I'd been into the lobby some weeks ago for a banking visit but hadn't had much of a chance to look around until today. I had lunch with my attorney in the Petro Deli, and before we ate I ran up to his office on 27. What a difference this renovation has made. The deli was great as always, and the entire ground floor is so airy and bright. The retail space on the south side of the tower (including Red Earth) looks great. And the view from his office with the new windows installed was a tremendous upgrade vs what was there before. All in all this is a great renovation for this tower, which is an important building for OKC.

Not much progress here, no doubt due to the cold and windy weather.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst010922a.jpg

Are there any updates on the south side of the building so far or no significant progress made there?

Are there any updates on the south side of the building so far or no significant progress made there?

They have done about 3-4 floors at the bottom.

I don't know what happened, they were hauling ass on this at the end of the Summer, then seems like it slowed way down in the Fall. The temps haven't been that bad, we have had warmer than usual temps this year.

They were moving very fast until it got windy and very cold.

Should see more progress this week; I saw them working on the east crown this morning.

As of this morning, it looks like the east crown is complete.

Will be interesting to see which side they do next.

As of the most recent plans, the big BancFirst signs are planned for the north and south exposures.

They were moving very fast until it got windy and very cold.

Should see more progress this week; I saw them working on the east crown this morning.

I wonder if they are waiting on glass. They left some gaps on the west, seeming to focus on occupied floors, which makes me think they were "rationing". My guess is the pace will pick up with new deliveries.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst011122b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst011122a.jpg

Not trying to be argumentative, but how and why would they be required to add stories to a already large skyscraper?

so not to block the views from the 36th floor.

so not to block the views from the 36th floor.

According to post #1438, the 36th floor hasn't been used for years, other than for storage.

I wonder if they are waiting on glass. They left some gaps on the west, seeming to focus on occupied floors, which makes me think they were "rationing". My guess is the pace will pick up with new deliveries.

I bet you are right.

There hasn't been much progress in the last few weeks.

The east side “completed” crown shows silver areas that look like flashing between some of the gaps of the crown. Surely they are going to fix that? It looks so sloppy.

The east side “completed” crown shows silver areas that look like flashing between some of the gaps of the crown. Surely they are going to fix that? It looks so sloppy.

Yes, they will fill those gaps with the blue-colored material.

Took this today.

And they were installing more glass on the south facade.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst012122a.jpg

Looks great! We were at Scissortail over the weekend and checked out the building and it looks really nice overall.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst012322a.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst013022a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst013022b.jpg

Thanks again for the update pics, Pete.

Much better improvement than the ole Cotter Ranch, Tower.

Drove by on 235 Friday and it now sticks out in a good way. Looks really good.

https://www.bancfirsttower.com/

They are kicking some tail on the south facade; new glass is almost halfway up.

I'm curious which facade will get the next part of the crown.

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Red Earth Art Center showcases Native American art in sparkling new downtown OKC home
https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/2022/02/24/red-earth-center-shines-light-native-american-art-downtown-oklahoma-city-home/9229057002/

They must be waiting on glass again.

Not much movement in the last couple of weeks, even with the nice weather.

^ Yes, went by there yesterday, seems like no significant progress in a while. A lot of empty floors that were skipped for glass. Really looks tacky right now, project really not exciting anymore. Didn't expect them to take this long.

^ Yes, went by there yesterday, seems like no significant progress in a while. A lot of empty floors that were skipped for glass. Really looks tacky right now, project really not exciting anymore. Didn't expect them to take this long.

They did 3 floors on the south side last week. They are working. Just probably having delays on windows arriving. Windy days. Snowy days. Etc.

My working theory, without support other than anecdotal visual evidence as I come to the building every day, is that they are waiting on glass and installing as soon as it arrives. I sure hope they get to my South window before summer. It gets blazing hot in my office in the summer.

I grabbed this picture from both the "Scissortail Park" and NW 4th and Shartel" threads respectively, and thought of this project in particular.

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So quick series of questions, what are the latest updates for this one, as it appears to be 2/3 done on the south face, with the west face having a few floors unfinished.
1) Is there a special window process taking place for the west side?
2) Is there any news of the crown being done on the other sides, as the north side appears as complete as the east (sans the crown)?
3) Do you think they'll meet the projected deadline or will it be pushed back due to supply issues?

Driving down 40 every morning it looks like good progress has been made on the south side. Looks about 3/4 done and seems to be moving at a solid pace

I think they have been up working on it maybe 1 or 2 days the past 3 weeks. The constant 20+mph wind has been throwing this plan off terribly.

^

It's very clear they have to wait on new glass shipments. When they get glass, it goes up very quickly.

The latest plan was to finish by this summer but that seems ambitious considering the constant delays.

Since BancFirst has completely moved their operations into the building, I'm sure they want to be done more than anyone.

^

It's very clear they have to wait on new glass shipments. When they get glass, it goes up very quickly.

The latest plan was to finish by this summer but that seems ambitious considering the constant delays.

