Lawton EDA Approves 1,250-Acre Purchase in Southwest Lawton, Halloween Deadline Looms for Project Firework

The Lawton-Fort Sill Economic Development Authority approved three purchase agreements Thursday covering 1,250.5 acres inside the Southwest Oklahoma Rail Industrial Park, a stretch of southwest Lawton that has mostly sat undeveloped for decades. The largest parcel, 665.5 acres, comes from Goodyear, which bought the land in 1978. Another 440 acres comes from the Comanche County Industrial Authority, and 145 acres from Dorothy G. Gasser, priced at $840,000 — below appraised value. Goodyear is asking $4,159,000 for its five parcels.

To make it happen, LEDA will take on a 15-year loan of about $5.2 million for the Goodyear and Gasser tracts, while the CCIDA land is covered through cash and hotel/motel tax revenue. LEDA Executive Director Richard Rogalski said the CCIDA purchase is meant to facilitate a new defense contractor facility tied to“Project Firework,”which must close by October 31 or the project is lost. Goodyear lobbyist Don Armes noted the land has been idle for 50 years and could now serve industrial users who actually need it.

For a town anchored by Fort Sill, landing a defense contractor facility would mean jobs, suppliers, and new families settling in the Lawton area. But it also means public borrowing and hotel tax revenue committed to land that has no guarantee of immediate payoff. The next two weeks will tell the story.

What do you think — is this a smart move for Lawton’s future? Let us know in the comments.