MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor opened up a retail center today that saw ground broken in 2018.
It’s part of a 162-acre development that’s slated to eventually have a 300-unit apartment building and 100 homes.
David Stewart is the CEO of MidAmerica. He spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the center and said the expansion is about making the park more competitive for big companies.
“Economic development is now a highly competitive industry. Every community in the nation and the world is competing for every corporation to invest there and employ people there. So think about that. Think about how competitive it is to get a company in front of you and explain why they should be here,” said Stewart.
Stewart spoke about Canoo, an electric auto maker set to move to Pryor. Canoo will create 2,000 jobs and its investment in the Pryor facility could be up to$1 billion depending on demand in the burgeoning electric vehicle market. Oklahoma gave Canoo $300 million in tax incentives.
The company is not without its dramas. It’s been the target of someshareholder lawsuits lately, and in April both its CEO and chief legal counsel resigned.
Stewart said he’s positive the company can work out any problems. He said the process of being selected by Canoo was competitive.
“Canoo looked at 31 different sites before they chose ours. It came down to three.”
Stewart did not say what other three locations had been considered.
The retail center will have a brewery, an employment agency, a rental space for gatherings, and some other businesses to be announced.
Canoo is scheduled to open in Pryor in 2023.