Concourse?

They built something completely new underground... I don't think they touched the Underground.

In this photo you can see a roundish structure. That whole area is now covered with a concrete plaza and I'm sure the space is being used for something:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sandridge52511.jpg

The monument was recently restored. So I doubt that it will move, or move far due to the community fundraising effort to preserve it.

They are gutting the Globe Life from the inside now. It sounds as though they are cutting out the old elevators.


I haven't seen welding torches in the past week or so. We saw lots of that type of activity for weeks before that. I think they are done cutting and are now removing. We have been wondering if it is just because the building would come down easier with them gone, or if the metal (probably steel) was worth something. I'm sure there was a lot of it.

Looks like underground loading docks. I dart my gaze down there all the time driving down Robinson, but you have to look quickly. There were previously loading docks in that area already, with the entrance in the alley between the Braniff and the building on Robinson that was demolished.

SandRidge is definitely upping it's PR... Numerous ads on Newsok.com and they are also sponsoring two of the Downtown in December events.

I bet they soon do even more, ala CHK and Devon and I would expect Continental to do the same once they are fully moved in.

If the New Kids do half of what the other two have done for OKC, the community is going to receive massive benefits. And credit to Devon and Chesapeake for not only being so generous and offering so much leadership, but also setting high standards for others to emulate.

I saw a pretty cool SandRidge commercial on TV last night.

I think you will see Continental step to the plate also. If you look at how they are involved in Enid, I'm sure it will spill over to the metro.

I noticed that as well about SandRidge on Newsok.com. I thought I went to SandRidges freakin' home page the way it says "SandRidge" all over it and has all these adds for it.

BTW, I love their new commercial.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: SandRidge was previously pretty much inept at public relations, didn't really know what it was, why it was needed, who to use, when, etc. Now they've totally changed their tune and as a reporter it's a whole lot easier working with them now than it was two years ago.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: SandRidge was previously pretty much inept at public relations, didn't really know what it was, why it was needed, who to use, when, etc. Now they've totally changed their tune and as a reporter it's a whole lot easier working with them now than it was two years ago.

Well good. Sounds like a change needed for both of you. :-)

In about 3 or 4 years when the announced modifications/buildings have been completed or in progress......SandRidge will be the darlings of downtown. A lot of the negative will come to pass, the area will be greatly improved and their image will be somewhat steller.

In about 3 or 4 years when the announced modifications/buildings have been completed or in progress......SandRidge will be the darlings of downtown. A lot of the negative will come to pass, the area will be greatly improved and their image will be somewhat steller.

I think there will still be those who hold grudges against them, but I also think their overall imagine will be vastly greater as you mentioned.

Now, if only the 'we want Sandridge to look more positive locally' folk could sit down for coffee with the 'Let's Finish It' folk for the stalled museum project. One can dream.

Now that's a thought, Sandridge at one end of the river, Chesapeake and Devon on the other.......now that'd be some positive progress !

If we could only get CR down there this place would be hummin'

SandRidge is using rowers on the Oklahoma River in their "Power of Us" video ads.

I do have confirmation from the demolition company that the SkyBridge is coming downtown this weekend!
Is anyone going to be down there to get photos/video? Steve? Would be a nice NewsOK piece!

Did anyone get any pictures or video of the skybridge removal? They were setting up all the cranes Friday when I left work.

So since Sandridge is remodeling the park, do they (or will they) own it? Or will the city still own it but with an agreement with Sandridge to pay for the upkeep?

the city still own it but with an agreement with Sandridge to pay for the upkeep?

Yes. It is public property. At least the "median" section along Couch for sure.

Kerr Park will remain owned by the city but according to several reports:


Chesapeake and SandRidge have agreed to renovate Kerr Park and to maintain it at no cost to Oklahoma City for at least the next 10 years.

Rand Elliott will be involved as a designer but I believe SandRidge is also going to use the same group that is designing the landscape for their campus.

This was all part of the deal when CHK announced the sale to SandRidge several years ago.

I wonder if the park will still be occupied when its time for the renovations... lol

Dowell will be creating a new eastern facade for the Dowell Center when Sandridge tears down the current elevator parking/office structure. The new facade will extend down to the top of Sandridge's new Amenities building. I've posted this in the Dowell Center thread as well, but in the application to the Downtown Design Committee, Sandridge had extended a letter of support.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6231/6334535181_7823438cb1_b.jpg

Does this mean he's finally going to lease out this empty building??

