Q&A with Cathy O’Connor, former president of The Alliance for Economic Development of OKC

The new Homeland grocery store in northeast Oklahoma City

After 11 years at the helm as president of The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City, Cathy O’Connor announced in January she was stepping down to start her own consulting business. She officially left her position with the Alliance in March following the appointment of long-time city employee Kenton Tsoodle as her replacement. VeloCity recently visited with O’Connor to find out more about her departure from the Alliance and about her new venture as a small business owner.    

VeloCity: You have served about 11 years as president for The Alliance for Economic Development of Oklahoma City. Why did you desire to make a change?

O’Connor: I have been able to complete some projects that I had a lifelong desire to finish. And when I had finished them, I decided it was time to give somebody else a chance to run the organization and see what they would like to do with it.

As you reflect back on the 11 years as Alliance president, what would you say are the greatest or most transformative accomplishments during your tenure there?

Cathy O'Connor

I think the Omni Hotel in downtown, negotiating that deal and putting that project together for the city, was something I'm really proud of and how we were able to get all of those projects done –the park, convention center, hotel the parking garage – all pretty much simultaneously. Another one is the Homeland grocery store at 36th and Lincoln. I had begun working with the city council person in ward 7 in 1998 – it was Willa Johnson, who just recently passed away – to try to find a location and a grocery operator who would build a grocery store in northeast Oklahoma City. After 20-plus years of working on it, we finally got that done. I think it's much better than I ever dreamed it could be. It just turned out lovely. For many years, I have been saying that we need to acquire large parcels of land for industrial development. And when I say we, I mean the public sector or the Alliance in order to preserve them for industrial development. We were able to acquire 577 acres at I-240 and Eastern from the school land commission. So, getting that done, after working on it for over 10 years, was another big one. Now, the Alliance or the Oklahoma Industries Authority owns the land and hopefully can use it to attract new companies to Oklahoma City.

Did the last 11 years just seem to fly by for you?

It definitely feels like it flew by. It's hard for me to believe how fast the time has gone.

Why do you think it seemed to fly by so fast for you?

I think the biggest thing is we were busy. from the very beginning, the organization and the team had a lot of different projects on their plate. Oklahoma City is growing fast, I-40 got relocated, MAPS 3 passed. There was one thing after another that led to an increased interest in Oklahoma City for real estate development projects and for economic development projects and job creation. We stayed pretty busy during those 11 years.

Was there one project or initiative that you are most proud of? Why?

I would have to say the Homeland grocery store. It took a great deal of patience and tenacity to get that project across the finish line. It's a very complicated financing structure, finding the right grocer that was willing to take a chance on northeast Oklahoma City where they hadn't had a new grocery store in over 50 years, putting together the right group of investors and getting the city to build the MAPS 3 Senior Wellness Center at the same location just really makes it all work.

What would you say were the most effective tools the Alliance utilized to attract business and industry to the Oklahoma City metro? Why do you think they were so effective?

Oklahoma City is very unique compared to other cities in the state, and probably in the region, in that the voters approved a local job incentive program back in 2007 that we call the Strategic Investment Program, and it's funded by General Obligation limited tax bonds. I know there are no other communities in Oklahoma that are doing that. And for many other cities our size, they don't have that local job incentive program that doesn't have to go through the legislature. The city council can decide how it's spent. That program is probably one of our most effective tools. And then when you combine it with things like tax increment financing and the ability to perhaps have real estate for companies to look at which are under your control, it really creates just a great package that I don't think a lot of other communities have available.

Are there perhaps some other tools that the city might consider adding to its toolbox to spur even more economic development?

Continuing to take to the voters an economic development bond proposition to keep funding the Strategic Investment Program and possibly using it in the future to acquire large sites is going to be key, as well as continuing to use the tools we already have in more innovative ways. The other tool that was recently approved by Oklahoma County is called C-PACE, and I think it's going to be a great funding opportunity for projects as well. 

Can you tell us more about C-PACE?

It’s called C-PACE and it stands for “Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy” financing. You can use it to fund improvements or new construction on parts of the building that improve the energy efficiency of the building. Better windows, it can be roofing, it can be the exterior skin of the building, heat and air system – all of those kinds of things are eligible to be financed through that program. It’s new to Oklahoma County, and I think we've done a couple of projects already. C-PACE will be a really good tool for the development community to consider in the future.

How do you see the role of the Alliance changing, if any at all, now that you are no longer with the Alliance?

What I hope doesn't change is that the Alliance continues to be the group that pushes for creativity, innovation and risk taking to support economic development in Oklahoma City. When the Alliance was created 11 years ago, we really didn't have much emphasis on small business support. And now, through the pandemic, when we ran so many programs for small businesses with the Cares Act funding, we really began to see that providing more support and help to small businesses and helping small businesses grow might be the future for the Alliance. I would expect things like that are going to come up, and I hope the Alliance is the entity that grabs them and helps implement them, along with the Chamber and the city.

Let’s pivot and talk about you’re the company you founded, COalign Group. Why did you create the company and what does it do?

What I hope to be able to do is to help developers navigate the processes and financing in order to get projects done, not just here in Oklahoma City but all over. And I hope I can help cities that want to develop an economic development strategy, or a redevelopment strategy, and policies and how to implement those, how to carry them out, how to create an entity like the Alliance in their own community that streamlines those public processes for developers and investors.

How has the transition from the Alliance to COalign been going for you?

It’s been going pretty well. I'm excited about visiting with potential clients and working on new projects from the developer side of the table instead of the public side of the table. And I'm still learning a lot.

Are there things you will miss about not being with the Alliance?

I miss the people; I miss my team. We have a really great team at the Alliance. I miss not having as much contact with my friends at City Hall, but that's part of it. I've just had to learn that I have to reach out and take the initiative to stay in the loop on things.

What are your thoughts about Kenton Tsoodle, your replacement at the Alliance?

Kenny is a great choice as my replacement. He's got the right background and experience in municipal finance and how some of these incentive programs have worked. He helped us with the financing on the Omni Hotel, for example, and helped to get that package put together. He has the right temperament, the ability to talk to people and be pro-Oklahoma City.