Episode 238
How Ponca City Turned Housing Into Economic Development with Lori Henderson
October 5th, 2026
25 mins 20 secs
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About this Episode
In this episode of the Econ Dev Show Dane Carlson talks with Lori Henderson, executive director of the Ponca City Development Authority, about what economic development looks like in a rural manufacturing community where workforce, housing, childcare, and quality of life are all connected.
Lori explains how Ponca City expanded beyond traditional business retention and expansion to tackle housing and retail, including an incentive program that helped move the community from just a handful of new homes each year to 59 incentivized housing units in two years.
She also shares how the development authority helped revive a closed movie theater, supports entrepreneurs through flexible workspace and small-business services, and builds a long-term workforce pipeline through a high-school internship program involving roughly 100 local companies and 180 students.
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10 Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers
1. Treat housing as economic development infrastructure.
If employers are expanding but workers cannot find places to live, job growth eventually runs into a housing ceiling. Ponca City added housing to the development authority's responsibilities and began actively working with developers to increase supply.
2. Identify the financial gap keeping developers away.
Ponca City's challenge was straightforward: builders could construct a house in Ponca City for roughly the same cost as in a larger nearby market but sell it for less. Their incentive program helps close that profitability gap and makes rural projects more competitive.
3. Build incentives around the developer's actual risk.
Rather than assuming developers simply need to be recruited harder, determine what financial obstacle is preventing the project from working. Ponca City's experience suggests that when builders know a predictable amount of assistance is available, projects that previously did not pencil can become viable.
4. Coordinate incentives across local organizations.
The City of Ponca City handles permitting, vets housing projects, and determines incentives. The development authority then contributes additional funding. That division of labor lets each organization do what it is best positioned to do instead of duplicating effort.
5. Don't ignore existing housing stock.
New construction is not the only way to add housing capacity. Ponca City also incentivizes rehabilitation of older homes that have fallen out of active use, helping return properties to the housing market and utility system.
6. View quality-of-life projects through a workforce lens.
The redevelopment of Ponca City's closed movie theater was not simply a retail project. The development authority viewed entertainment, shopping, schools, housing, and other amenities as part of the community's ability to attract and retain workers.
7. Give economic development organizations room to experiment.
Lori describes the development authority as being able to operate in a gray area and take risks the city itself may not be positioned to take. Some programs will not work as planned, so organizations need enough flexibility to adjust, pivot, and try again.
8. Make business retention and expansion the foundation.
Before expanding into housing and retail, about 95% of Ponca City's economic development work focused on existing businesses. Lori argues that especially in rural communities, much of the most realistic growth comes from helping companies already in the community expand.
9. Start building the workforce pipeline in high school.
Ponca City's internship program places juniors and seniors inside local companies so students can see careers available in their hometown. Roughly 100 companies participate, with about 180 students in internships during the semester discussed in the episode.
10. Show young people careers they may not know exist.
Programs such as Ponca City's Girl Power camp introduced eighth-grade girls to careers including welding. Some participants later entered those industries. Workforce development can begin simply by exposing students to opportunities that otherwise would never appear on their radar.