It is likely that Oklahoma City will be getting a new skyscraper with in the next few years, with that said, what would be a good location? Are there certain buildings you feel would need to be demolished? Or are there prime locations close to CBD that would require none or minimal demolition?

Put yourself in the shoes of a developer, and you had $500 Million to spend on new skyscraper. Where would you build and why? How tall would your skyscraper be? Who would be your architect? Would it be mixed-use, commercial, or residential?

to answer my own questions:

Location: The currently lot that houses the Historic Hightower Building, west of the downtown library, south of Oklahoma City municipal building. However, I would not demolish Hightower Building, but I would demolish Oklahoma City Accounting division on that lot, and build skyscraper adjacent to Hightower Building.

Height: 650ft to 700ft

Archictect: Cesar Pelli

Building Type: Commercial

Key Features: Would have adjacent 7 story parking garage, would allow office space for Oklahoma City Accounting Division, Leed Silver Certification,

It is likely that Oklahoma City will be getting a new skyscraper with in the next few years

I would like to know more about this.

I would rip down the parking garage of the Sheraton and put up a mixed-use highrise there. The current hotel may be retained, but that garage and mall are a carbuncle on the face of the city. Better yet, the Sheraton should beef up its property by building high there. The only caveat is that it needs to be placed in the MIDDLE of the property and not on Robinson, as that would block the view of and from FNC. I would image about 45 stories, 700 feet, and full of street level retail. Right across from the Cox it is a sure bet to be filled on convention days.

I would rip down the parking garage of the Sheraton and put up a mixed-use highrise there. The current hotel may be retained, but that garage and mall are a carbuncle on the face of the city. Better yet, the Sheraton should beef up its property by building high there. The only caveat is that it needs to be placed in the MIDDLE of the property and not on Robinson, as that would block the view of and from FNC. I would image about 45 stories, 700 feet, and full of street level retail. Right across from the Cox it is a sure bet to be filled on convention days.

I actually thought about this location also, good idea, who would be your architect?

I would rip down the parking garage of the Sheraton and put up a mixed-use highrise there. The current hotel may be retained, but that garage and mall are a carbuncle on the face of the city. Better yet, the Sheraton should beef up its property by building high there. The only caveat is that it needs to be placed in the MIDDLE of the property and not on Robinson, as that would block the view of and from FNC. I would image about 45 stories, 700 feet, and full of street level retail. Right across from the Cox it is a sure bet to be filled on convention days.

we don't want/need any more buildings on the "middle" of lots .. we need them to be built to the edge of the property line

I would like to know more about this.

Given our history of skyscraper construction, every major skyscraper constructed in Oklahoma City was followed by another within a few years:

01. Chase Tower 1971 (Sandridge Tower 1972) (Bank of Oklahoma Plaza 1972)
02. First National Center 1931 (City Place 1931)
03. Oklahoma Tower 1982 (Leadership Square North 1984)
04. Devon Energy Tower 2012 (New Skyscraper 2013-2015?)

we don't want/need any more buildings on the "middle" of lots .. we need them to be built to the edge of the property line

Let me clarify. I would support a 4-5 story podium with lots of retail on all sides, coming right up to the street. Its just that proper placement of the tower itself should take various sight lines into account.

I would get rid of the prime land that gets wasted on the Sheraton "mall/convention" lot just west of the Sheraton Hotel.

25-story residential similar to Regency Tower but as for-sale condos ($125-$175 each) would be a great addition IMO.

I would get rid of the prime land that gets wasted on the Sheraton "mall/convention" lot just west of the Sheraton Hotel.

25-story residential similar to Regency Tower but as for-sale condos ($125-$175 each) would be a great addition IMO.

its interesting that a few people prefer the old Sheraton Hotel site...? hmmmmm?

When I walked through it last fall, the old Sheraton Century Center was completely empty.

I know there is parking on top that is used for the hotel but the two levels inside that little mall were all dark. Even the mall itself only had a few lights on.

Another mid- to high-rise hotel in that spot would make a lot of sense.

I actually thought about this location also, good idea, who would be your architect?

Well, since you asked, Calatrava or Ghery. That place, right at the heart of the city, is begging for truly unique presence as it has had to endure the epitome of mediocrity for 30 years!

