Economic Growth Continues in Bixby
By RAEGAN DOUGHARTY
Contributing Writer
KRYSTAL CROCKETT: The Bixby Chamber president is all smiles over the growth in her city.
EMILY RAMSEY for GTR Newspapers
New construction can be seen in various locations in Bixby, something Krystal Crockett, president and of the Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce, says makes this time an exciting one for the community. Crockett has been with the chamber for close to nine years. She worked at the front desk for the chamber and was involved with events as well and transitioned into her current role soon after.
Crockett says her job involves her with the chamber’s goal of looking at “what Bixby has and what Bixby needs” in terms of economic and business development.
Crockett says that Bixby’s growth is “exploding” right now, especially at 121st Street and Memorial Drive.
“You cannot look around Bixby without seeing either new construction or someone going into an existing space,” Crockett says. “Some of the bigger projects that are going on, of course we have the Residences at Boardwalk… they have some units open already. That is a luxury apartment complex and it’s also going to have retail offerings once all phases are complete.”
Another nearby project is the Village at Scereno.
This project by The Bridge Church involves the “Development of 28.8 acres at 121st Street and Memorial in Bixby.” It is dedicated to serving the surrounding community through a community/church partnership. The church’s website says its goal is for the project to “be a regional open-air mixed-use residential, retail and commercial destination village.”
Crockett says this is the first true multi-use development in Bixby.
“It’s been very exciting watching that go through the planning process, because it’s not something this area sees a lot,” she says.
Beside the site for the mixed-use development is the new St. John’s Clinic, which is set to open May 9, providing Bixby with 25,000 square feet of medical facilities. Crockett also says ground has been broken on the construction of Bixby’s Utica Park Clinic.
“Of course we have tons of new businesses coming into existing spaces, whether it’s to the PostRock Plaza or even downtown Bixby,” Crockett says. “It’s getting really exciting.”
Crockett says the chamber and the City of Bixby work closely together on development of the community. The chamber works with its members to connect them with appropriate resources for marketing, expansion and other needs.
“There are projects going on with the city and projects going on with the chamber; we all work in conjunction with each other. The city has just completed their comprehensive plan,” Crockett says.
The comprehensive plan was nearly 20 years old according to Crockett. She explains that new plans were unveiled at a public meeting on April 17.
“So that will dictate the desired land use in our city,” Crockett says. “It doesn’t force anything to happen, but that way a developer or a resident can come in and go, ‘Well, I want to locate in this area, what are the desires of the community around there?’”
The community has also seen the addition of Dream Point Ranch, a wedding and event center located on a “family estate of 180 acres at the tallest point in Tulsa County,” according to its website.
A new car wash will soon be added to Bixby, and the Dollar General store is moving to a new, expanded location, says Crockett.
The Bixby chamber has been recognized each year since 2010 by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives “for being one of the nation’s top ten Chambers of its size in the categories of Number of New Members and New Member Dollars.”
“In the future we really are looking into expanding our services for small businesses, so whether that looks like spaces for them to congregate, services that we can offer, programming, maybe some peer-to-peer mentoring with industry experts that are in the chamber,” Crockett says. “We see our downtown expanding, and we are fully supportive of that. We see that becoming an even stronger business hub than it already is.”
Bixby Metro Chamber Recognized as Top 10 in the Nation: The Bixby Metro Chamber of Commerce has been recognized every year since 2010 by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives for being one of the nation’s top ten Chambers of its size in the categories of Number of New Members and New Member Dollars.
Updated 04-24-2018
READER COMMENTS
