Tinker Business & Industrial Park

Past, Present & Future

After careful and extensive post oil-bust research on how to contribute to the rebuilding of our damaged economy, founder and managing partner Warren Thomas determined that 95 percent of the $5 billion (plus) in contract dollars generated by Tinker were leaving the State of Oklahoma. Through personal meetings with a number of these defense companies, he determined there was no established sense-of-place or nexus for them to conduct their business.

The next issue to be addressed, then, became the "where." At that time, the property on which TBIP sits today was no more than a 70+ (mol) acre strip of vacant land located beneath Tinker's alternate-use runway. Due to the restricted nature of property around military installations, this location would not be without some initial challenges.

By working with the Air Force and the City of Midwest City, however, Thomas was able to help craft a city ordinance making it possible to construct and to operate an aerospace magnet, TBIP. In close proximity to Tinker, it is the essential component to the creation of an eminently successful multi-billion-dollar aerospace and defense cluster.

After thirty-three plus years as a strategic partner with Tinker and the Department of Defense and three Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC), the Air Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ) has never been an impediment to the success of TBIP. While it restricts construction to single-story facilities and regulates the population density of each building, these safety-based requirements were simply factored into the design and have become a part of the TBIP success story, today.

The timing for the development of TBIP could not have been better. Over the course of his eight-year tenure, President Ronald Reagan's massive restructuring and recapitalization of America's military effectively increased the defense budget by 43% over the total expenditures during the height of the Vietnam War.

As a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for the Air Force, money was flowing through Tinker and defense contractors successfully competed for government contracts. These companies and related stakeholders, however, lacked a synergistic and strategic location in which to conduct their business.

The creation of an aerospace and defense cluster literally across the street from Tinker Air Force Base met that need. Securing Boeing as the anchor tenant for TBIP's first building in 1989 served as the catalyst, and other top-tier defense companies such as Northrop, Rockwell, SAIC and others, soon followed. The groundbreaking for the first building was held on August 17, 1989.

Thirty-plus years and three buildings later (with capacity for more), TBIP is a vibrant cluster of 40+ private companies, public entities and complementary industry partners, and represents as much as $2.8 billion of the federal contract dollars spent by Tinker on an annual basis. As previously stated, TBIP is the largest concentration of technology companies in the entire State of Oklahoma.

Tinker Industrial Developers (TID), a partnership of the Flint and Thomas families' interests, is owner and developer of TBIP. The two entities enjoy a combined total of more than 150 years’ experience in the development, construction, and ownership of high-quality real estate investments.

TBIP is a 70-acre (mol) Planned Unit Development, specifically designed to enhance the mission of Tinker Air Force Base. Today, TBIP North and TBIP South comprise four buildings totaling over 200,000 square feet. More than 40 entities account for approximately $3 billion in contracts awarded by Tinker AFB annually. Upon completion, according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Master Plan, TBIP North and South will feature 12 to 15 buildings, approximately 4,000 employees and a total of 1,000,000 square feet.

TBIP Master PlanTBIP heralds a master plan for a unique one million square foot (two campus), multi-functional, technologically-enhanced, business and innovation park, a mid-rise office complex of approximately 300,000 square feet, plus a mixture of brick-faced service centers and high-quality industrial structures, as a part of the 700,000 square feet, totaling over one million square feet on both campuses. Designed in a campus-like configuration, the project reflects the ultimate harmonizing of a skillfully master-planned, high-technology complex with the environmental sensitivity of a wildlife preserve. With hundreds of mature trees, many exceeding three feet in diameter, there is the natural beauty with which to create an unparalleled place for people to enjoy their working environment in a place that is collaborative, holistic, and permeated by a can-do attitude.

Image of the North TBIP LocationDefense contractors operate in a constantly changing, constantly evolving marketplace. This need for flexibility, combined with current trends toward corporate downsizing and re-engineering, has created the demand for virtual offices, virtual companies, and the ability to shrink, grow or reconfigure quickly and efficiently. TBIP offers a variety of space solutions which, for small businesses in particular, allow for a minimum of fixed-overhead expenses while functioning like a larger company when special business opportunities arise, particularly those that are of limited duration. The design and built-in flexibility of the facilities and ancillary support services of TBIP, such as multi-purpose education and training spaces, allow for a "migratory" path for a small business that anticipates growth but wants to tailor its offices and overhead to what is required at its then current stage of growth and revenue.

Embracing Technology as a Fundamental Element of Business

Image of the TBIP Conference room
TBIP Networking Luncheon

Since TBIP's designation as Oklahoma's first "smart park," multi-media and information technologies have more than realized the potential predicted in the late 1980's. Broadband high-speed data, voice and video communication media have become a standard for business operations. Underground switching systems, fiber-optic infrastructure, and "smart buildings" are necessary for these advanced technologies to accommodate such applications as fully digitized voice and data, LAN, WAN, ISDN, artificial intelligence, automated optical inspection, advanced manufacturing, computer-integrated manufacturing (CNC), and video teleconferencing are examples of required technology infrastructure.

TBIP has demonstrated a history of capitalizing on these emerging technologies by planning not only "smart buildings" but also a state-of-the-art fiber network designed to handle the future needs of our tenants. A 100 MB pipe for direct access to Tinker Air Force Base is in place for approved contractors.

The TBIP Team knows how critical it is to provide for and be prepared, in advance, to accommodate whatever technologies and services both current and future tenants require. Designing and planning to meet the needs for tomorrow's advanced technologies – today - defines a top priority for Tinker Business & Industrial Park.

A Proven Team

TBIP Tenant Logos
TBIP is chiefly engaged in the creation of sector-specific business environments that aggregate clusters of inter-related entities – private, public and academic – all for the purpose of infusing energy for common goals and objectives. At Tinker Business & Industrial Park, supporting the warfighter is that purpose! TBIP has been successful because, among other significant factors, it has focused not just on real estate but more importantly on the strategic commitment that helps to assure the success of tenants and associated businesses in the fulfillment of their critical missions.