Enid, Ok

[G.Walker]

According to the 2013 population estimate, Enid, Ok now has over 50,000 residents, and growing consistently. Now that is has over 50,000 residents it should be considered as a metropolitan statistical area, which will make it the fourth MSA in Oklahoma, which is pretty cool. But it probably won't get officially recognized as a MSA until after to 2020 census is conducted if that population holds.

I just think its neat to have a new metro area, as Enid, Ok kinda flies under the radar in Oklahoma, but Enid, is a nice place, from what I hear.

Source: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/40/4023950.html

[Pete]

Continental -- before it moved to OKC -- was responsible for a ton of that growth.

Now, Harold Hamm still owns several smaller companies up there that are doing well.

I've always liked Enid. Neat little downtown and a good number of Craftsman style homes in the older neighborhoods.

[bradh]

still lots of growth up there. Koch is expanding the nitrogen plant (a billion dollar project i'm told) and I know there are some other agricultural companies looking at building a seed plant up there. You also have all the Vance AFB traffic

[G.Walker]

I just think its cool for a stand alone city like Enid, Ok to holds its own, develop & grow, without so much dependency on Oklahoma City & Tulsa. How many people does Vance AFB employ? Is it a big draw?

http://www.growenid.com/

[G.Walker]

Now this video makes me want to pack up and move to Enid! lol...

[CCOKC]

There seems to be a lot of civic pride in Enid. It is nice to remember that a lot of people prefer to live in a small town and not belittle those choices. I am speaking to myself here as much as anyone because I still think of OKC as a smallish town.

[G.Walker]

Nice mixed-use development under construction in Enid, Ok:

Stonebridge Village

[OKCDrummer77]

Having grown up in Enid, it's nice to see the city still doing well. As for the metro comments, I believe it once held full MSA status as the 1980 population was 50,363. It ballooned to an estimated 55,000 by 1984. Shortly after that, the Champlin oil refinery closed and the population dropped pretty fast (only 45,309 per the 1990 census). During the exodus, one business located at Garriott and Van Buren (most prominent intersection in Enid) put this on their marquee sign: "Last one out of Enid, turn off the lights." Since that time, a couple of rounds of base closings have left people apprehensive about the future of Vance AFB. Fortunately, that seems to be off the radar for the foreseeable future, so it's good to see the city recovering from these challenges and continuing to grow.

[BrettM2]

Vance isn't as big an employer as other bases because it is a training base. You'll have full-time instructors but most of the population is only temporary.

[OKCDrummer77]

Vance isn't as big an employer as other bases because it is a training base. You'll have full-time instructors but most of the population is only temporary.

That may be the case for active duty personnel, but they also have a considerable civilian workforce.

[turnpup]

OKC Drummer, what's that area with the beautiful old historic homes? I enjoy driving through there when I have business out that way.

[Roger S]

I can tell you they put on a top notch KCBS BBQ Competition in Enid that draws teams from all of Oklahoma's surrounding states.

Last year they had 64 teams. I don't have a final count on this years teams but I've been seeing a lot of the heavy hitters names on the list of teams attending this year.

[OKCDrummer77]

OKC Drummer, what's that area with the beautiful old historic homes? I enjoy driving through there when I have business out that way.

That sounds like the Waverly district, along Broadway west of Van Buren.

[Swake]

According to the 2013 population estimate, Enid, Ok now has over 50,000 residents, and growing consistently. Now that is has over 50,000 residents it should be considered as a metropolitan statistical area, which will make it the fourth MSA in Oklahoma, which is pretty cool.
Source: Enid (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

That is cool, but it will only be the sixth MSA in the state. Both the Ft Smith and Joplin metro areas include counties in Oklahoma.

[Bunty]

Enid is extremely fortunate to have a real nice recently built convention center, even though voters didn't approve full funding or it. City officials responded by scaling down the project and using funding already available. I have been there before to a gathering and was well impressed with it. It has four huge ballrooms with at least one more on the 2nd floor. It has an arena that will seat 3,500 to 4,000 people. I sure hope the project is doing well, since Stillwater is considering doing the same thing through a private/public project. If it's doing well, it will discourage naysayers from saying that Stillwater is too small to support such a significant undertaking. The city of Stillwater currently owns two city blocks for the project.

After Enid, Stillwater is closely in line to become the next Oklahoma metro area. It will be a bigger one than Enid, since Payne County is more populated than Garfield County.

http://www.enideventcenter.com/

[OkiePoke]

Enid is extremely fortunate to have a real nice recently built convention center, even though voters didn't approve full funding or it. City officials responded by scaling down the project and using funding already available. I have been there before to a gathering and was well impressed with it. It has four huge ballrooms with at least one more on the 2nd floor. It has an arena that will seat 3,500 to 4,000 people. I sure hope the project is doing well, since Stillwater is considering doing the same thing through a private/public project. If it's doing well, it will discourage naysayers from saying that Stillwater is too small to support such a significant undertaking. The city of Stillwater currently owns two city blocks for the project.

After Enid, Stillwater is closely in line to become the next Oklahoma metro area. It will be a bigger one than Enid, since Payne County is more populated than Garfield County.

Enid Event Center and Convention Hall

I grew up in Enid. It's not a bad town for what it is, just nothing really there to do compared to OKC.

I remember my dad vehemently disagreeing with the Event Center. Funny thing is, he is a part of the Corvette Club in town and has been going on about how nice it will be to have a place downtown and not having to go all the way to the Expo Center.

Sometimes, the best decisions are not the most popular. I would like to see how the Event Center is doing financially though.

[lasomeday]

We just opened a field office there. There will be 80 people based out of it.

[SomeGuy]

Was wondering, whatever happened to the plans of demalling the mall in Enid?

[zookeeper]

Enid is a great little place. I also loved Ponca City for years. Conoco, when it was under DuPont, destroyed the town when they laid off a huge part of their work force around 1990. The refinery is still there and there's some good jobs, but it's a shadow of its former self. The town has made some strides in forward momentum, but it is not what it once was. Under Phillips 66 they've returned some jobs that administer a lot of the retail side of Phillips. It's a good example of when one corporate entity has such control of a community. Greed and avarice eventually won out and Ponca took the hit. I hope they continue their momentum with Phillips. By the way, Ponca City is a Midwestern-like town unlike so many others of its size in our state. Neat place.

[adaniel]

With so many small towns in OK now just a bombed out shell of their former selves (the aforementioned Ponca City being one of them) it was refreshing to see Enid a year and some change ago. Its surprising considering they have no interstate or turnpike access, which is supposed to be the death knell for a lot of towns. I spent a good week or so at the Garfield County courthouse and walked around the downtown area during my free time. I remember it being very vibrant with lots of white and blue collar types walking around. Probably the best downtown in OK outside of OKC and Tulsa.

On a side note, I learned very quickly that there is A LOT of money in Enid. I hope the slowdown in oil drilling doesn't hurt them too bad.

[Urbanized]

Enid has had one of the state's best and most active Main Street Programs for many years, which has been very active in preserving existing downtown businesses and building stock, plus luring/promoting new business. Having a town fully buy into the Main Street process is one of the very best things a small/medium town - or even a big-city urban are that doesn't already have the benefit of an active, educated and trained downtown organization - can do.

[OkiePoke]

Looks like Enid is getting a McAlister's. They seem pretty excited about this.

[Plutonic Panda]

Enid enhancements: City expects two competing projects | The Journal Record

[bradh]

That Oakwood Commons project is happening, a GC has been awarded but plans have been revised several times.

[Plutonic Panda]

Tennessee developer plans to build shopping center in Enid | News OK