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idAmerica Industrial Park, the largest in Oklahoma,

Construction continues on the new $27-million Orchids Paper expansion that was started at MidAmerica last year without any building permits.

has all the assets to meet the demands of just about any expansion or relocation project.
   Among them: shovel- ready sites. At MidAmerica, these are called "BuildNow" sites.
   "They are just what the name implies," said Sanders Mitchell, Administrator of the 9,000-acre development. "Our BuildNow sites afford the opportunity to start construction immediately without the delays that are so common with building of large industrial manufacturing or distribution facilities."
   BuildNow sites do not require building permits. If a site is purchased in the morning, construction can begin in the afternoon. "Just follow IBC (International Building Code) standards and have the proper insurance to start construction. There's no red tape and we have quite a few sites that are ready to go," Mitchell said.
   BuildNow sites have all the utilities in place, ready to connect. The park owns the water and wastewater treatment systems and carries an umbrella NPDES permit to cover the discharge requirements for industries.
   According to Mitchell, one company closed on a BuildNow site and began moving dirt on a $500-million facility just four days later.
   While other parks have shovel- ready sites, MidAmerica takes the site selection process to the next level with service- driven competitive advantages. At the forefront is building a relationship with a prospect that adds value to finding a suitable site. The park has instituted a special way of working with projects, doing research, removing barriers, helping to negotiate contracts – all as a kind of 'silent partner' working on behalf of the prospect. In most cases, the approach can yield 20-70percent savings in operating costs.
   "I don't think anyone in this region can match our 'MidAmerica Way' of doing business. It really is a one- stop approach to economic development. We never lose sight of who we really are working for – the industries that we have now and the prospective industries that come to us for solutions. Our approach works to help turnkey success now and in the future," Mitchell said.
   MidAmerica, located near Tulsa, currently has 75 firms operating at the park including divisions of six "Fortune 500," seven "Global 500," and 14 publicly traded companies.