Get to know the Innovation District

Just east of downtown sits Oklahoma City’s Innovation District. Encompassing 1.3 square miles, the district is home to the heart of Oklahoma’s bioscience and healthcare sector, where many institutions conduct groundbreaking research and foster entrepreneurship through innovation. The district is also a hub for academia, technology, aerospace, unmanned systems, specialized manufacturing and the energy industries.

While the area has been home to important innovation hubs, like healthcare, for the region for several decades, research and analysis by the Brookings Institution identified Oklahoma City as having key assets and industries positioned for growth in innovation and technology. In 2017, city leaders acted to seize the opportunity and ensure Oklahoma City’s next-level participation in the global economy by creating the Innovation District.

In 2019, the citizens of Oklahoma City voted to invest heavily into the district with the passage of the MAPS 4 program. Around $71 million of the total MAPS 4 package will go towards the district. This includes the Henrietta B. Foster Center for Northeast Small Business Development and Entrepreneurship ($15 million), connectivity in and around the Innovation District ($25 million), innovation hall ($10 million) and operating funds ($21 million).

Recently, the Oklahoma City Council approved the construction of the Innovation Hall which will be a part of the larger and private development called Convergence. Besides Innovation Hall, the new development will feature a pedestrian-centric layout with research labs and office space, a hotel, retail space, and a public realm providing an open-air community environment. It will also be home to new biomanufacturing startup Wheeler Bio.

Further fulfilling the district’s promise of bringing together innovation across the region’s different economic engines, the Baker Hughes Energy Center became OSU DISCOVERY. The building will be used by Oklahoma State University for research, engineering classes and activities connected to the OKC business community. OSU DISCOVERY will help get more energy, avionics and computer software engineers into Oklahoma City’s workforce to meet the region’s growing workforce needs.

Late last year more research was brought to the district when Oklahoma City businessman Harold Hamm and the company he founded, Continental Energy, donated $50 million to Oklahoma State University to establish the Hamm Institute for American Energy in the Innovation District. The institute will aim to prepare the next generation of industry leaders and strengthen energy security in the U.S.

As you can see, the Oklahoma City Innovation District is designed to be an epicenter for collaboration, innovation, opportunity, and economic growth.