I agree I think that since there is a demand for hotel rooms and that the demand will only continue to increase, the Owners of the property (I am not sure if Sheraton owns it or not) would do well to realize that it is time to put together a proposal for a stellar mixed use facilty to address several needs in the city at once and score a major win for Sheraton as well. I would plan the operation as follows:

Select a capable and proven developer, Hines comes to mind...initiate a phasing plan addressing the needs for the Sheraton to remain operational, (for now).
Design the site with the following considerations: Significant Class A office tower, (60 stories or so would be nice). Make sure that the tower has its own street access and identity via a grand lobby. Utilize a podium building that wraps around the base of the building and provides concealed structured parking with retail at the street fronts. replace the Sheraton with a highrise expanded hotel with much greater capacity, say twenty stories or above the podium, and then allow for for sale residential condos for the next 20 floors. Like I said I am a dreamer. It would be interesting to see what kind of proposals could be generated by the 5th year architecture students down the road at the University of Oklahoma. Then you could invite select developers as guest critics for thier final project reviews...might just spark the right ideas in some of the right individuals minds to jumpstart such an ambitious plan.

I like topics like these. I need something to video after Devon Tower is done. I'm planning some historical related stuff for Spring or Summer.

Another place that is screaming for help is the property on Main and Hudson. It currently has a beautiful art deco facade that should be retained at all costs, but as a one story building, would be a fantastic base to a new mid-rise residential. Looking here at 25 - 30 stories with retail/nice restaurant in the base. The views (once above the level of the new Devon parking garage) would be fabulous in all directions: downtown urban to the East and North, Prairie sunsets to the West, and the new central park and river to the South. To compensate for the Devon garage view, there could actually be parking from about the 3rd level (above the retail/restaurant) to the same height as the Devon garage with residential starting above that. It would also be a great new anchor for that section of downtown. Architect? Probably more traditional (local), but it should be sensitive in styling to the modern desires of those prepared live in high-rises.

All of these are good ideas, a close relative of mine is an architect in Dallas, I can see if he can develop some conceptual plans in his free time , and maybe we can propose it to some developers, and do a case study?

Just checking the records, I discovered the old Century Center Mall is owned by the same San Diego investors that bought the adjacent Sheraton Hotel about four years ago.

They have done absolutely nothing with that space in all these years and seem content to use the top two floors as parking and just ignore the rest.

Sounds like they need to be apporached by a developer with Vision, or another property owner needs to offer to purchase the site.

I would rip down the parking garage of the Sheraton and put up a mixed-use highrise there. The current hotel may be retained, but that garage and mall are a carbuncle on the face of the city. Better yet, the Sheraton should beef up its property by building high there. The only caveat is that it needs to be placed in the MIDDLE of the property and not on Robinson, as that would block the view of and from FNC. I would image about 45 stories, 700 feet, and full of street level retail. Right across from the Cox it is a sure bet to be filled on convention days.

Agreed.

My relative is employed at Gromatzky Dupree & Associates http://www.gdainet.com/ in Dallas. I will give him a call this week, and see what he can do for me. That is why I started this thread to get different opinions, so from what I heard, I will see if he can do a conceptual design of a 30-35 high-rise, residential/hotel, thanks for your input.

Location: The currently lot that houses the Historic Hightower Building, west of the downtown library, south of Oklahoma City municipal building. However, I would not demolish Hightower Building, but I would demolish Oklahoma City Accounting division on that lot, and build skyscraper adjacent to Hightower Building.

Interesting you should ask about this location...

Seems to me someone has a very curious avatar here on OKCTalk that has a rendering of a building in that very spot that is about the height of the Hightower and has some element similar to the library... think his screename is architect5311... :gossip:

Very curious, indeed.

The avatar is different now but I believe it is a close up of the same building.

SPILL THE BEANS, architect5311! LOL

The next tower (not sure if it will fit the description of high-rise) will be on the Ford dealership site. Of course there is the 11 story hotel in Bricktown but maybe that doesn't count.

The lot where Devon construction employees park now would be a good area. I mentioned this on the tower thread before.

Another good spot would be a residential tower on the EKG curve (known as the Chamber of Commerce site). That site is close to everything.

I think a new 50 story skyscraper where Sandridge tore down buildings would be a great place. We don't need the plaza.... It could be caddy corner to the existing building and hover over it a few hundred feet.

