid less than RCJ did, those bids only included the demolition portion of the project, said District 3 Commissioner Josh Powers, who chairs the Board of Commissioners.

Central District Commissioner Johnny Owens, who has long advocated building a new parking lot for the land-locked courthouse, expects work to begin in December.

The new parking lot will be on the courthouse’s west side, immediately south of the existing parking lot at Southwest C Avenue and 6th Street. When completed, it essentially converts the block immediately west of the courthouse to parking, meaning courthouse employees and visitors will have an option closer to the courthouse’s main entrance, as well as an option to replace parking in Central Plaza’s west parking lot.

Owens said while the county continues its contract with the FISTA Innovation Park to lease space for parking, FISTA is expanding so fast that he and other county officials don’t expect mall parking to be available for lease in coming years. The southern half of that west lot already has been converted to secured parking for the tenants of FISTA Innovation Park, and Owens said as FISTA continues to create more office space for more tenants, he knows parking space eventually will be gone. In addition, the county also must share that space with large entertainment venues that come to downtown Lawton and set up, such as the recent Paranormal Cirque.

It left the county facing a dilemma.

“We’re land-locked,” Owens said, explaining the county’s options for creating new parking are limited.

That was the reason commissioners voted in 2023 to use up to $900,000 of its American Rescue Plan Act funding to pay for demolition of the old bank and creating new parking. The county has owned the building for 20 years, and has used it for storage and allowed local law enforcement to use it for training.