Last week, Oklahoma City announced exciting news in the aviation industry. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, a California-based company, is expanding to Oklahoma City to open a design and production facility for its unmanned aircraft systems division. Initially, the company will occupy approximately 8,000 square feet, with plans to expand into a 75,000-square-foot facility. The company expects to employ more than 350 workers in Oklahoma within the next few years. Unmanned

Oklahoma City is healthier – physically and economically – due to the 14-year leadership of Mayor Mick Cornett, who gave his final State of the City address last week. Mayor Cornett has been recognized for promoting healthy lifestyles by putting our city on a diet and promoting bicycle infrastructure and walkability. He was instrumental in bringing the Thunder to Oklahoma City, which not only increased our tax revenue and our city’s status as a big-league city, but also ignit

Residents in northeast Oklahoma City are experiencing the benefits of the newly developed Northeast Shopping Center at NE 36th Street and N. Kelley Avenue. The Save-A-Lot grocery store recently opened its doors, providing access to fresh food and groceries for residents in the area. It may seem odd to think that residents in any large metropolitan city would have trouble accessing fresh food and groceries, but food deserts are common in many U.S. cities and create a barrier f

Last week, we saw the first images of the Oklahoma City Omni Hotel based on actual design. True to Omni’s reputation of building exquisite hotels, the Oklahoma City design promises to be a piece of downtown architecture that we will be proud of. I am particularly pleased with how Omni incorporated the hotel into the surrounding space, maximizing views of the city. The tower that houses the hotel rooms spans east and west along the new Oklahoma City Boulevard and will provide

Oklahoma City is getting a first look at the Omni Convention Center Hotel as reviews of the schematic design are beginning. Built and owned by Omni, the 605-room AAA Four Diamond hotel will serve Oklahoma City’s new MAPS 3 Convention Center. The additional lodging and meeting space will allow Oklahoma City to compete for larger conventions. The hotel is expected to have an economic impact of more than $137 million per year. “Omni and the architecture team, Rule Joy Trammell +

The Culbertson’s East Highland neighborhood in northeast Oklahoma City is getting new neighbors and new houses – nine to be exact. The construction is part of Progress OKC’s efforts to build quality, energy-efficient housing. The homes are being built on Euclid Avenue on lots owned by the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority. More than half of Euclid Avenue was dotted with vacant lots where homes had collapsed or been torn down. “We are filling in the missing pieces to grow

The beginning of a new year is a perennial opportunity to celebrate past accomplishments and look ahead to upcoming projects. Thanks to Oklahoma City residents, our city has several reasons to do both. The end of 2017 marked the sunset of the 1-cent MAPS 3 sales tax collection. The initiative ended with more than $22 million in collections over and above the original $777 target thanks to sound and fiscally conservative estimates. The MAPS 3 Citizens’ Advisory Board will reco