Our city has served as a model for effectively using federal ARPA funding in a way that increases our capacity and improves resiliency for small businesses, minority-owned businesses and individuals to help recover from COVID. The first relief program launched in April 2020, during the earliest part of the pandemic. The Alliance, city of Oklahoma City and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber launched the Oklahoma City Small Business Continuity Program, totaling just over $31 million

It started in 2015 when a group of Oklahoma City commercial real estate professionals attended a national conference of CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women), a global business organization for women in commercial real estate. What they found at the conference was an international network of 12,000 professionals in over 75 major global markets. The Oklahoma City women were determined to bring that international network back to their hometown, and CREW-OKC was launched in June 2

At the Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, we start each year with anticipation and a plan for some of the larger economic development goals and projects that will affect our city for years to come. In early 2023, we will launch several new OKC Rescue Programs to provide more support for small businesses, minority businesses and entrepreneurs to access capital, contracts and services to help them grow. We’ll also launch a workforce program to provide individua

Last week, I shared a partial list of Oklahoma City’s economic development wins over the past year. This continuation doesn’t exhaust the list but shares several more we believe will have some of the most significant and lasting impacts on our city. We made good progress toward addressing housing demand. The Oklahoma City Council approved the use of Home Funds to help Progress OKC build nine affordable new homes in Culbertson East Highland. Fairground Flats was approved for $

Oklahoma City had many significant economic development projects in 2022 deserving of recognition. The list is so long that this will be a two-part column, with more accomplishments coming next week. The Oklahoma Industries Authority supported Tinker Air Force Base by acquiring 220 acres of land on the east side of Douglas Boulevard and allocating funds to make infrastructure improvements to the site to ready it for development. The OIA also compiled a large urban parcel at I