Muskogee’s elected leaders will get a chance Monday to weigh in on a proposed land deal that would enlarge Muskogee’s real estate holdings intended for industrial development.

Muskogee Municipal Authority members are scheduled to take up the matter during a special meeting immediately following the City Council meeting at 7 p.m.

The two tracts to be considered Monday are south of Peak Boulevard and between U.S. 64 and U.S. 69. One parcel, according to county records, consists of 59.8 acres. The second tract has 126.5 acres.

Muskogee County Assessor Dan Ashwood said the real estate is owned by Roger Key of McAlester. Ronald Martin is identified as a co-owner of the smaller tract.

“Both of these properties were just purchased about a year ago,” Ashwood said. “Both have been valued (by the assessor’s office) for agricultural use, but they’re probably worth much more than that.”

The authority plans to use a $1.5 million grant for economic development secured this past week from the City of Muskogee Foundation. The grant was the first requested since the foundation was formed in August and the first awarded.

The foundation was created by the city as a charitable organization intended to improve the quality of life in Muskogee. Its creation was funded by the proceeds from the lease of Muskogee Regional Medical Center to Capella Healthcare.

Muskogee City Manager Greg Buckley said the land deal would “be a great opportunity for Muskogee.” Some of the benefits, Buckley said, would be “new jobs for the community” and a greater “demand for more housing.”

County records show Key and Martin paid $180,000 for the smaller tract about a year ago. About that same time, Key acquired the larger parcel for $379,500. The agenda posted for the special meeting of the Muskogee Municipal Authority shows the city expects to pay $300,000 for the smaller tract and $530,000 for the larger one.

Ward II Councilor and Realtor Shawn Raper said the acquisition of these two parcels — and the possibility of buying two others — will be a boon to Muskogee’s economic development efforts. The sites, Raper said, are close to existing infrastructure

Raper said the real estate is not far from a railroad spur that connects Griffin Industrial Park to the Port of Muskogee. Water and sewer lines suitable for industrial expansion already extend to Dal-Tile, and a high-voltage transmission line crosses the area.

“This is a necessary first step in the path toward getting what companies want — a shovel-ready site,” said Raper, who attended an economic development seminar this past week. “From what I’ve heard ... there are a lot of cities that get crossed off the list at that point.”

The two parcels being considered, Raper said, have passed environmental inspections “and you could literally go out there and start building.”