Tulsa-Area Companies, Cities Invest $21 Million To Expand Business, Bring Jobs

Tulsa-area companies and communities are ready to invest $21 million to bring in more business.

The investment is being called a milestone.

The Tulsa Regional Chamber said all that money will not only help bring new jobs to the area, but also make Tulsa more competitive with nearby cities.

Take a look at Tulsa's skyline and you'll see some of the investors: OneOK, One Gas, Bank of Oklahoma, Williams and PSO — they all decided to pitch in when it comes to Tulsa's economic future.

"We're all in this together," said Jim Norton, investor.

Almost 200 companies and cities around Tulsa are partnering with their pocketbooks. 

The chamber now has more than $21 million to recruit new businesses and help expand the existing ones.

"A chance to continue to attract and retain the best and the brightest in young people that will be the workforce of tomorrow," said Mike Neal, Tulsa Regional Chamber president and CEO.

It's all part of a plan called Tulsa's Future III, with a goal to help Tulsa compete with other cities in the region. 

The first plan focused on Tulsa County with more than $11 million.

Tulsa's Future II focused on 16 counties in northeast Oklahoma with more than $16 million.

And right now the chamber is a little more than a year into Tulsa's Future III.

Neal calls this plan "extremely aggressive." It focuses on 20 counties in our part of the state. 

"Extremely aggressive, so we're extremely optimistic about the chances to add new jobs, the chances to enhance the skills of our existing workforce, the chance to continue to grow," Neal said.

The chamber said it wants high-paying jobs, with salaries of $50 thousand or more in fields like energy, IT, healthcare and aerospace. 

"We should be excited about the fact that everybody wants to do the same thing — and that is, to help Tulsa grow," Norton said.

By the end of the plan in 2020, the chamber hopes it will have created up to 25,000 jobs.