HipKat
December 5th, 2007, 08:25 PM
I'm doing the layout for the Oklahoma County, OK Community Guide magazine, and looking over the general state of the area, I was impressed.
One of the things they did was sink 2 billion dollars into development.
So, I called the OK City Chamber of COmmerce, and was talking to the Director, because I was curious about where 2 billion dollars came from.
Oklahoma City region covers 7 counties with a regional population of about 1.25 million people, btw.
In 1993, they added a new tax to the region, that brought in 351 million that year, and 10 years later, compounded and used to leverage state and federal funding, plus a large donation from the private sector, they basically redesigned certain areas of the city, added Bricktown, the theater/entertainment district, and lured in new business, because of the explosion of cultural growth in the area, which they use as a major focal point of promoting the area.
This is an area that had less industry, a decent military presence and a moderate college presence, and a bigtime transportation hub. No waterfront. No gateway to Canada.
What they really have is a planning board/Chamber of Commerce/Economic Development Counil and Government made up of progressive thinkers who shared a common vision of the future.
One of the things they did was sink 2 billion dollars into development.
So, I called the OK City Chamber of COmmerce, and was talking to the Director, because I was curious about where 2 billion dollars came from.
Oklahoma City region covers 7 counties with a regional population of about 1.25 million people, btw.
In 1993, they added a new tax to the region, that brought in 351 million that year, and 10 years later, compounded and used to leverage state and federal funding, plus a large donation from the private sector, they basically redesigned certain areas of the city, added Bricktown, the theater/entertainment district, and lured in new business, because of the explosion of cultural growth in the area, which they use as a major focal point of promoting the area.
This is an area that had less industry, a decent military presence and a moderate college presence, and a bigtime transportation hub. No waterfront. No gateway to Canada.
What they really have is a planning board/Chamber of Commerce/Economic Development Counil and Government made up of progressive thinkers who shared a common vision of the future.