Immediately south of that, Tapp Development of Edmond should start work before Jan. 1 on the elaborate water features and other public improvements at The Sevens development. President Jim Tapp foresees an ‘09 start of commercial construction for two of its five lots, a 97-room La Quinta Inn to open in 2010 and a yet-unidentified restaurant to welcome diners next year.

 

Looking across the highway, Owassans may watch work progress on the 90-room Marriott Town Center in the Tyann Plaza, which should debut next fall. Or they can head south to 86th Street to see contractors subdividing a former Albertson’s grocery store into a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, with 16,000 square feet left over. Tapp Development has already pre-leased 9,800 square feet of that.

 

While developers have sharply curtailed commercial construction in many areas of the state, usually attributed to October’s credit meltdown or national retailer pullbacks, those Owasso projects, easily exceeding $50 million mark, are just portions of the ongoing work in the northern Tulsa suburb. Together they illustrate the momentum Oklahoma State University economist Mark Snead suggests could carry the Sooner State through the national recession.

 

Over the last five years, Owasso has welcomed several million square feet of new retail space, two hospitals, two hotels, two higher-education branches and several other projects. That not only diversified its economy and added thousands of jobs, but laid the groundwork for continual annual sales tax collections growth.

 

“There’s no reason to think it’s going to go down this year,” said Gary W. Akin, president of the Owasso Chamber of Commerce.

 

In 2009 the city expects rising tax revenue and job growth from well over $100 million in ongoing projects outside the commercial construction arena. Developer Owasso Land Trust should complete the 7,191-yard, par 72 Patriot Golf Course by summer, centerpiece to the luxury Stone Canyon subdivisions. Visitors there will also see one of eight elementary schools under construction in the Owasso School District, each one estimated at $15 million.

 

Even Owasso housing starts, although down from their heights of two and three years ago, continue to claim a large share of Tulsa’s overall residential construction, said Akin.

 

With Snead and some national economists forecasting a turnaround in the national scene as quickly as the summer of 2009, Owasso Director of Economic Development Chelsea Harkins said the city’s ongoing expansion may be enough to bridge the U.S. slowdown.

 

That’s not to pin a recession-proof label on the city of 30,000, said Rickey Hayes, a retail consultant and the city’s economic director for five years.

 

“I am not sure any community or place is really immune to the effects of the current economy,” said Mandy Vavrinak, the owner of Crossroads Communications and a frequent Owasso business consultant. “Many of the construction projects now happening in Owasso, in particular the Penney’s and Ross, were deals that closed a couple of years ago. Those same deals most likely wouldn’t have gone through if they were proposed today, in this environment. Not because the market isn’t there, but because the fundamental shift in financing retail projects would make them prohibitive to pursue.”

 

Hayes said the pro-growth philosophies that helped Owasso gain that position should also prove a foundation for surviving the downturn.

 

“I have the pleasure of working with several Oklahoma cities and I can tell you that the communities that understand the benefits of public-private partnerships like Owasso, Glenpool, Coweta, and others are seeing tax revenue continue to grow,” he said. “I think also that the impact of the recession won’t be as harsh on the city of Owasso as it will be on other cities.”

 

With all the potential road hazards on that path to recovery, Akin was reluctant to make any statement of strength for the city he’s served 32 years. But he also saw no reason to stand pat on their growth plans, even in the face of the nation’s recession.

 

Akin said the city must go beyond the secondary jobs it has attracted in retail and other service areas, focusing instead on attracting more primary jobs paying $50,000 per year or more. That’s one reason city leaders welcome the First Bank of Owasso tower, with its two floors of professional office space.

 

“That’s the first building we’ve ever had over two stories,” Akins said of Owasso’s commercial construction.

 

The city, which in 2006 launched a five-year initiative to attract 3,000 primary jobs, sees its school system and growing education base, churches and overall strong quality-of-life factors as prime attractions in luring more professionals to the community.

 

Harkins has approached several aerospace and telecommunications companies, among other sectors, about expanding or relocating in Owasso. But Akins said the city also welcomes firms that choose other Tulsa areas, believing Owasso will attract its share of new residents.

 

“It’s really the beginning,” he said, looking back at the city’s last decade of growth. “It’s not the end. You can’t stand back and say, ‘We’ve done it, we’re there.’ We’re never there.”