New distribution warehouse planned for Lawton’s Airport Industrial Park

A beer distribution center wants to be part of the Airport Industrial Park.

Lawton Economic Development Corporation President Brad Cooksey and Lawton Economic Development Authority Executive Director Richard Rogalski outlined the proposal for the City Council Friday. The plan would create a new warehouse on 15 acres in that south Lawton industrial park, but it needs some help from the City of Lawton for infrastructure work. Council members weren’t being asked to make a decision Friday — that request will come later — but were merely given an update on a project that would be similar to the 2021 PepsiCo warehouse project also located in the Airport Industrial Park (the warehouse will be north of PepsiCo’s facility).

Cooksey said local economic development officials have been working on the project with Fisher59 for at least six months. He said Fisher59 already has one distribution plant in Lawton and has purchased a second plant, with plans to combine the two into a single facility that would keep the 60 employees it has then add another 40 to 60 employees. The plant will be a $20 million capital investment, Cooksey said, adding the tract in question already holds certification from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and “is ready to go.” He said the industrial park lacks only rail service, but with Interstate 44 within a block, “rail isn’t a problem.”

Rogalski said what will be needed are the same public infrastructure upgrades PepsiCo needed: water and sewer mains, and road work to support access to the 103,000-square-foot warehouse and adjacent 8,000-square-foot office area. He said the new project will be modeled on the PepsiCo project; in fact, the road to be extended is the one built to serve the PepsiCo warehouse. Rogalski said while water is available via a public main on the north side of the property, a sewer main that runs across the tract will have to be relocated.

He also said council members will be presented with two options for the road extension: extend it just to the new 15-acre project, or extend the road to the 43 acres remaining in the Airport Industrial Park. While more expensive, that longer extension means no more public road work would be needed for future projects, he said.

Both options will be presented when the formal proposal is brought back to the council, with costs ranging from $1.6 million to $3 million, depending on which option the council selects for the road (1,100 feet of two-lane road or 2,800 feet of two-lane road). Public improvements also include 12-inch waterline and sewer line, along with designs.

“These are just estimates,” Rogalski said, adding the City of Lawton’s task would be identifying funds to pay for the upgrades.

The city’s initial investment would be recovered through the property’s status as a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, an economic development tool that allows entities to pay for public infrastructure needed for economic development from the increase in ad valorem revenue that come from undeveloped or under-developed property becoming more valuable (meaning, it generates more ad valorem tax).

Rogalski said no decision was needed from the council Friday, as LEDC and LEDA wait for a decision by Fisher59.

“They want to close on this property,” he said, adding the next step for the economic entities would be coming back to the council with a term sheet, then a formal economic development agreement.