Since BancFirst has completely moved their operations into the building, I'm sure they want to be done more than anyone.

I was told they lost a shipping crate full of the windows during transport over seas. Given these are custom build, I assume that means process has to start from scratch on that batch of windows.
This would explain the sudden stop until they can get more.

^

They are out working on the south facade today, so hopefully they'll continue to get supply. They are about 2/3rds the way up on that side now.

BancFirst is the biggest tenant and the required scaffolding and ugly covered walkways in and out of the building have to bum them out more than anyone.

I'm sure they are very motivated to wrap this up, as they are so close to the finish line.

I talked to two different BancFirst folks who should know and they told me they have all the glass on site. They have had trouble finding experienced crews and the weather has really slowed them down. They expect to be moving quickly again soon.

It looks like the rope and bucket system is removed from the west side. So perhaps that side is basically 100% completion, looks like maybe some corner trim near the top is pending on the N and S crown.

Has it been said how much of the tower is BancFirst occupying?

Any updates? Seems like the project has not slowed, but stopped, no significant progress in months, what's going on?

Any updates? Seems like the project has not slowed, but stopped, no significant progress in months, what's going on?

They have been working when the wind isn't blowing 20 MPH, which has been most of the spring.

They have almost finished with the west facade and about 2/3rds the way up on the south.

After that, they have to finish the crown on 3 sides.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst060322a.jpg

The old girl is looking good in her new dress!

Liking the new glass color.

Looks like they finished the west facade.

Still lacking the top 9 floors of the south facade.

Then, the only work remaining will be the crown on 3 sides + signage on the south and north sides.

Working from home this week while they do my southside windows on the 28th floor. Rain needs to stop so I can get back in my office.

From today (Thursday):

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst060922a.jpg

Not BancFirst related, but I sure wish they could clean up the viaduct, looks like it is derelict

Good deal, looks like they have substantial progress.

As of this morning, they have finished all of the windows on the south facade except the top two floors, which is the Petroleum Club.

Other than that, they are done apart from the crown on 3 sides.

Almost finished with all the glass on the south facade.

They've started on the crown on the west side.


Coming down the home stretch. I'm sure they're anxious to finish up and remove all the plywood tunnels from around the base of the building.

Only thing that remains is the crown on 3 sides, then Bob's your uncle.

You can see the brackets on the west facade in the second photo.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst070222a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst070222b.jpg

Only thing that remains is the crown on 3 sides, then Bob's your uncle.

You can see the brackets on the west facade in the second photo.

So silly question - on that very top level where the crown will go, the old windows are still in place. Once the crown is placed over the facade of the building, will the existing windows be removed or replaced? Or will they remain under the crown? I'm not at all familiar with how these types of glass curtain walls work.

So silly question - on that very top level where the crown will go, the old windows are still in place. Once the crown is placed over the facade of the building, will the existing windows be removed or replaced? Or will they remain under the crown? I'm not at all familiar with how these types of glass curtain walls work.

We talked about this and the answer is unclear.

The crown actually sticks out maybe a foot from the glass windows. This is necessary because it covers up some old architectural elements that are not glass. In other words, it has to go over the top of the existing glass layer, and that's why brackets are installed, to hold it in place. On the other levels, the glass is merely replaced and is flush with the building.

So certainly, there are two layers of glass at the very top level. It's not clear if they replace the old glass behind the crown. I don't think they do, because I've watched every single day of this project and know with certainty that the crown is installed over the old glass. It's possible the old glass is then removed and replaced, but I don't think so. If they could do that they wouldn't need men on those outside platforms, which are clearly necessary for replacing the glass on every other level.

To replace glass, they have teams working both inside and outside. But if the crown goes over the old glass, there is no way to gain access from the outside.


So, my conclusion is they leave the old glass in place at the very top. Oddly, the main use on that floor is storage so they probably aren't worried about aesthetics from the inside.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/bancfirst122621a.jpg

that very top floor has been half storage and half an apt for a long time .. i think it is currently all storage ..

Crews have been out there working right up against that reflective glass throughout this ridiculous heatwave.

And they are often out there well into the afternoon.

I would normally ask for photos, but I've been hearing it's up to 115-117 out there. Please be careful when you're out and about, I know you don't need me to tell you that, but I just don't want anything bad happening to you. Appreciate you, and stay safe.

There isn't a lot to see.

They are working on the west crown, then will turn to the north and south crowns which will contain BancFirst signage.

Then that's it... They can finally take down all the plywood protection at ground level and call this project finished.

Wasn't there set to be an LED crown at the top level or is that a cancelled item?

Wasn't there set to be an LED crown at the top level or is that a cancelled item?

LED mullions (the vertical bars) throughout the crown.

Really? I didn't expect that to be the play, but here we are. Very ingenuitive, and relatively sneaky. Kudos.

I can't help but wonder if years from now, the building will undergo another renovation and the public will wonder why anyone would cover up such "beautiful" architecture with a façade :tongue: