OKC Planning Commission To Consider Rezoning Land For New Jail
The Oklahoma City Planning Commission is set to consider the proposed site for the new county jail next month.
A special permit application for rezoning land along E. Grand Blvd will be reviewed at a meeting April 11.
After the Planning Commission makes a recommendation, the item will go before City Council.
The city says zoning items require two City Council meetings.
That means it could take up to four weeks before the city makes a final decision.
Oklahoma County commissioners are facing a deadline to secure millions in federal funding for the jail project.
In the meantime, the city of Del City, which borders the proposed site, is against the jail location and is preparing a legal fight.
The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. April 11 in the City Council Chamber, 200 N Walker Ave. and will be streamed to the City’s YouTube Channel, CityofOKC.
Oklahoma City's Labor Market on Fire
The labor market in Oklahoma City is on a hot streak. The city’s economic climate is getting a shoutout on social media from its leaders.
OKC Mayor David Holt took to his smartphone to brag on his city’s 30 straight months with an unemployment rate below 4 percent.
That’s the third-longest uninterrupted run here since 1990.
It’s reflective of a hot labor market nationally and in Oklahoma. The state is on the same streak as its capital city.
And in January, the country as a whole was on a two-year streak of under 4 percent. That’s the longest one nationwide since the Vietnam War.
Economists say unemployment rates below the 4% threshold are good for workers, and indicate a plethora of employment opportunities, leading to rising wages.
OKC Faces Surplus Of Empty Office Space
A new report shows OKC is home to a lot of empty office space
If you spread out all of Oklahoma City’s vacant offices next to each other, it would cover about 75 football fields.
That represents a quarter of the city’s rentable office space sitting empty — just over 4 million square feet, according to an end-of-2023 market report from Price Edwards & Company. That’s pretty much the same as in 2022. But while suburban office use rose a little last year, more vacancies popped up in downtown Oklahoma City.
The report shows downtown offices have a significantly higher price per square foot than any other area of the city. And that makes them less marketable. Right now, there’s higher demand for smaller, more affordable office spaces.
Philanthropist Lou Kerr Dies
Oklahoma City philanthropist Lou Kerr has died. She was 87.
Kerr was on many non-profit boards both in Oklahoma City and on a national stage.
She notably was a founding member of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and the Bizzell Library Society at the University of Oklahoma.
She chaired the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, planning the state's 100th birthday celebration in 2007.
Kerr also took an interest in the arts and public information across the country.
She served as a trustee of the National Symphony Orchestra and the National Public Radio Foundation.
_________________
For additional news throughout the day visit our website, KGOU.org and follow us on social media.
We also invite you to subscribe to the KGOU AM NewsBrief.