Engineering Company to Add 200 New Jobs
Spartan Engineering Inc., a relatively new company in Tulsa, announced that it has been accepted into the Oklahoma Quality Jobs program and plans to create 200 high-wage jobs over the next five years. Spartan is focused on energy and utility projects and opened last January. Spartan currently employs 20 people. Average annual salaries are projected to be in the $72,000 to $80,000 range. The 200 new jobs support an economic impact of $84.3 million in the Tulsa region.
Williams Cos. Restructuring Now Complete
A $12 billion restructuring program for Williams Cos. Inc. was completed in early September as unit holders of one subsidiary accepted an exchange offer from another partnership. Williams Pipeline Partners LP approved the merger with Williams Partners LP. Williams CEO Steve Malcolm said the merger will give the companies better access to low-cost capital. Williams Cos. will focus on natural gas exploration and production, while Williams partners holds midstream processing and terminal operations across the country.
State Continues Economic Growth
For an eighth straight month, Oklahoma’s leading economic indicator for a survey of supply managers points to growth in the months ahead. The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index hit 64.1 in August, up from July’s 61.6 but lower than the 67.4 reading in June. The index is considered growth-neutral at 50. A higher number points to economic expansion over the next three to six months, while a number lower than 50 indicates contraction.
Office Tower to be Built Near BOK Center
A 15-story office tower will be the first component of the long-awaited $80 million One Place development set to begin construction early next year across the street from the BOK Center. Cimarex Energy has signed a lease for about two-thirds of the multitenant, 320,000-square-foot building. The oil and gas exploration company will relocate its 400 employees into the building when it’s completed in the third quarter of 2012. One Place will occupy the whole block and include a hotel, public courtyard, underground parking, residences and retail/restaurant space.
American Airlines Selects New Vice President of Base Maintenance
American Airlines has named William Collins, an executive at GE Aviation in Cincinnati, as vice president of base maintenance, effective October 1st. Collins, who is vice president of electric power for GE Aviation and a 30-year aerospace industry veteran, will be based in Tulsa and oversee American’s maintenance operations at its three repair, overhaul and modification bases in Tulsa, Forth Worth and Kansas City. The three bases employ more than 8,800 mechanics and related workers including 6,000 in Tulsa.
Tulsa Unemployment Rates Falls in July
The Tulsa metro unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in July, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission reported. July’s rate was down from 7.9 percent in June and 7.8 percent in May. The rates have been at 7 percent or higher since May 2009, with an 8.1 percent peak reached in January and February of this year.
Kaiser Foundation to Donate Funds for Kendall-Whittier Area
The George Kaiser Family Foundation has offered to donate funds to help the city renew the Kendall-Whittier area by providing mixed-income residential and retail opportunities. The Tulsa Development Authority was offered funds to make up the funding gap in the authority’s efforts to remove blight and abandoned structures in a two-block area east of the Educare Early Childhood Center.
Tulsa’s Hiring Outlook Among the Best in the Nation
The Tulsa Metro’s fourth-quarter job market is expected to be among the best in the nation, according to the results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The quarterly survey revealed that Tulsa-area employers plan to hire at a healthy pace from October to December, with 19 percent of the companies interviewed planning to hire more people and 8 percent planning to decrease their hiring. Tulsa’s outlook was tied for fifth best in the nation based on a net employment outlook of 11 percent.
Downtown Condominium Project’s First Unit Completed
The first two-bedroom unit was finished in early September, and is the first of 72 units to be constructed in the building’s conversion into luxury downtown living under the name of 119 Downtown. Jim Hawkins, the head of River City Development, announced the conversion project in May. Construction of the remaining units in the 133,000-square-foot building will be dictated by pre-sales, but the project could be completed as soon as early 2012. Three units have been sold with contracts being completed for seven more.
Gilcrease Museum to Build Research Center
The University of Tulsa is planning a project that will offer Gilcrease’s archival documents to the world through an academic eye. The university and the city signed a lease agreement in late September that will provide a site on the museum grounds for the creation of the Helmerich Research Center and Gilcrease National Archive. Among the collection stored in the museum’s basement are 100,000 rare books and documents that tell the story of the founding of democracy in the United States and chronicle the Spanish exploration and conquest of the Western Hemisphere.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma to Consolidate Downtown Offices
After 20 years of working in two separate downtown buildings, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma will soon put its 475 office workers under one roof. The insurance company has begun consolidating its operations into its 1400 S. Boston Ave. building, a process that will empty the building at 1215 S. Boulder Ave. by 2011. The move is estimated to save $44 million in operating costs over 20 years. The company, which owns both buildings, has not decided what to do with the Boulder building once it’s empty.