Tuesday, December 17, 2013
National retailer Macy's Inc. will open a distribution center that will provide 1,500 full- and part-time jobs near Cherokee Industrial Park.
Gov. Mary Fallin made the announcement during a news conference today in downtown Tulsa.
The center -- known as a "fulfiillment center" is expected to have an $800 million economic impact over 10 years, officials said. Macy's Inc. will make a $170 million investment in the facility, which is expected to be 1.3 million square feet.
In addition to the 1,500 jobs, Macy's could hire an additional 1,000 temporary seasonal employees.
The company looked at 150 sites in four states before choosing the Tulsa area, said Frank Julian, vice president of legislative affairs and tax counsel for Macy's, Inc.
"The things that attracted us the most to this site were a location that is central to many of our customers in the south and central states, and the high quality of the workforce in the greater Tulsa area," he said. "Macy’s very much appreciates the warm welcome we have received from everyone involved, and we look forward to being part of this vibrant community for many years to come."
"We're very thrilled they chose to come here," Fallin said.
Construction on the facility is expected to start in spring, with operations starting in April 2015, according to the governor. Between 300 and 500 construction jobs are expected while the facility is built.
Macy's Inc., headquartered in Cincinnati, operates Macy's and Bloomingdale's department stores and websites.
In July 2012, Macy's located a "fulfillment center" in Martinsburg, W.Va. The 1.3 million-square-foot distribution facility fills online orders placed through macys.com, bloomingdales.com and stores.
Macy's Inc. invested $185 million in its West Virginia facility, according to a report from the Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Md., citing Peter Longo, Macy's president of logistics and operations. The Herald-Mail reported that Longo expected the center to ship about 9 million packages from the facility this year.
Macy's is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, and its revenues exceeded $28 billion for the most recent 12-month period.
The company is known for its Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City and has 840 stores in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico under the Macy's and Bloomingdale's banners.
Macy's has two stores in Tulsa ? at the Tulsa Promenade mall and Woodland Hills Mall ? and two in Oklahoma City.
In August, Tulsa Regional Chamber officials contacted the city of Owasso about a company wishing to move to the area. Since then, Owasso representatives have met several times with the prospect, which made its decision from a nationwide prospect list of 10.
In November, the Owasso City Council approved the extension of a $500,000 incentive to an undisclosed company that reportedly was considering bringing 1,000 new jobs to the community.
The panel voted unanimously to transfer money from the hotel tax fund to the Owasso Economic Development Authority, which would provide the bonus only if the OEDA landed a contract with the company.
Chelsea Levo, economic development director for Owasso, said then that Owasso was among two finalists for a "worldwide" company that was prepared to construct a more than 1 million-square-foot building and make at least a $90 million investment.
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce dubbed the endeavor "Project Socrates."
Bonuses to the company also have been discussed by the state of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Career Tech, the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, Tulsa County, the Cherokee Nation, the Tulsa Regional Chamber and Tulsa Tech, Levo said previously.