Dowell said he is going to start leasing in 2013.

Don't want to rush into anything here... He's only owned it since 1995.

Two $.5 million building permits today to remodel the 11th & 12th floors of the tower.

I wonder how many they have left to do?

Also, I'd still love to see some interior photos of the before and after.

Photo from today.

They are really coming along on their grounds:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sandridge1118.jpg

So what happened to the new building that was supposed to be built where that garage is being renovated? Is that not the spot or did I misunderstand? Last I heard the new building was going to be in the next five years.

They will remove that garage when it's time for the new building. All they did is put fake stucco on the south facade as it used to abut the old India Temple building.

They still have yet to start in earnest on the Braniff building or the amenities building where the old Globe Life structure is slowly being dismantled.

So what happened to the new building that was supposed to be built where that garage is being renovated? Is that not the spot or did I misunderstand? Last I heard the new building was going to be in the next five years.

We'll see......in the next 5 years.

Construction photos:

http://i.imgur.com/EuQLx.jpg

Right click, view image for bigger image.

Cool!

Where did you find these??

Here:

http://www.rogersmarvel.com/Sandridge.html

I just compiled the photos using my leet paint skillz!

Here:

http://www.rogersmarvel.com/Sandridge.html


From that website: "The master plan responds to the challenging climate in Oklahoma City, seeking to address conditions like high street-level winds that currently discourage outdoor activity."

I guess they think that density-induced winds discouraged people from being outside in downtown. Thank goodness they're creating urban shelterbelts to shield the downtown population and encourage pedestrian activity LOL.

Disclaimer: I support this project and think it will be a positive, I just think it is funny to state any reason for the master plan other than, "that's how Sandridge
wants it".

In an article from today on Newsok.com it said the encampment in Kerr Park is being pushed out so Sandridge can start demolition on the old Globe Life building.

Should be very interesting to see that thing come down.

I can't wait to see the new amenities building. It will be some architecture that is very unique to OKC. (That I am aware of, I don't know any building here that looks similar)

Here's a look at the metal canopy that will be between the tower and the Braniff Building. It's 4,600 square feet, so pretty huge.

Installation is scheduled for December:

http://thornton.s3.amazonaws.com/content_images/1471/OKCanopy_main.jpg

And here's an interior shot of a couple of their executive floors:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sandridge1128.jpg

That actually looks pretty good.

Is the Globe Life building physically connected to that other building? Do we know how long demolition will take?

I feel like the Sandridge buildings are the mutilated baby of a cross between Devon Tower and CHK campus, lol.

I like that canopy above, but since it's near the Braniff building, they should have made it resemble a giant airplane wing.

I can tell you this, after experiencing the plazas here in Philly vs streets where the buildings are pushed to the sidewalk my disdain for plazas is at an all time high. The plazas around the Philly City Services building and Love Park is a 100% disaster and failure on every level. Ironically there is a giant Sorry game piece in front of the building. It fits.

$3 million building permit today to renovate the Braniff building.

Very excited to see this building come back to life!

Any idea if the Braniff renovation will include removal of the non-original aluminum-framed windows currently in the building and replacing them with period-appropriate double-hung wood sashes? I was admiring the newly-revealed red brick the other day and thinking how incredible the building would look with historically correct windows.

It made a HUGE difference when the Magnolia Petroleum Building replaced their windows by reverting to wooden double-hungs about ten years ago. The YMCA renovation of the bomb-damaged Oklahoman Building saw the same improvement when it added the double-hungs, even despite the fact that its windows are a bit faux, in that they are not operational.

I know it sounds goofy to be that window-obsessed, but truthfully good/appropriate windows are critical to a top-notch historic preservation, and it seems like Sandridge is attempting to do a quality job on the one historic building they didn't demolish.

I feel like the Sandridge buildings are the mutilated baby of a cross between Devon Tower and CHK campus, lol.

The owner of Sandridge was a partner in CHK for a lot of years, given how much stock he owned and his position he would have had influence in their style over the years, though the most recent CHK development happened after he left.

The owner of Sandridge was a partner in CHK for a lot of years, given how much stock he owned and his position he would have had influence in their style over the years, though the most recent CHK development happened after he left.

