Lawton economic development entities putting agreement in place for new warehouse

Economic development entities are putting the final touches on an agreement that will turn empty industrial acreage on the south end of Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport into a new warehouse complex for an expanding business.

Fisher59 already has a presence in the area, but a development agreement will allow it to build a new 100,000-square-foot warehouse to the west of its existing facility on Gilbert Gibson Road, in an industrial area located between Interstate 44 and the south end of the airport.

Richard Rogalski, executive director for the Lawton Economic Development Authority (LEDA), said while the entities involved in the process already have signed off on a term sheet, this week’s action by the Lawton Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) and a planned vote today by LEDA centers on the actual development agreement. The legal documentation, to be presented to the City Council next week, sets the details and duties of each entity involved in the process — Fisher59, LEDA, LEDC and the City of Lawton.

In simplest terms, the agreement allows LEDC to sell 15.71 acres of land it owns in the airport industrial park for $260,000. Those funds will be transferred to the City of Lawton as partial reimbursement for the $1.6 million the city is pledging for reimbursement of the cost of public infrastructure upgrades that will be part of the project. That $1.6 million is the estimated cost of extending the existing Rex Madeira Road to serve the Fisher59 complex, as well as install 12-inch waterline and 12-inch sewer main. The contract specifies LEDA can reimburse up to $1.6 million in actual infrastructure costs.

In exchange, Fisher59 has pledged to make a capital investment of $16 million to build a 100,000-square-foot warehouse and 8,000-square-foot office facility, along with paved parking and loading areas on the 15.71-acre tract that is located on the west side of its existing facility.

Rogalski said attorneys, including those for the City of Lawton and the Center for Economic Development Law, have signed off on the development agreement, adding legal reviews of that document is what slowed the process.

“The city attorneys are happy with this version,” he said.

LEDC Chairman Brad Cooksey said the deal is a good one for the economic development entity, explaining it will provide the infrastructure to support the entire airport industrial park. Existing infrastructure will make the land more attractive to new potential industry, he said.

Rogalski said the City of Lawton’s initial investment will be recovered through the property’s status as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, an economic development tool that allows entities to fund public infrastructure needed for development. The process uses the increase in property taxes that comes from making undeveloped or under-developed sites more valuable with new development, using the difference to cover the cost of things such as water, sewer and road work. The tract now is vacant.

Officials have said the project is a larger version of the 2021 Pepsi Co project, a distribution center built south of the Fisher59 tract through an agreement with LEDA, LEDC and the City of Lawton. That developer also was allowed to recover the cost of public infrastructure, under an agreement similar to the one crafted for Fisher59.

Under the term sheet approved in February, Fisher59 agreed to purchase the 17.51-acre tract from LEDC for $260,000 and make a minimum investment of $16 million for its new distribution center. Fisher59 also will retain its existing 60 employees and add 30 more over the next 10 years, with an average annual salary of $60,000. The City of Lawton has agreed to active a TIF district in the area, with the City Council designating LEDA to manage the project.