PCDA breaks ground on fourth “spec” building

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PCDA breaks ground on fourth “spec” building

Sat, 08/13/2022 - 02:08
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The Ponca City Development Authority (PCDA) officially broke ground on Friday on a 39,000 square foot flex space industrial building on Friday, Aug. 12. The ceremony took place at the construction site on the east side of Hall Boulevard, just north of Sykes Boulevard in the Ponca City Airport Industrial Park. The building, which is scheduled to be completed in late spring of 2023, will be used by PCDA to help recruit companies to Ponca City as part of PCDA’s economic development programs.

“This is an exciting day for our local economy,” said PCDA Board Chair Nancy Laffey. Laffey said that economic development involves many different approaches, many of which the public does not see, but that lead to job creation and wage growth. Laffey said that the start of construction was a “defining moment” for PCDA and economic development. “Every now and then economic development involves really big steps that help define and reshape our future,” she said. “This is one of those steps.”

Laffey also thanked past PCDA Trustees Joe DeNoya and Steve Hermann for their work in building the vision and working with the design team on the building. “Joe and Steve poured their passion into designing this building and I want to extend my thanks to them for everything they did to get us to today.”

Ponca City Mayor Homer Nicholson joined Laffey in addressing the small crowd present for the ceremony. He thanked the PCDA Board of Trustees for their work on the project and said that the building was an example of Ponca City’s strong economy. “Tomorrow starts right now. It’s up to us to prepare for our future,” said Mayor Nicholson. “Ponca City is more than capable of attracting new companies and this building will become a further symbol of the growth of the Ponca City economy.”

Following the brief remarks, Laffey, Mayor Nicholson and PCDA Trustees Garrett Bowers, Kirk Brown, Mark Detten, Lanita Chapman, Erica Fetters, Erik Peitz and immediate past PCDA Chair Lee Evans were given shovels for the official act of turning dirt at the site. They were joined by DeNoya and Hermann, as well as Chair of the Ponca City Area Chamber of Commerce Wendy Stobbe, and Pioneer Technology Center Superintendent Traci Thorpe to mark the partnership between PCDA, the Chamber, and Pioneer Tech.

PCDA has named the building 'Duke”.

“It’s just easier than calling it Spec Building Number Four,” explained Laffey.

Duke is the fourth spec building developed by PCDA. The first one is the home of Custom Mechanical Equipment (CME), Cookshack is the tenant for the second PCDA spec building right next door to “Duke”. Laffey pointed out that Cookshack was being expanded at the same time as the construction of Duke is taking place. The third building is a 22,500 building for LoglO, a food safety firm.

According to PCDA Executive Director David Myers, the new building is needed because Ponca City is largely without available industrial space. “85% of the companies PCDA talks to are looking for existing buildings, not land. There are only two industrial building left in Ponca City that are still available. One is the former Smith Bits plant. That is a big building and there are just not too many companies looking for something of that size. There is also an older building downtown but it’s only 15,000 square feet. Out sweet spot is 20,000 square feet to 50,000

(See PCDA, Page 2A) square feet and there are no, as in zero, buildings like that available in Ponca City right now.”

The new building will include a 4,000 square foot office area and a 35,000 square foot shop area that will be ready for occupancy right away. “We wanted a turkey building for this one because the market is moving so fast right now. Companies don’t want to wait to build or to install a floor or make other improvements, they need to plug and play so Duke will be ready for that,” Myers said.

The building is scheduled to be completed by late spring in 2023. “We’re not waiting for it to be finished,” Myers said. “We’re already out marketing it.” A virtual walk through of the new building, developed by local designer Adam Meeks, can be viewed on the “Do Business” page of the PCDA website, www.goponca.com. “It’s a first class piece for a first class building. We’re using it to help sell the building by allowing companies to think about and plan how they would use it,” Myers added.

“I look forward to the jobs Duke creates. I look forward to handing the keys to Ponca City’s next great employer,” said Mayor Nicholson to conclude the ceremony.