Business Briefs (Week of Oct. 6)

Looking for business briefs? This week's roundup (for the week ending October 6) from The Journal Record.

 
Chickasaw Nation contributes $1.5 million to OKC planetarium
A state-of-the art planetarium scheduled to open in 2024 at Oklahoma City’s Science Museum Oklahoma got a serious boost toward its launch recently as a result of a $1.5 million gift from the Chickasaw Nation. The contribution will elevate the museum’s ability to deliver exceptional, educational experiences in science as well as entertainment to children and others in the metro and wider area community, SMO officials said.  
 
State opens new door to clean energy for thousands
Solar panels, induction stoves and heat pumps are likely to be more prominent in neighborhoods across Oklahoma due to an aggressive new rebate program rolled out by the U.S. Department of Energy. Thousands of Oklahomans will be eligible to apply for federal rebates to lower the cost of energy-saving technology designed to reduce carbon emissions associated with climate change. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce is partnering with the federal government to obtain Oklahoma’s share of funding from the $8.8 billion Home Energy Rebate Program for lower- and moderate-income homeowners.
 
Transportation, housing challenges bubble up during mayoral forum
Cities in the Oklahoma City metro area each work to meet their individual needs, but they also share regional concerns across their borders. Among them are transportation, water, homelessness, workforce and housing. Five mayors discussed challenges and initiatives to sustain development and growth in central Oklahoma during a recent forum sponsored by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber.
 
More details emerge on Edmond ambulance service transition
October is the month Edmond residents can enroll in or opt out of the emergency medical transport service offered through the city. They may have more questions than usual this year since the city is in the process of transitioning from its longtime ambulance service provider to another one. Emergency Medical Services Authority has been Edmond’s provider for more than three decades, but city officials became frustrated with longer-than-expected response times for nearly three years. The decision was made to go with American Medical Response Ambulance Services Inc. With the end of EMSAcare, Edmond residents no longer will be covered for transport service in Oklahoma City and seven other metro communities.
 
Battery facility to bring 50 jobs to Bartlesville
A battery “upcycling” facility to open in Bartlesville later this year will create about 50 new jobs in the community steeped in energy industry history. The facility, planned by Washington, D.C.-based Blue Whale Materials, will be located in the Bartlesville Industrial Park. In a release, Blue Whale said it will collect and sort used lithium-ion batteries previously used in everything from cellphones and tablets to electric vehicles. The expended batteries then will be discharged and processed for upcycling. 
 
Canoo makes deal with foreign investor
Electric vehicle startup company Canoo, with plans for EV production in Oklahoma City and battery production in Pryor, announced an agreement to raise millions of dollars through a sale of stock with advantageous terms offered to an unnamed foreign strategic institutional investor. The company said it entered into an agreement that would raise some $45 million and that it will work with the same investor to negotiate one or more additional investments for up to $150 million.
 
Engineering company to locate office in Tulsa
A global engineering, technology and consulting company has signed a strategic agreement with Spirit AeroSystems and will open an office to complement Spirit’s operations in Tulsa. The firm, Expleo, will offer Spirit AeroSystems engineering services to support its development of next-generation aerospace projects. Complementing Expleo's regional headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, the Tulsa facility will use the latest digital capabilities, including artificial intelligence, to maximize cost efficiency and accelerate time-to-market goals, the companies said in a release.
 
Rachel Holt named to lead United Way of Central Oklahoma
The United Way of Central Oklahoma has a new president and chief executive officer. Rachel Canuso Holt was selected to fill the position following the retirement of Debby Hampton. She’ll begin work leading the multifaceted charitable organization on Nov. 1.
 
Midtown OKC building that will house law firm HQ on track
The five-story commercial building under construction at 424 NW 10th St. in Midtown is on track for the lawyers at Phillips Murrah to move in next summer. Lingo Construction Services let stakeholders sign a beam and lifted it to the top floor before conducting the tour Sept. 27. Brett Moore, project manager with Lingo, said the post-tensioned concrete building is about 35% complete. Construction should be finished by July 4, he said. Midtown Renaissance – which has about 50 properties in Midtown and Automobile Alley – owns the 80,000-squre-foot building and adjacent parking garage under construction.
 
Broken Arrow to be site of $93M amphitheater project
A Colorado Springs-based hospitality company continues its expansion with a second Oklahoma music venue planned for the largest suburb in the Tulsa metro. Notes Live announced it will build its next amphitheater in Broken Arrow. The company expects the 12,500-capacity, state-of-the-art amphitheater to transform the area’s nightlife and music scene. The venue, named the Sunset Amphitheatre until a naming rights deal is completed, will be located on a large lot north of Broken Arrow Events Park, just east of the Creek Turnpike.
 
Governor's tax-cut push in limbo after legislative impasse
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s push for an income tax cut is in limbo after lawmakers adjourned with no action taken. The state House met briefly Wednesday morning and adjourned to the call of the chair with no plan to consider legislation lowering income tax rates in the immediate future. This comes less than 24 hours after the Senate agreed to sine die special session Tuesday, effectively ending the chamber’s efforts this special session.
 
Midwest City Starbucks workers file petition to unionize
Employees at a Starbucks location in Midwest City have joined a nationwide movement of Starbucks workers to unionize. The employees at the store at 29th Street and Air Depot Boulevard filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, stating plans to join Starbucks Workers United.
 
Wheeler Bio opens downtown OKC facility
A biotech startup marked the grand opening of its state-of-the-art drug substance Current Good Manufacturing Practice facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in downtown Oklahoma City. Wheeler Bio, a contract development and manufacturing organization, or CDMO, for next-generation protein therapeutics, will begin production for customers next month in the 35,000-square-foot Ziggurat building in downtown Oklahoma City.
 
OKC's first build-to-rent community taking shape
The first residents of Trulo Homes Quail Village have started moving in as builders continue construction of the single-family rental neighborhood. All 215 homes – a mix of one-bedroom duplexes and two- and three-bedroom detached homes – are expected to be completed in May and about 20% already have been leased, Scott Moehlenbrock, senior project manager with Red River Development, said. Build-to-rent, or BTR, is adding much-needed rental inventory across the country to a housing market that has rarely had single-family houses purpose-built as rentals.
 
Center for Nonprofits opens new headquarters in OKC
The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits celebrated a grand opening at its new headquarters. The opening marked a significant milestone for the state’s nonprofit sector, officials said. With more than 60% of the 31,000-square-foot building dedicated to nonprofit use, it was envisioned to become a hub of innovation, collaboration and empowerment for worthy charitable organizations throughout the state.