I'm well aware, i've read the annual reports.

Any idea if the Braniff renovation will include removal of the non-original aluminum-framed windows currently in the building and replacing them with period-appropriate double-hung wood sashes?

On the west and north exposures they will indeed be replacing the existing windows with "insulated clad windows"; you can see them in the rendering below. I doubt any of the new windows going into buildings these days are truly double-hung; almost always they are fixed and not able to be opened. However, they do replicate the look.

On the eastern and southern sides they will use a more modern cladding to tie the building into the tower.

http://photos3.newsok.com/cache/r620-d7422f0afdf66d90812059248d1bde10.jpg

Why haven't I ever seen that rendering before?

On the west and north exposures they will indeed be replacing the existing windows with "insulated clad windows"; you can see them in the rendering below. I doubt any of the new windows going into buildings these days are truly double-hung; almost always they are fixed and not able to be opened. However, they do replicate the look.

On the eastern and southern sides they will use a more modern cladding to tie the building into the tower...
That rendering clears things up a lot, if they build out as drawn. Those are definitely closer to the originals in appearance and will be a major improvement.

I agree that most double-hung retrofits are generally NOT operational. When the YMCA built out the Oklahoman building they made the decision to have fixed windows due to several factors. One was cost; there is a small per-window savings in fixed, as they don't require the mechanical elements needed for operation. Spread over many dozens or even hundreds of windows it adds up. Second was energy efficiency. Though operational windows themselves aren't that much less efficient, when you give tenants the ability to open windows you cede control of your HVAC expenses to the whims of the tenant. Finally, liability was a factor, owing to the fact that it is a multi-story building, and someone leaning too far out of a window can literally turn into a sticky situation in the blink of an eye.

Generally HP standards accept these modern issues as reasonable, and good HP doesn't necessarily require the windows to be operational.

I will say, though, that when the Salyers replaced the single-pane, dark-tinted windows in the Magnolia Petroleum building circa 2000, I will give them props for going the extra mile and choosing operational double-hungs. My office was there at the time, and the ability to open the windows on a spring day was awfully cool and appealing.

Here's a photo of the building sometime after the window replacement. I'll see if I can scare up a photo pre-replacement at some point to show what a difference it made.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/111174808_9ce8b4b2a0.jpg

That Braniff rendering is the one submitted for final approval from the Downtown Design Review Committee, so it should represent what actually is done.

And it's certainly true that windows make a huge difference in any building.

BTW, when I visited the Empire State Building last year, they were in the middle of a window project that required removal of more than 6,500 windows. They disassembled them on-site, cleaned them, applied a baked-on plastic energy-efficient film, and charged them with inert gas, making them 2-4 times as efficient. Since they were recycling the original windows, the "green" value of the project increased exponentially. Those windows remained operational double-hungs. It was all pretty fascinating.

Here's a link (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-07-12-empire-state-building-windows-green_N.htm) to a story about the project.

Does anyone know if SR plans to light up their building at night like Kerr McGee did years ago? Also, does anyone know if SR plans to put a SandRidge sign atop the building once renovations are completed?

Photo from today's Oklahoman showing the original red brick coming back to life on the north facade of the Braniff Building:

http://photos3.newsok.com/cache/w640-ee01d455450285029324e85819e57f5b.jpg

this is going to look so good in a couple of years

That's not possible. It is a SR project after all. LOL

That's not possible. It is a SR project after all. LOL

I laughed. :Smiley199

That is going to be a beautiful building. It really goes to show just how these old buildings will amaze you as you start to peel at the onion layers shrouding it.

Here's a screenshot from William's awesome video... Shows good progress at ground level:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/sandridge1211.jpg

Can't wait to have my daughters party in their plaza.......

No one commented about how AMAZING the Braniff Building looks at night all lite up.
So I will-It looks truely AMAZING!!

I haven't seen it yet. Photo?

it's rendering or model up for its second tower next to their ongoing renovated o e? Thanks.

I know there was an article a few months back with Tom Ward in which he confirmed a tower with equal size to their current headquarters, but only preliminary pictures of the overall Sandridge Commons have been released. The article said we are still a couple of years away from any particulars to the development of the next major building. I think maybe they said 2014 ?