This is just a quick mock-up I did for the fun of it, but you can see the strategic importance of a new building on the Sheraton 'mall' site, with complementary retail at the base facing the street. On the other side of the Devon tower (which has mysteriously disappeared from Google Earth), I have placed the mid-rise residential tower that makes use of the existing Art Deco base and whose main body of apartments starts above the level of the Devon Garage. Between the retail-oriented Art Deco base and the residential floor are parking floors for the use of both. Voila! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8318229/sheraton.pdf

This is just a quick mock-up I did for the fun of it, but you can see the strategic importance of a new building on the Sheraton 'mall' site, with complementary retail at the base facing the street. On the other side of the Devon tower (which has mysteriously disappeared from Google Earth), I have placed the mid-rise residential tower that makes use of the existing Art Deco base and whose main body of apartments starts above the level of the Devon Garage. Between the retail-oriented Art Deco base and the residential floor are parking floors for the use of both. Voila! http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8318229/sheraton.pdf

looks good, very good idea

When I was first learning Photoshop back in 2004 I made this quick rendering of what a "future Devon skyscraper" would look like with the OKC skyline. Never did I imagine it would actually get built, and be 850 ft. tall! I also had a highrise residential tower in there where the Devon parking is located now:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bg918/newokccopy.jpg

Any new towers should probably be north of 4th, to balance the skyline better..

From what I know and what industry experts say, a high rise is very unlikely now or the near future. Especially a residential tower. The costs of new construction, esp high rises, are extremely high and almost too high for Okla living costs. A developer would be hard pressed to get his money back. The only hope I see is a private corporation building themselves a tower

^^^Agreed...

^^^Agreed...

What did you just "agree" to? Placement north of 4th or no new skyscrapers?

I agreed to the comment that no new residential skyscrapers would get built any time soon, our best luck would be for a new commercial office tower, from a new company moving to Oklahoma City.

With at least 12 companies looking at the Devon property and recent statements from State officials about the relocation of companies to OKC I think the chances are 50/50 for a speculative office building (especially if they could get a commitment from a major company to occupy 40% or more). The sooner we can get a final decision of streetcar lines the better.

Now having said that, I would rather see more 3 to 7 story buildings than a single 30 story building.

http://www.lessardgroup.com/data/images/res_low.jpg

With at least 12 companies looking at the Devon property and recent statements from State officials about the relocation of companies to OKC I think the chances are 50/50 for a speculative office building (especially if they could get a commitment from a major company to occupy 40% or more). The sooner we can get a final decision of streetcar lines the better.

Now having said that, I would rather see more 3 to 7 story buildings than a single 30 story building.

http://www.lessardgroup.com/data/images/res_low.jpg

I would like to see more of this type of development, probably west of downtown, which is in need of new residential development....

The next tall building in downtown OKC is likely to be an office tower.

We are almost out of Class A space and there are certainly no large contiguous blocks.

At some point, a speculator is going to put one up or a company looking to move in will do something similar to Devon, perhaps with some speculative space for lease as well. There is also a chance SandRidge could build a tower the site it cleared on RSK & Robinson.

I think something like Salt Lake City's City Creek Center mixed use development below would be a good add to west downtown okc, maybe the old bus station location,south and west of that area:

http://www.saltlakedigs.com/Images/2010/01/0000171/City-Creek-January2010_01_W480.jpg

http://www.saltlakedigs.com/Images/2010/01/0000171/City-Creek-January2010_09_W480.jpg

http://www.sharpfotos.com/Galleries/Travel/Salt-Lake-City/09084450Salt-Lake-City/627325808_KoTpf-L-5.jpg

If the Cox were to be torn down, I think that would be a great location for a new highrise. This would be my plan: after demolition of the Cox, extend the canal to the west through the block to the Gardens, and extend Broadway south over the new canal portion to Reno Avenue. Or, instead of extending the canal, divide that superblock into four blocks with Broadway and California Avenue bisecting it. Maybe an office tower that's 600-775' tall in one of the blocks? And then shorter highrises to compliment the rest of the downtown skyline. Just a thought though. (:

My Proposal:

Project Title: One Myriad Place

Type: Skyscraper
Height: 600 ft (182.88m)
Floors: 40
Location: Oklahoma City, Ok (corner Of W Reno Ave. and S Hudson Ave.)
Cost: $150 - $200 million

Architectural Style: Postmodern
Façade Material: Glass
Façade System: Curtain Wall
Façade Color: Dark Blue

Current Status: Vision
Est. Construction Timeline: 2011- 2013
Main Usage: Commercial Office
Side Usage: Mercantile, Parking Garage

*would be second tallest building in Oklahoma City, and 4th tallest in state upon completion.

I think something like Salt Lake City's City Creek Center mixed use development below would be a good add to west downtown okc, maybe the old bus station location,south and west of that area:

http://www.saltlakedigs.com/Images/2010/01/0000171/City-Creek-January2010_01_W480.jpg

http://www.saltlakedigs.com/Images/2010/01/0000171/City-Creek-January2010_09_W480.jpg

http://www.sharpfotos.com/Galleries/Travel/Salt-Lake-City/09084450Salt-Lake-City/627325808_KoTpf-L-5.jpg

OKC would need an entity larger than both Devon and Chesapeake to make something like this happen. This development is funded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which along with the church-owned bank, Zions Bank, has their hand in numerous other developments in Salt Lake City and Utah.

