Why Oklahoma City Prospered in the last 5 years

If has been a rough 5 years in the United States economically but Oklahoma City Oklahoma has seemed to avoid most of the major disasters that have befallen other major cities. Some of it was because of luck, some of it by timing, but other actions were predetermined and by many national observers, brilliant. I want to go through some of the reasons why Oklahoma City is an economic leader going into 2012.

Timing: When the meltdown started to hit in late 2007 many markets were in a housing bubble. Because Oklahoma and the other areas were devasted by the energy bubble bust in the 1980′s, by 2007 while home values were beyond believable elsewhere, Oklahoma City was in a recovery mode. In fact in 2005,  an utimate bubble year, Oklahoma City by national standards was 18% undervalue. Because of this we have not had an overall drop in value in the last 5 years in median price of a home, nor have we seen depreciation.

Energy. What taketh away can also giveth, an oil and natural gas has done just that. Lead by Devon Energy and Chesapeake Oil and Gas, Oklahoma City has seen incredible energy sector growth in employment at high wages, and these two companies have been billions improving the city. Devon is completing a $750 million office tower in Downtown Oklahoma City, contributed to numerous downtown improvements like the new boathouse on the Oklahoma River, and has attracted growth by their influence. Chesapeake has also created much high end employment, and has created a vision for NW Oklahoma City with the companies campus which is an incredible site, and has strated to development real estate around them that has brough in national names like Whole Foods among others that have enhanced the quality of life here.

Tinker Air Force Base: Tinker was established during WW II in the east part of Oklahoma City off Interstate 40 and for the most part it has been one of the biggest employers at around 10,000 people. However, the base closing commission has swelled that number to almost 4 times that size, and companies that work with the military like Boeing had added large outside offices around the base. In face, Boeing is in the process of transferring 550 engineers from California to here, and just announced around 880 jobs will be relocating from Wichita Kansas. The base continues to grow and attract service jobs as well as amenities around the base area.

MAPS: MAPS stands for Metropolitan Area Projects and we have had 3 of them. When we couldn’t attract companies to Oklahoma City instead of giving them the farm, we decided to take matters into our own hands. Even with a down economy, we voted a one cent sales tac increase to fund infrastructure development downtown and in other areas. Almost $one billion has been raised that has created the Brictown area of 80 restaurants and clubs, a canal, a AAA ballpark for baseball, the creation of the Oklahoma River, museums, mass transit, improvements to the fairgrounds for our horse shows which is NO 1 in the world, and coming now an 80 acre park, a new convention center, and adult living centers. I may have saved the best for last, a 20,000 seat arena that is home to the NBA Thunder and is more profitable that madison Square Garden. Who says all tax increases are bad?

So Much More: Besides large employers like the State Capitol and the FAA there is so much more. With our below 5% unemployment rate and the fac that we are leading all cities over 1 million in population for income growth, so muc more makes this a great city. We have great roads that cut down drive time, a cost of living that is 9% below the national average, and amdeical research and technology sector with large growth, Oklahoma City has now established inself as a model for growth, infrastructure spending, responsible governance, and a stabkle housing market for owner-occupants as well as investors, this is the place that I never thought I would be saying this about, I would rahter be in Oklahoma City than anwhere else.