^^ Time for the Baptists to pony up some cash! j/k

^^ Time for the Baptists to pony up some cash! j/k

Nah, just increase the LDS presence locally. The folk I've known over the years were all good solid peeps.

I agree with Kerry. 3-7 story buildings on all those vacant lots from 4th up to 13th would be better for downtown than another skyscraper.

Two places,on The old Ford dealership or anywhere North of fourth and West of all The current skyscrapers!

Another good spot would be a residential tower on the EKG curve (known as the Chamber of Commerce site). That site is close to everything.

Are you talking about the space between 3rd and 4th just south of the Y? I was just thinking that something residenial should go there... Does the City own this site?

http://www.saltlakedigs.com/Images/2010/01/0000171/City-Creek-January2010_01_W480.jpg


I can see this on West Main for sure.

Are you talking about the space between 3rd and 4th just south of the Y? I was just thinking that something residenial should go there... Does the City own this site?

That is it. The City owns about half the site and OPUBCO owns the other half.

So did the plans for the Chamber relocating there fall through and the site is just referred to still as the "Chamber site"?

So did the plans for the Chamber relocating there fall through and the site is just referred to still as the "Chamber site"?

As far as I know the Chamber building is on hold. If it gets built as designed it will be a disappointment, but at least it will take up some vacant space.

When I was first learning Photoshop back in 2004 I made this quick rendering of what a "future Devon skyscraper" would look like with the OKC skyline. Never did I imagine it would actually get built, and be 850 ft. tall! I also had a highrise residential tower in there where the Devon parking is located now:

That's a very nice vision of a future OKC, BG918.

You know, looking at some satellite imagery of downtown OKC I wonder if we shouldn't be expanding the core further out to the northwest, in the direction of the new federal building.

That's a very nice vision of a future OKC, BG918.

Yeah that was when Devon building a skyscraper was a pie in the sky idea back in '04. Devon was a growing company that occupied a lot of space downtown but no one seriously believed they would build a new tower, an 850 ft. tall skyscraper nonetheless...

Originally Posted by G.Walker
would like to see more of this type of development, probably west of downtown, which is in need of new residential development....

I think the jail should go condo........................

Actually, why not the Myriad site, after we've got our new convention center done?

Actually, why not the Myriad site, after we've got our new convention center done?

Since the new one does not include an arena, it would complicate event scheduling of NBA, hockey and misc events. They have stated hopes to keep it and use it for smaller conferences. It is a good location but their are a lot of places that would be cheaper not far from it.

I think Midtown could use some midrises and/or highrises. Also, how about the Producers Cooperative Oil Mill site for more highrise construction?

I think Midtown could use some mid-rises and/or high-rises. Also, how about the Producers Cooperative Oil Mill site for more high-rise construction?

Quite a bit of that area you mention will be used for one of those circular ramps for access to the new I-40. Not sure if it will be an on or off ramp but much of that land is already claimed for other use.

Put up a new skyscraper north of the new federal building. Not so close to St. Anthony's but east of that area.

Or east of the tracks, just west of I-235 around the Harrison/6th street on/off ramps.

How about a 20-25 story hotel at OU Med Center? That is expanding and needs to be more like Houston's Med District with its many hotels for families with loved ones in the hospitals.

I wonder if anyone has ever done a thorough survey of how many patient-visitors at the HSC are from out of town? A center of that size surely could support a couple of decent hotels - especially in conjunction with the state capitol?

Quite a bit of that area you mention will be used for one of those circular ramps for access to the new I-40. Not sure if it will be an on or off ramp but much of that land is already claimed for other use.

Put up a new skyscraper north of the new federal building. Not so close to St. Anthony's but east of that area.

Or east of the tracks, just west of I-235 around the Harrison/6th street on/off ramps.

None of the mill site is used for ramps unless you consider what was under the old i40 that will become the new boulevard part of that site, a small fraction is used for the rail road bed but that is practically where it was before (and might have made the sight larger). The Harrison/6th street ramps will be relocated to 10th street (which already has funding according to the 8 year plan).

How about a 20-25 story hotel at OU Med Center? That is expanding and needs to be more like Houston's Med District with its many hotels for families with loved ones in the hospitals.

An Embassy Suites hotel is already in the works for the medical center area. It won't be that tall, however.

Sheraton....delete the mall portion...replace with mixed use...

Huh?

Isn't a mall an example of mixed use?